Canola School: Bertha Armyworm Monitoring, Scouting and Control

Adult army cutworm collected near Brooks June 8, 2012. Shelley Barkley

Have you been keeping an eye on the bertha armyworm monitoring trap numbers in your area? As we crawl closer to mid-July, it’s important to be aware of regional risks, and have a good understanding of proper scouting techniques and spray timing.

“You’re going to have your best success spraying at night,” says John Gavloski, provincial entomologist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives. Spraying in the evening limits the impact of insecticides on pollinators, while also targeting higher populations of berthas, as they are more likely to be foraging high in the canopy in cooler temperatures.

In this video, Gavloski provides some guidance for  producers intending to scout for bertha armyworms and explains why monitoring traps provide a regional risk forecast, not a field-by-field analysis of bertha pressure.

If you cannot view the embedded video, click here.

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