Traps being set for black cutworm and armyworm - Watch your fields!
Joshua Putman, Field Crops and Forage Specialist
Southwest New York Dairy, Livestock and Field Crops Program
True Armyworm (aka Common armyworm)
Armyworm moths are long-range migrants that arrive on the spring storms from their southern
overwintering locations. Armyworm moth migrations are somewhat sporadic, cyclic from year to
year and difficult to predict. True armyworms are primarily a pest of
plants in the grass family: forage / pasture /grasses (& lawns), wheat, corn and small grains.
Note: Under hunger stress true armyworms will also attack some legumes and other plants.
Moths lay their eggs on weeds and/or grasses along field margins, on leaves of corn, or on small
grains. Larvae hatch about a week later and develop over approximately a 3 week period, feeding
mostly at night.
Fields at most risk for armyworms feeding are:
1) grass or mostly grass hayfields, pastures. (Armyworms will also feed on grass lawns.)
2) wheat and other small grain fields and cut hay fields
3) corn fields that:
a. were planted into a small grain cover crop (such as rye grass)
b. have grassy weeds, quackgrass, crabgrass and bluegrass and other perennials
c. were planted into burned down sods, have grass weed issues, no-till or reduced tillage
fields, fields with crop residue
d. fields near severely infested small grain and cut hay fields, and in no-tillage corn
established in grain stubble or on grassy land.
Field Crops Specialist, Josh Putman, is getting ready to set traps in SWNY with hopes to capture armyworm moths to better help predict potential infestations on your farm. Contact Josh at jap473@cornell.edu or 716-490-5572 for updates on these timely pests.
Upcoming Events
WEBINAR - Automated Milking Systems Efficiency: Balancing Focus on Individual Cows and System Optimization
May 8, 2024
Please join Cornell the SWNY team and MSU Extension for our talk with Dr. Pablo Silva BoloƱa on improving efficiency of Automated milking systems by focusing on milking settings for individual and group success.
Broiler Field Day at Sunny Cove Farm
June 6, 2024
Alfred Station, NY
Join us for a field day to explore broiler production, processing, and finances. Meghan Snyder of Sunny Cove Farm will be our host. She raises small batches of organic broilers, processing them on-farm under the 1,000 bird exemption.
Stockmanship and Stewardship 2024
October 25, 2024
Hamburg, NY
Save the date!! The event is one of 4 across the US and is a two-day educational experience featuring low-stress cattle handling demonstrations, Beef Quality Assurance educational sessions, facility design sessions, and industry updates.
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