Cutworm

Lack of Rain Brings Weeds, Insects to Nebraska
Associated Press, July 20, 2000

A Plains drought has dried up soil, stunted corn stalks, helped more weeds grow in cornfields and brought on a particularly destructive corn crop insect. Several farmers have complained that their herbicides are not working as well this year, causing more weeds, said Steve Gramlich, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cooperative Extension Educator in North Platte. Some western Nebraska farms are being hit hard with the western bean cutworm - an aggressive insect that can destroy corn. For many farmers, the weeds and the onslaught of the cutworm have just added to problems brought on by a drought that has reduced yields and increased costs.

The western bean cutworm, which thrives in dry weather and sandy soils, usually is found in Nebraska west of North Platte. But this year it has shown up in large numbers at least 150 miles further east, near Aurora and north into Plainview. Byron Hoch, who farms near Bertrand, said he had to spray his several thousand acres of corn for the bug for the first time in the 26 years he¹s been farming. The spraying limited the damage to his crops, but was another cost in a tough year. “We had to throw another unexpected expense at the corn crop,” he said. “That western bean cutworm - you can lose a third of a crop in a hurry. It¹s been a triple whammy this year. Nothing works.”