Spring planting is right around the corner, and with that comes the possibility of wireworms invading grower’s fields and impacting yields.

“Wireworms are commonly seen across cereals – wheat, barley, oat, as well as other crops like corn, soybeans, dry beans and potatoes,” said Tracy Hillenbrand, regional technical representative for BASF.

Hillenbrand described wireworms as a “pesky” pest, due to their multiple life cycles.

“Looking at the life cycle for a click beetle (wireworms are click beetle larvae), the adult female will lay roughly 100 eggs,” she said. “That year, those eggs will go through different larval stages, and they can stay as a wireworm that feeds on your crop for 2-5 years. That’s where you’ll see the damage done to your root systems.”

As wireworms feed and continue to grow as more eggs are laid, growers will see increases in population quite quickly.

“They really enjoy moderate soil temperatures – roughly 50-85 degrees is when you’ll see most of the feeding damage occur,” Hillenbrand explained. “They really like some soil moisture, and if it’s too dry, they’ll burrow into the ground and away from the crop. The same goes for if it’s really warm – they’ll burrow away from the heat.”

Wireworms are most common in the springtime/early summer, based on soil conditions.

“They are attracted to the pheromones that plants release as they are germinating, so as you get that new crop that’s growing, it brings those wireworms to it, basically saying ‘it’s time to feed,’” Hillenbrand said.

Damage from wireworms can vary based on pressure.

“With light pressure, sometimes you’ll see just stunted plants with reduced yield,” she said. “You can see low yield loss, maybe a couple bushels, or substantial yield losses, where your fields look like there were planter skips, and that may be more like 5-10 bushels per acre. Depending on your territory and pressure, damage could extend to 50-60 percent of your yield.”

Two years ago, BASF came out with a new product, Teraxxa, to help combat the damage done by wireworms.

“It’s a new insecticide, part of Group 30, and it’s different than any other insecticide on the market,” Hillenbrand said. “Teraxxa offers wireworm elimination where the wireworm will actually come and feed on the insecticide, which leads to mortality.

“Other products will reduce feeding that occurs and cause a ‘drunkenness’ effect, but it doesn’t eliminate the wireworms within the acre. With Teraxxa, it takes just one time of that wireworm coming in contact to cause mortality. After ingestion, it’s very quick, and feeding will stop within an hour,” she concluded.

Source - https://www.agupdate.com