The field man said it was nothing to worry about. I am not actually sure he knows where this field it. It is a little 15 acres tucked in the back of a neighbor's oat field.
What is completely amazing is the sheer number of Lady Bugs in the field. I would estimate one per square foot. Where do they come from?
I suppose there is no point in a chemical assault at this point. It is too close to harvest to use Lorsban and the other options are not as effective. A few leaves are already starting to turn a little brown. Perhaps the lady bugs will eat all the aphids before they suck all the moisture out of the plants.
Posts
Bugs! They can be a bigger problem than weeds in a crop. I have never had them bad enough to spray and don't want to ever have to. I figure a chemical that can kill a bug can't be too good for a human either. The end user or the guy who is applying it.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they'll suck out just enough moisture to get it to storage level. ;-)
ReplyDeleteWe have very few insect problems here. Some years the bugs get at the canola, but the guys mostly use aerial spraying.
ReplyDeleteI run a high clearance sprayer for a living, but we don't spray insecticides.
I had an offer to do custom spraying for the local co-operative but after spending the last five years doing custom no-till planting I decided I did not want to deal with the risk and liability of custom work. Still, we do need a good sprayer. It is very hard to get it done here if you have to hire it. High flotation is important here.
DeleteI'm surprised we didn't have cereal leaf beetle infestations this year. I certainly haven't heard of it. I have some pretty decent oats that would seem to be a pretty good target.
ReplyDeleteI hate to say this, but you might want to get another fieldman's opinion. I wonder how many aphids a healthy ladybug can eat in 24 hours?
I did some research on Ladybugs as you can buy them for aphid control. There are recommendations from one gallon to 10 gallons per acre. Something like 72,000 bugs per gallon according to one website. They consume something like 70 aphids per day. The larva also will eat aphids.
DeleteHowever, I suspect you need to buy your lady bugs at the first hint of aphids.
The population monitor reads 900,000 seeds per acre. I suppose I could figure this all out.