By Clint Thompson
Last year’s persistent rains contributed to armyworms being more of a nuisance in Alabama’s specialty crop fields.
“If you can control weather, you can control armyworms,” joked Ayanava Majumdar, Extension professor of Entomology and Plant Pathology at Auburn University. “We had an extremely wet summer. The weather was just perfect for those insects.”
Majumdar believes growers can learn from last year’s high infestations and be better prepared for the 2022 season. It starts with applying residual insecticides, chemical treatments that provide extended periods of protection against pests like armyworms.
“Adjust your spray schedules to the weather patterns and look at what insecticide you’re using. Shift to products that have better residual, so you’ll have to depend on less spraying,” Majumdar said.
“I know with our small specialty crop farms, if you can’t go back and spray the insecticides (due to wet conditions), most of your contact insecticides wash away. I wonder if some of that has also happened which makes the armyworm damage more noticeable. In some other years you may not hear about it, because farmers are not complaining. They’re able to have good control when they’re treating with insecticides.”
Residual insecticides are a significant tool in the farmer’s toolbox, especially if producers can’t get into a field to apply a spray because of saturated field conditions. That was the case during last year’s wet production season. It contributed to an outbreak, especially with fall armyworms.
“That’s why when you can get in (the field to spray), you’ll have to switch to chemistries that give you longer residual,” Majumdar said.