For Release July 10, 2001

AGRI-VIEWS
by Chuck Otte, Geary County Extension Agent

I really enjoy the natural world around us. I suppose I’d better given that it’s a big portion of my job! One of the reasons that I enjoy it so much is that it is so highly variable. No two years are alike and what happens this year, in regards to plant growth, insect, weed or other pest problems, is liable to be completely different than next year.

Sometimes this is hard for the homeowner, gardener, farmer or rancher to accept or adjust to. Two trees, of the same species, and the same size, planted at the same time just 25 feet apart, can grow and react very differently. It all comes down to the micro-climate immediately around each tree, and small genetic differences between the two. For comparison, just think about how your siblings are different from you.

This is a buggy year. That isn’t necessarily good or bad. It is simply a statement to say that we seem to have more insects this year. More different kinds of insects and larger numbers of certain insects. There’s old tales about the abundance of certain insects, or their behavior, indicating the weather to come. I don’t believe those tales. Insects react to what has been, and what is happening, in regards to plant growth and the weather.

The human species is very much in tune with the clock and the calendar. We went certain things to happen every year at the same time. If I need to spray for bagworm, I want to be able to do it on a certain date every year. Mother Nature scoffs at human calendars. She does things her own way and at her own time, sometimes in total defiance of what we think should be happening. So we learn to expect that we may have weed or insect or disease problems in a time frame other than what we might traditionally expect.

Last year, in the space of about five days, we had armyworms move into lawns and decimate them. Not a normal occurrence. Does it mean we’ll have a problem again this year? We had a lot of moths of that group of insects present this spring. A lot of moths this spring simply means we had a lot of caterpillars and they all turned into moths. It doesn’t mean that we are going to have a lot of caterpillars though. But it might, so it doesn’t hurt to keep an eye on things.

We have a little caterpillar called a garden webworm. It turns into a nondescript little moth. Garden webworms occasionally feed on garden plants, but we more often find them feeding on certain weeds. Rarely we’ll find them in soybean fields. I looked at a soybean field, in the southern part of the county, last week that was full of webworms. Half the field had been defoliated. Fortunately, the field can be sprayed and the beans should come back. But if I would have predicted possible problems in soybeans this spring, webworm would not have been on my list. Anything can happen and you have to be ever vigilant.

I spend a lot of time looking for crops, lawns, or plants that just don’t look right. Sometimes it’s the weather, other times it’s an insect problem or a disease. But it means taking the time to learn what looks right with each crop or plant so you know when it doesn’t look right. It’s an ongoing educational process for all of us. Farmers and ranchers need to make sure that they are looking at their crops and walking out in them, getting up close and personal with those crops. Homeowners need to do the same with their yards and gardens.

If something doesn’t look right, call me. It may be a normal occurrence that you aren’t familiar with. Or there may be something wrong. Something wrong that can be treated, or something wrong that we’ll just have to live with. Isn’t the endless variety of nature fascinating?

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