Bill Cissel, Extension Agent – Integrated Pest Management; bcissel@udel.edu
In response to the question: “If the corn seedlings in your field all looked like this, and given the current weather forecast, would you apply slug bait?”
Sixty percent of the respondents said YES, they would apply bait and forty percent said NO. So, what is the correct answer in this particular scenario?
As I mentioned last week, this is a difficult decision and in many cases, there is no “right or wrong” answer. That is because the weather is a variable that can’t be controlled and is often not easy to predict, or should I say, rarely predicted accurately. The abundance of sun and warm temperatures last week resulted in rapid seedling growth, which can be seen by comparing the photos taken just 6 days apart. However, under different weather conditions, I have little doubt that the plant in the pictures would be in serious trouble if the weather had been cool and wet.
Having said that, we are not in the clear, and despite the rapid plant growth last week, this week we have a new weather forecast. Will this plant ultimately experience severe slug injury? Time will tell. Check in next week and I will update you on the status of this plant.
Click on the link below to cast your vote and let me know what you would do by answering two simple Yes or No questions:
https://goo.gl/forms/Fs1WLyQEJknMdB3K3
Taken on May 15, 2018
I will continue to follow this plant in the photo and we will see if it is able to continue to outgrow the slug feeding pressure or if this week of rain and slightly cooler weather has stalled growth and allowed the slugs to play “catch up”.