Tag: Quinoa

Nationwide monitoring pilot project for European corn borer

The European corn borer (ECB; Ostrinia nubilalis), has been an important pest of corn and other crops in eastern Canada for nearly a century now but is also known to be a sporadic pest in western Canada. Despite its name, ECB is actually a generalist feeder, having a wide range of hosts. With so many new emerging crops being grown in Canada that are also hosts for ECB (eg. hemp, cannabis, quinoa, hops, millet and others), there is no better time to look at this pest across the Canadian agricultural landscape.

To monitor for ECB nationwide, the Surveillance Working Group of the Canadian Plant Health Council has developed a harmonized monitoring protocol for European corn borer in both English and French. The project aims to generate real-time reporting and annual maps – access a full description of the project and list of key contact persons. The protocol can be used to report ECB eggs, larvae or damage in any host crop across Canada. This harmonized protocol has been designed to complement protocols already in use to make management decisions in order to generate data to compare ECB presence across all of Canada and across host crops.

When scouting corn, quinoa, hemp, millet, potatoes, apples, or other crops susceptible to ECB, the Surveillance Working Group of the Canadian Plant Health Council encourages the use of the harmonized monitoring protocol and reporting of the data from fields or research plots using the free Survey123 app (available for both desktop and mobile devices):
• Early to Mid-Season ECB Survey (Before July) – https://arcg.is/0qCCHH (applicable for use in eastern Canada).
• Later Season ECB Survey (July to Pre-Harvest) – https://arcg.is/fSODf (applicable for use in both eastern AND western Canada).

Nationwide monitoring pilot project for European corn borer

Bertha armyworm development

Model simulations to May 23, 2021, indicate that overwintered BAW pupal development (Fig. 1, C) varies across the prairies. Development is predicted to be greatest across the southern prairies (Fig. 2). Based on current development, adult emergence is projected to occur in mid-June.

**Figure** 1. The egg stage (A), larval stage (B), pupal stage (C), and adult stage (D) of bertha armyworm.
Photos: Jonathon Williams (AAFC-Saskatoon).

Figure 2. Predicted bertha armyworm (*Mamestra configurata*) pupal development across the Canadian prairies as of May 23, 2021.

Biological and monitoring information related to bertha armyworm in field crops is posted by the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network. Also refer to the bertha armyworm pages within the “Field Crop and Forage Pests and their Natural Enemies in Western Canada: Identification and management field guide” which is a free downloadable document as both an English-enhanced or French-enhanced version.

Predicted bertha armyworm development

Model simulations for August 3, 2020, indicate that BAW development varies across the prairies. Figures 1 and 2 demonstrate that BAW populations near Winnipeg (Fig. 1) are more advanced than populations near Grande Prairie (Fig. 2). Populations near Winnipeg are predicted to be developing to pupae (Fig. 1). BAW populations near Grande Prairie are expected to be primarily in the larval stage (Fig. 2).

**Figure 1**. Predicted bertha armyworm (*Mamestra configurata*) phenology at Winnipeg MB as of August 3, 2020.

**Figure 2** Predicted bertha armyworm (*Mamestra configurata*) phenology at Grande Prairie AB as of August 3, 2020.

Weekly Pheromone-baited Trapping Results – Early season detection of bertha armyworm is improved through the use of pheromone-baited unitraps traps deployed in fields across the Canadian prairies. Click each province name to access moth reporting numbers observed in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba (as they become available). Check these sites to assess cumulative counts and relative risk in your geographic region but remember in-field scouting is required to apply the economic threshold to manage both this pest and its natural enemies. For convenience, screen shots of the above maps or data have been placed below for Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.

Monitoring:

Larval sampling should commence once the adult moths are noted.
Sample at least three locations, a minimum of 50 m apart.
At each location, mark an area of 1 m2 and beat the plants growing within that area to dislodge the larvae.
Count them and compare the average against the values in the economic threshold table below:

Scouting tips:
● Some bertha armyworm larvae remain green or pale brown throughout their larval life.
● Large larvae may drop off the plants and curl up when disturbed, a defensive behavior typical of cutworms and armyworms.
● Young larvae chew irregular holes in leaves, but normally cause little damage. The fifth and sixth instar stages cause the most damage by defoliation and seed pod consumption. Crop losses due to pod feeding will be most severe if there are few leaves.
● Larvae eat the outer green layer of the stems and pods exposing the white tissue.
● At maturity, in late summer or early fall, larvae burrow into the ground and form pupae.

Refer to the PPMN Bertha armyworm monitoring protocol for help when performing in-field scouting. Use the images below (Fig. 4) to help identify the economically important larvae. Review the 2019 Insect of the Week which featured bertha armyworm and its doppelganger, the clover cutworm!

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 2019_PPMN-Protocol_BAW_LifeStages_Williams.png — **Figure 4**. The egg stage (A), larval stage (B), pupal stage (C), and adult stage (D) of bertha armyworm. Photos: Jonathon Williams (AAFC-Saskatoon).

Bertha armyworm

Click to link to last week’s information posted for Wk 13 (released 23Jul2020) to review the predictive model outputs for this insect pest. As larvae now begin to develop and feed in fields, emphasis is now placed on in-field scouting in areas where high moth counts are being intercepted by provincial networks highlighted below.

Weekly Pheromone-baited Trapping Results – Early season detection of bertha armyworm is improved through the use of pheromone-baited unitraps traps deployed in fields across the Canadian prairies. Click each province name to access moth reporting numbers observed in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Remember in-field scouting is required to apply the economic threshold to manage both this pest and its natural enemies. For convenience, screen shots of available maps or data from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba are below.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 2020Jul15_BAW_SK-791x1024.png

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 2020Jul22_BAW_MB.png

Refer to the PPMN Bertha armyworm monitoring protocol for help when performing in-field scouting. Use the images above (Fig. 4) to help identify the economically important larvae. Review the 2019 Insect of the Week which featured bertha armyworm and its doppelganger, the clover cutworm!

Predicted bertha armyworm development

Model simulations for July 19, 2020 (Fig. 1) indicate that 23% of the bertha armyworm (BAW) population is in the egg stage (compared to 35% last week) and 77% are predicted to be larvae (compared to 65% last week). Across the Parkland and Peace River regions, BAW populations are predicted to be primarily in the egg stage (Fig. 1). Other than the Peace River region, populations are primarily in the larval stage (Fig. 1). Fields near Carman, Winnipeg and Morden in Manitoba are expected to have first appearance of pupae, suggesting larval development is advanced (Fig. 1).

**Figure 1**. Predicted percent of bertha armyworm (*Mamestra configurata*) population ***in the larval stage*** as of July 19, 2020.

The two graphs below demonstrate that BAW populations near Winnipeg (Fig. 2) are more advanced than populations near Grande Prairie (Fig. 3). In Winnipeg populations are primarily in the larval stage with first appearance of pupae (Fig. 2). BAW populations near Grande Prairie are predicted to be in adult, egg and larval stages (Fig. 3).

**Figure 2**. Predicted bertha armyworm (*Mamestra configurata*) phenology at Winnipeg MB as of July 19, 2020.

**Figure 3**. Predicted bertha armyworm (*Mamestra configurata*) phenology at Grande Prairie AB as of July 19, 2020.

Predicted bertha armyworm development

Model simulations for July 12, 2020 indicate that 35% of the population is in the egg stage (37% last week) and 65% of the population is in the larval stages (14% last week). Across the Parkland and Peace River regions, BAW populations are predicted to be primarily in the egg stage (Fig. 1). Populations across southern regions are primarily in the larval stage (Fig. 1).

**Figure 1**. Predicted percent of bertha armyworm (*Mamestra configurata*) population ***in the larval stage*** as of July 12, 2020.

The two graphs below demonstrate that larval development near Brandon is predicted to be ahead of fields near Grande Prairie. In Brandon, populations are primarily in the larval stage (Fig. 2) while BAW populations near Grande Prairie are predicted to be predominantly in adult and egg stages (Fig. 3).

**Figure 3**. Predicted bertha armyworm (*Mamestra configurata*) phenology at Brandon MB as of July 12, 2020.

**Figure 3**. Predicted bertha armyworm (*Mamestra configurata*) phenology at Grande Prairie AB as of July 12, 2020.

**Figure 5**. The egg stage (A), larval stage (B), pupal stage (C), and adult stage (D) of bertha armyworm. Photos: Jonathon Williams (AAFC-Saskatoon).

Weekly Pheromone-baited Trapping Results – Early season detection of bertha armyworm is improved through the use of pheromone-baited unitraps traps deployed in fields across the Canadian prairies. Click each province name to access moth reporting numbers observed in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba (as they become available). Check these sites to assess cumulative counts and relative risk in your geographic region but remember in-field scouting is how the economic threshold is applied to manage this pest.

Refer to the PPMN Bertha armyworm monitoring protocol for help when performing in-field scouting. Use the images above (Fig. 5) to help identify the economically important larvae. Review the 2019 Insect of the Week which featured bertha armyworm and its doppelganger, the clover cutworm!