Agricultural News
FMC's Drake Copeland Reflects on an Epic Fall Armyworm Year
Mon, 06 Dec 2021 16:46:22 CST
Many Oklahomans, in both urban and rural areas, got a hard lesson in pest awareness this summer. Fall armyworms were knocking out lawns overnight, leaving many Oklahoma wondering why their lawns were brown all of a sudden. Drake Copeland, technical services manager at FMC Corporation, told KC Sheperd, associate director of Radio Oklahoma Ag Network, the early signs were there.
"Our entomologist friends in Texas said they were seeing moths a month earlier, so that should have been a good indicator that it was going to be a problem in southern states," Copeland said.
Copeland said weather conditions were ideal for armyworms across the Great Plains and the Midwest. Although a lush, green lawn turned brown is a bummer, the loss is small compared to when armyworms target acres of crops.
"It is something you have to say on top of because they work fast," Copeland said.
In their last two to three stages of being a caterpillar, armyworms eat about 70% of all the foliage they will ever eat as a caterpillar. By the time folks notice an armyworm problem it is most likely too late, according to Copeland.
As hungry as armyworms are, each biotype prefers different plant species, Copeland said. The 2021 squirm of armyworms was more diverse than usual and went after multiple crops which made treating them a challenge, he added.
"It was just a really bad year (for armyworms)," Copeland said. "I think they called it an epic armyworm year."
When you are battling an epic army of armyworms, Copeland suggests winter wheat farmers reach for FMC's Vantacor Insect Control. Because armyworms are known to come back to an area depending on the environment, Vantacor is great because it offers long residual control of armyworms, he added.
"If you can get a product that is working for you when you are not in the field - that is what you want to do," Copeland said.
Hit the LISTEN BAR below to hear KC Sheperd and Drake Copeland talk about 2021's epic fall armyworm infestation and the products FMC offers to combat them.
Click here to see what other products FMC offers for armyworm control and more in your area.
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