When Will The Beet Armyworm Problem End?
There appears to be no end in sight for beet armyworm (BAW) problems for many producers. Egg laying pressure continues across the area with several fields cycling 25,000 to 60,000 larvae through each week. We have the really high counts of 100,000, 200,000, 300,000 and above of caterpillars per acre but these are not typical of much of the cotton. And while I have been unfolding what appears to be a virtual horror story for this area, there has not been wholesale crop devastation up to this point. To be sure there are some dryland fields where producers have turned their backs and walked away (how can you justify $30-$60 dollar spray bill on 125 pound cotton?). Also, there are certainly fields that have actually escaped the ravages of the recent beet armyworm attack. The real story is not how much yield has been lost to this point but rather how much money has been spent targeting BAWs alone or in combination with the other pests? Judging from the number of phone calls I am receiving (
