2012 New York Sweet Corn Pheromone Trap Network

Abstract

Three important insect pests of sweet corn, European corn borer, corn earworm, and fall armyworm, cause damage to ears in their worm or larval stage. These pests are moths in their adult stage. Traps baited with the pheromones that male and female moths use to find each other are set up near sweet corn production in NY. The trap catch information allows growers, consultants, and Cooperative Extension and vegetable processor field staff to track the flights of the adults of these three pests, and trap numbers contribute to making informed decisions about when sweet corn fields need to be scouted or treated with an insecticide. Starting in 2010, traps for a new pest, the western bean cutworm, were added to the trap network to track its' movement and numbers. This project is funded in part by in-kind contributions from growers and consultants who host and check traps.