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Agronomist, Terry Eddis (Elders), reports finding pasture webworm (Hednota spp.) attacking a mid-tillering wheat crop south of West Wyalong, in the South West Slopes district of New South Wales. The crop had been chewed off at or below ground level and Terry says damaged areas within the paddock ranged in size from 0.5m to 20m across. 1-2 caterpillars were found per wheat plant along the edges of the affected areas. The paddock was sown to wheat in 2006 and was fallow last season.
Pasture webworm commonly attack establishing crops of wheat, barley and rye. Larvae are usually light-dark brown in colour, growing to about 18 mm long. They have a smooth body and shiny dark heads. Pasture webworm feed at night and hide in web-lined tunnels beneath the ground by day. They typically feed on the soil surface or pull plant material into their tunnels. The adults are long-legged moths with enlarged mouthparts arranged in a beak-like projection. They are 10-12 mm long with a wingspan of about 22 mm.
Careful digging at the base of recently damaged plants may reveal web-lined tubes with caterpillars inside, or searching at night may reveal feeding activity. When monitoring, look for leaves protruding from tunnels in the soil. Crops sown into paddocks where fine, dry grasses were prevalent during autumn are most at risk. Due to the level of damage sustained, an application of alpha-cypermethrin (100mL/ha) was applied, which Terry says provided good control.
Click here for images of the pasture webworm and refer to PestFacts Issue No. 7 for more information.
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PestFacts south-eastern keeps growers and advisers informed about invertebrate pests and beneficials in broadacre crops and pastures during the winter-cropping season in Victoria and southern New South Wales.
PestFacts south-eastern is run through IPMforGrains: Best Practice Insect Pest Management, a project delivered by the National Pest Information Network (cesar, DPIRD, QDAF, NSW DPI, and SARDI). This project aims to provide grain growers and advisors with information on invertebrate grain pest occurrence and equip industry with the knowledge needed to implement integrated pest management practices. This initiative is a GRDC investment and includes in-kind contributions from all project partner organisations.
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