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   The arrival of the 2023 growing season in Wisconsin has brought wildly fluctuating weather, from record-breaking heat to severe late winter snowstorms. After summerlike temperatures set new records across the state on April 12, a major weather system moving through the area April 16-17 caused temperatures to plummet and dropped more than a foot of snow in parts of central and western Wisconsin. Several locations that reported temperatures of 85°F or higher on April 12 received as much as 20 inches of snow just five days later.
The heavy winter and spring snowfall followed by rapid snowmelt has led to minor to moderate flooding of several rivers in the state and a limited window of opportunity for April fieldwork. According to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, there have been fewer than eight days suitable for fieldwork this month, just enough for farmers to begin planting corn, oats, and potatoes in areas where soil conditions allow.
Along with the start of planting and fieldwork in Wisconsin begins another season of pest monitoring and reporting by the DATCP Pest Survey Program. This first Field Notes issue of the year offers early-season insect trapping data from our black cutworm and apple orchard pest monitoring networks, and a request for assistance with an upcoming vegetable pest project. The topics that follow throughout the spring and summer months will reflect our program’s ongoing pest survey and detection efforts in crops, fruits, vegetables, nurseries, and forests.
Our program continues to rely on volunteer cooperators across Wisconsin to assist with our insect monitoring surveys. For the season ahead, we are in need of cooperators for an invasive vegetable pest detection survey planned for June-August. Please read on to see how to join our pest survey.
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Northward migration flights of black cutworm moths have been underway since early April, despite cold temperatures and intermittent snowstorms. The first Wisconsin trap catches of the season were registered April 5-11 and significant captures were recorded by April 17. A significant capture of nine or more moths in two nights indicates areas of the state where major migrations have occurred and marks the biofix for calculating black cutworm degree days. Captures of this level (11-29 moths per trap) have been documented so far at five of DATCP’s 50 monitoring sites in Adams, Dodge, Fond du Lac, and Winnebago counties. As of April 27, the 2023 black cutworm monitoring network has collected a cumulative total of 166 moths in 50 traps, or an average of 3.3 per trap. Last season at this time, the count was 41 moths in 30 traps, or an average of 1.4 per trap.
The annual black cutworm migration is monitored in Wisconsin and throughout the Great Lakes region each spring to provide advanced warning of potential larval outbreaks in May and early June. When weather patterns are conducive for migration, the moths can be carried on low-level jet stream currents from overwintering areas in Texas and Mexico to Wisconsin in only two days. Determining their arrival date and the first significant trap catches can help to identify the most opportune time to scout for cutworm larvae and apply controls, if needed. Monitoring data shown in the black cutworm Corn ipmPIPE multistate map indicate that moth activity in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin has generally been low as of April 27, with only a handful of counties registering counts of above 10 moths per trap. This month’s highest counts have come from Indiana (Purdue Cooperative Extension Pest & Crop Newsletter), where an erratic mix of zeroes and very large catches of 50-150 moths per trap were recorded after a line of destructive thunderstorms from the southwestern U.S. swept through the Midwest on April 5. DATCP also participates in the Great Lakes and Maritimes Pest Monitoring Network, which offers cutworm migration data for a broader geographic area extending northeast to Nova Scotia.
Counts for the state’s 50 trap sites will be published each Thursday on the DATCP Black Cutworm page. A forecast of the peak seedling corn damage window for Wisconsin will be issued next week. |
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This season, 24 apple growers representing 26 orchards from Burlington to Bayfield are participating in our apple pest monitoring network. These dedicated cooperators maintain several pheromone traps in their orchards to monitor the seasonal activity of six economically important insects: apple maggot, codling moth, dogwood borer, lesser peachtree borer, redbanded leafroller, and obliquebanded leafroller. Most of our cooperators have been tracking insect activity and contributing data to our program for more than a decade. In fact, seven participants have been with our program for 15-20 years and another seven are beginning their 25th year of insect monitoring!
The map below shows the length of participation of our apple grower cooperators and illustrates their remarkable commitment. Data supplied through their efforts is integral to orchard integrated pest management programs and contributes to reduced damage and pesticide use. We would like to extend our sincerest thanks to all of our cooperators as we begin another pest monitoring season. Their insect counts will be posted on the DATCP Apple Orchard Pests page each week from today through August 31. |
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The Pest Survey Program at DATCP continues detection work for new and emerging invasive plant pests that threaten Wisconsin’s agricultural and natural resources. For the 2023 season, our program is planning a detection survey for two destructive, economically significant vegetable pests: leek moth and swede midge. We are looking for vegetable growers to help with our 2023 survey.
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Leek moth (Acrolepiopsis assectella) is an allium (onion, garlic, and leek) pest and potential new invader that has not yet been found in Wisconsin.
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Swede midge (Contarinia nasturtii) is a pest of brassica crops (broccoli, cabbage, and kale) documented for the first time in the state in 2019.
 This survey is cooperator-driven and will rely on assistance from vegetable growers willing to set and monitor traps from June 1 through August 31. Cooperators will receive two traps per pest, sticky liners, and pheromone lures, along with instructions for setting the traps. The traps are non-toxic, organic compatible and will last for the 12-week survey period. The trap liners and lures will need to be replaced monthly. At the end of the season, cooperators will mail the trap liners back to the DATCP entomologist for screening. There is no cost to participate and no minimum acreage required. If you grow alliums and brassicas and would like to join this pest detection effort, please email Krista Hamilton at krista.hamilton@wisconsin.gov by May 8 with:
- Your name
- Phone number
- Garden, farm or field location (County, address, GPS coordinates if possible)
DATCP will screen and identify all trap samples. Growers will be advised if swede midge or leek moth is detected on their farm or in their garden, but specific field locations and grower information will not otherwise be shared.
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