David Owens, Extension Entomologist, owensd@udel.edu
Peppers
Continue scouting your peppers for beet armyworm and other fruit feeding worms.
Cucurbits
Continue scouting for worms that could damage rinds. Beet armyworm are active in my melons at Carvel, as well as second generation cucumber beetle. Diamides like Exirel or Harvanta are excellent worm products and will stop cucumber beetles from feeding for a time. Continue scouting pumpkins for aphids. While there are no established thresholds for aphids, if you start seeing honeydew on plastic or on fruit and beneficial insect activity is low, you may want to consider a treatment. Aphids also transmit several mosaic viruses which can cause fruit to have unusual skin features or texture as well as green splotches.
Sweet Corn
It is finally starting to cool down, if the 10-day forecast is to be believed. Spray schedules will not have to be tightened due to temperatures. This past week, we harvested sweet corn at Carvel and had a fair number of fall armyworm in ears in addition to corn earworm. The moth lays eggs on foliage as well as the silks, and larvae developing as the tassel gets pushed out will go to the ear. Be sure to scout tassel-push corn carefully. Fall armyworm is also difficult to control with pyrethroids, just like corn earworm. Earworm trap counts have fallen in most locations, but do not relax your guard, especially if you have silking corn. Thursday trap captures are as follows:
| Trap Location | BLT – CEW | Pheromone CEW |
| 3 nights total catch | ||
| Dover | 1 | 77 |
| Harrington | 1 | 21 |
| Milford | 1 | 102 |
| Rising Sun | 1 | 67 |
| Wyoming | 0 | 56 |
| Bridgeville | 1 | 55 |
| Concord | 2 | 36 |
| Georgetown | 0 | 37 |
| Greenwood | 1 | |
| Laurel | 2 | 71 |
| Seaford | 2 | 8 |
| Millsboro | 7 | 31 |
Spinach
Beet webworm is active. Up until now it has largely been feeding on pigweeds. Spinach is in the same plant family and moths find it just as attractive for oviposition. The same goes for beet armyworm. Bt products can be used if worms are small. Keep in mind they have very short residual activity. Radiant, Proclaim, Avaunt, Intrepid and diamides like Coragen, Exirel and Harvanta are all labeled for the worm complex. Intrepid is a growth regulator and should target small worms. Diamides will cause rapid feeding cessation. Diamides and Radiant may also help with leafminers, while the diamides (except Coragen) are also labeled for aphids.
General
Pennsylvania has been dealing with extremely high populations of yellow striped armyworm recently. While this worm does not seem to be as active in southern Delaware as usual, folks in Kent and New Castle may want to keep a sharp eye out for them. They feed on a wide array of crops, but are often found in tomatoes. I have also had them destroy cabbage transplants set out to harden off.