• By Sandy Steckel and Scott Stewart •
We are currently experiencing another round of fall armyworm in bermudagrass here at the West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center in Jackson, Tennessee, and this is also occurring elsewhere. We wouldn’t be surprised if there were other outbreaks occurring elsewhere.
Please be vigilant in scouting bermudagrass pastures and sorghum Sudan grass. These larvae can do a lot of damage in a short amount of time, so please be on the lookout! Please refer to a previous blog for treatment recommendations.
Some concern in cotton
There is also some concern about the number of fall armyworm moths in cotton. Some good news is that we have considerable acreage planted to three-gene cotton varieties, and FAW should not be a problem in these technologies.
If you have incorporated Diamond into your spray regime, it has activity against FAW and will also provide some residual control.
Regardless, you will need to be alert for fall armyworm in two-gene cotton (i.e., Bollgard 2). For more information on managing this pest in cotton, please refer to https://guide.utcrops.com/cotton/cotton-insect-guide/fall-armyworm/.
Sandy Steckel is Extension assistant, and Dr. Scott Stewart is IPM Extension specialist. Both are with the University of Tennessee.