Is the Hickory Shuckworm becoming a more serious pest in El Paso County?

Mr. Kevin Giraud, Manager of Helena Chemical Company in Tornillo, placed two pheromone traps for hickory shuckworm (HSW) south of Fabens, near the Rio Grande, on June 3. Just three days later, he had collected 41 HSW moths. In previous years, I have found minimal amounts of HSW larvae and nut damage. This year, I did not set up HSW pheromone traps, but I have done so in the past with little success. Although in other regions HSW is considered a serious pest, pecan growers in El Paso generally do not monitor for HSW. This pecan pest has received little attention and might have been under the radar. Based on these recent captures, I am afraid that HSW populations might be increasing in El Paso region. It is hard to interpret what these captures mean in regards to affecting pecan nut yield and quality. When asked about this subject, Bill Ree commented: “HSW pheromone seems to catch adults early in the season, a few during the summer, then more in the late summer or fall”. He added “We (pecan entomologists) just don’t know what the trap catches are telling us so treatments are based on the fact that there was a problem last season and kernel development has reached the half shell stage.” It is not time to panic, but a good moment to monitor the development of this pest. If past events are good indicators of the future, we should find comfort in the fact that this pest has caused only a minor damage in pecan production during recent years. Fortunately, insecticide applications for second generation PNC, in case they are needed, may also reduce HSW population levels. I will be placing HSW pheromone traps in the field soon to monitor this pest more closely.

Boll Weevil and Pink Bollworm declared eradicated in El Paso County

The Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation, Inc. (TBWEF) has placed the boll weevil and the pink bollworm in the status of ERADICATED. No cotton grower will shed a tear to see these major pests go. Last year (2012), a few pink bollworm moths captured in the traps had to be evaluated more closely, but finally were determined to be sterile. In 2012, TBWEF placed 1 trap every 10 acres in non-Bt fields, but this year they have reduced this rate in half (1 trap/20 acres). The rate for non-Bt fields continues to be 1 trap per field regardless its size. Last year, the program released almost 15 million sterile moths (14,833,784 to be exact). No releases of sterile pink bollworm moths are planned for this year.

NAVEL ORANGEWORM FOUND IN A PECAN NUT

On January 25, I received a pecan nut, with a hole in it, which a grower had found in his orchard and suspected to be infested with pecan weevil. I opened it, found a moth pupa, put the nut and its contents in a rearing cage, and completely forgot about it. Recently, I found 4 unfamiliar moths in that rearing cage. From the close-up photographs that I sent out, Bill Ree and Mark Muegge determine it to be the navel orangeworm. I mailed all the specimens to Kira Metz, Entomologist Identifier, USDA-APHIS in College Station, for confirmation. The navel orangeworm is a pest of citrus, walnut, almond, pistachio, macadamia, and figs in California, but I have not found a publication that deals with this pest in pecan. Bill Ree suspects that El Paso pecan growers should not be worried about this insect at the moment because the navel orangeworm cannot enter a pecan nut unless there is a crack in the shell. Potentially, this insect could become a stored product pest of pecan. The University of California IPM website mentions that the navel orangeworm does not damage sound walnuts, almonds, or pistachio, but nuts become susceptible when hulls begin to split.