No-Till: Making It Work
Insect Management

No-till crops are susceptible to the same number of pests - insects, slugs, and nematodes - as conventional crops. However, with the slightly different "habitat" found in no-till, some types do better and others do not fare as well. General control methods are similar to any other cropping system. The difference is that with no-till, the pests may differ from those you're used to dealing with.

Living and dead vegetative cover creates sheltered, cooler and slightly wetter environments above and below ground for pests. Delayed emergence under these conditions may increase the risk of pest attack.

For example, cutworms and armyworms have life cycles that depend on pre-crop vegetation.

The same habitat conditions that attract pests also attract beneficial insects (e.g. wheat residue attracts beneficial spiders).

The increased diversity of animal life attracted to no-till fields also helps to keep populations of any one species in control.

For many pests, the best control method is to keep your fields as weed-free as possible.

Best Management Practices (Sample chart only)

European corn borer

Description

Larvae are whitish in colour with dark brown or black heads and black or brown spots in rows down their backs. Moths are cream-coloured and active at night

Damage Caused

Newly hatched larvae feed on developing leaves in the whorls before tunnelling into the plant to feed on the tassel, stalk or ear shank. Plant becomes susceptible to stalk rots and lodging.

Conditions Preferred

Full-grown larvae overwinter inside the base of corn stalks. In the spring, they form cocoons and emerge as adult moths in early June.

Best Management Practices and Tips

Chemical control measures are rarely justified in field corn. Select hybrids with good standability. New hybrids with built-in Bt resistance to corn borer are now available in Canada. Bt is Bacillus thuringiensis, a bacterial control effective against corn borer. Area-wide stalk chopping may help to reduce corn borer populations, but will only be successful if most growers participate.

Spider Mites

Description

Tiny round eight-legged arthropods that are white, green or red in colour with dark spots on either sides of their bodies.

Damage Caused

In soybeans, mites suck plant juices from the undersides of leaves, giving plants a sand-blasted look. Fine silky threads are spun on leaf undersides. In heavy infestations, leaves turn yellow, then brown and die.

Conditions Preferred

Most numerous during hot, dry periods. Drought conditions will drive them from fencerows, too. Mites can thrive in green vegetative crops or cover crops and move onto young bean plants after spring burndown. High winds will spread them across fields.

Best Management Practices and Tips

Four or five mites per leaf or one severely damaged leaf per plant can cause yield depression. Can spot apply insecticide to prevent spreading to rest of field.

Available in Published Version of No-till

• Best Management Practices for Management of Common Insects - chart
• Best Management Practices for Management of Non-Insect Pests - chart
  
  

| Introduction | Soil Management | Residue Management | Planting Equipment | Weed Control |
| Insect Management | Disease Management | Nutrient Management | Crop Rotation | Cover Crops |
| Varietal Selection | Case Studies | Table of Contents |

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