Wheat is a massively important crop in the United States. More than 46 million acres of wheat were harvested in the 2014-2015 market year, for just over 2 billion bushels at about $6 each, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Wheat isn’t just important domestically, but the crops is widely sold in overseas markets. This underscores the importance of creating a successful pest management system to help keep wheat production high and the agricultural economy strong.
There are a number of insects affecting wheat production and they can serious damage these high yields of wheat and have led to massive crop failures in the past. Modern commercial farmers however, have access to a wide array of pesticides that can keep insects, fungi and other pests at bay.
Examine some of the most dangerous wheat pests in the U.S. and how they can be stopped from slowing production.
Aphids
These insects can literally suck the life out of a fruitful wheat harvest. Aphids can live in wheat, sucking the sap from the plant, North Carolina State University explained. The damage of taking this sap is two-fold. First, it directly damages the plant’s livelihood by interfering with its ability to get sustenance. Secondly, aphids can also pass the barley yellow dwarf virus to the plant.
NCSU pointed out that aphids can affect a variety of cereals, but the English grain aphid and the bird cherry-oat aphids are the only ones with an impact on smaller grains like wheat. These pests can colonize wheat plants in the spring or travel from near by grain and infect wheat as late as the fall.
Seed treatments are typically the best defense against aphids and the diseases they could spread. A treatment with imidacloprid or thiamethoxam are often used to stop the colony from developing in the first place.
How Armyworms Affect Wheat Production:
Armyworms are among the most common and damaging insects to wheat. While they don’t infect the plant like aphids can, they do feed on a significant amount of wheat during their life times. According to Kansas State University, an average armyworm will eat about 43 linear inches of wheat leaves while in its larval stage. About 34 of these inches are eaten over the course of just three to five days, meaning these worms can cause some serious damage.
The scope of an armyworm’s damage is largely dependent on the development of the plant at the time of infestation. Before the soft dough stage, wheat can be seriously impacted by armyworm, Kansas State explained. The maturity of the plant also should influence the type of insecticide used. Kansas State pointed to pesticides with active ingredients of beta-cyfluthrin, carbaryl, chlorantraniliprole, chlorpyrifos plus zeta-cypermethrin, spinosad and zeta-cypermethrin as among the most effective for armyworm treatment.
Cutworms and borers may act similarly to armyworms in wheat crops.
How Stink bugs Affect Wheat Production:
These pests’ saliva is actually toxic to the plant itself. According to the USDA, if a stink bug creates only one puncture on a wheat stalk, it could kill the entire plant. Stink bugs are less interested in the stalk however, and favor eating the wheat kernels and head of the wheat. This can cause the crop to whither and die.
The USDA explained that the impact of stink bug populations can vary widely and is difficult to predict.
“Losses due to stink bugs are highly variable and depend on the density of the insects, weather conditions, and duration of the crop growing period. Losses are due primarily to reduced baking quality,” the government body explained.
Pesticides such as fenpropathrinm, dimethoate, endosulfan and formetanate hydrochloride are among the most effective against stink bugs.
How Hessian fly Affect Wheat Production:
This Mid-West pest is a common enemy of wheat. NC State explained that the Hessian fly is becoming a greater wheat pest in the U.S. affecting a larger area, including North Carolina. Like many pests, the larvae do the most damage to wheat, eating the crop as they crow.
Hessian flies can cause poorly filled heads, suboptimal kernels and weak stems among other damage, NC State explained. The flies build their life cycles around the wheat with different generations affecting the crop. The key for farmers is to adopt a holistic approach that avoid the low yields and poor plants that Hessian flies can cause with cover crops, schedules planting around the fly-free date and the use of long-residual foliar pyrethroid insecticides, according to NC State.
How Grasshoppers Affect Wheat Production:
Grasshoppers are unique among potential pests in that not all will cause harm to a crop, Kansas State reminded. It takes a larger number of certain breeds to impact wheat, but when that occurs it can be damaging. Farmers should keep an eye out for grasshoppers before ever planting the crop.
If a grasshopper issue does arise, alpha-cypermethrin, carbaryl, chlorpyrifos, dimethoate, malathion and microencapsulated Methyl Parathion are a few of the pesticides that Kansas State recommended for treatment. Some may already be in use for other pests anyway. Please visit our products’ page for a full list of pesticide ingredients.
