Lexington, KY 40546

Online at: www.uky.edu/KPN

Number 1326
PASTURE, FORAGE, SOYBEAN & WHEAT CROPS -Fall Armyworm Damage Survey PESTS -Another Invasive Fruit Fly Found in Kentucky

December 11, 2012

DIAGNOSTIC LABORATORY HIGHLIGHTS WATCH FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS

PASTURE, FORAGE, SOYBEAN & WHEAT CROPS Fall Armyworm Damage Survey By Doug Johnson, Extension Entomologist and Patty Lucas, IPM Specialist One last reminder please take a minute to participate in the Fall armyworm damage survey. We know a number of you had to deal with a large infestation of fall armyworm this past September and October. Infestations were reported in grass hay & pasture, newly established or renovated forage grasses, wheat and rye cover crops, as well as in late maturing soybean and early planted wheat for grain. This was an unusual event, perhaps the largest population of fall armyworms in recent memory. We would like to estimate the spread and impact of this outbreak in Kentucky. If you had a field or crop damaged or you suspect you had damage due to Fall Armyworm, please take a few minutes to participate in our survey. This is a short survey and will not take you more than a few minutes to complete. The survey can be found at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VCGX5QL The survey information is being collected using the Survey Monkey web site. No information that will identify you is being collected by the site. There is one location in the survey where you can leave an email address if you would like to receive

a copy of the survey results. Those addresses will be held in strict confidence. They will NOT be shared with anyone else, and will be stored offline. Please take a minute to complete the survey as we will be closing the survey site January 9th. We thank you in advance for taking just a few minutes to help us understand the impact and distribution this insect had in 2012.

PESTS Another Invasive Fruit Fly Found in Kentucky By Ric Bessin, Extension Entomologist For the second month in a row we have identified another invasive fruit fly in Daviess and Warren Counties in Kentucky. This fruit fly is called the African fig fly (AFF), Zaprionus indianus Gupta (Diptera: Drosophilidae), as it is originally from Africa and is a serious pest of figs. The fly specimens were submitted to and confirmed by the USDA two weeks ago. We collected the specimens in apple cider vinegar traps that were set out to monitor for spotted wing Drosophila (SWD) in just a few locations in 2012. With all of these traps the AFF was several times more numerous that the SWD on each sticky card. While AFF originally was reported from Florida in 2005, it has been reported this year from North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Mississippi and Texas.

tobacco; Fusarium bulb rot on garlic; Fusarium seed decay on dried beans; and kernel rot (multiple fungi) and weevil injury on pecan nuts. On ornamentals and turf, we have seen Phoma dieback on vinca; rosette virus on rose; injury from previous spider mite infestation on arborvitae; and Phytophthora root rot on taxus.

Figure 1. While AFF is a bit larger than typical fruit flies, they are recognized by the characteristic black margined white stripes.

WATCH FOR 2013 IPM Training will be held on March 6 at the UKREC in Princeton. CEUs for CCA and pesticide education hours will be requested. Watch Kentucky Pest News for more details.

SWD was identified for the first time in Kentucky in October and has also been identified from the same locations as AFF in Davies and Warren counties. However, there have been reports from other counties of small fly larvae in raspberries and other small fruit. This coming year we will be trapping for both of these new invasive pests to better understand their distributions throughout Kentucky. Similar to SWD larvae, AFF will readily develop in small fruits including raspberries, blackberries, grapes, blueberries and strawberries but it is unclear if it will only attack damaged and rotting fruit or if it will serve as a primary pest. It does not have the sharp ovipositor of SWD to puncture the skin of soft fruits. It may be possible that it follows SWD into these fruits, but more research is needed. Its presence in such high numbers this fall is of concern. The occurrence in Kentucky this year may or may not be due to the mild winter we experienced last year and the trapping program planned for next year may help to answer that question.

ANNOUNCEMENT This issue concludes the 2012 series of Kentucky Pest News (KPN) and marks the end of the 37th year of inclusion of disease information in KPN. The major objective has been to provide timely information on anticipated and occurring diseases in Kentucky. Any comments (favorable or critical) readers may have regarding KPN (i.e., format, subject matter, coverage, timeliness, etc.) may be directed to KPN authors: Don Hershman, Paul Vincelli, and Kenneth Seebold, Extension Plant Pathologists; and Paul Bachi and Julie Beale, Plant Diagnosticians. The above authors appreciate the efforts of colleagues who have coauthored topics in KPN. The first 2013 issue of KPN will be Tuesday, January 15, 2012. We wish each of our readers a Cheerful Holiday and Peace and Prosperity in 2013. (Hershman, Vincelli, Seebold, Bachi and Beale).

DIAGNOSTIC LABORATORY HIGHLIGHTS by Julie Beale and Paul Bachi Late fall samples seen in the PDDL have included frost injury on alfalfa; frost injury, nitrogen deficiency and wireworm injury on wheat; Diplodia ear rot on corn; storage molds on curing Note: Trade names are used to simplify the information presented in this newsletter. No endorsement by the Cooperative Extension Service is intended, nor is criticism implied of similar products that are not named