# Army worms in alfalfa



## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

In our area, almost everyone is fighting army worms in their well-fertilized bermudagrasses. I spent most of the last week trying to control them. Every day I would drive the fenceline around the alfalfa patch and noted no army worms. Finally, a couple of days ago, I began noticing a declining green coloration going to yellowish green in the interior of the alfalfa field. Today, I walked into the field and found the yellowish green coloration was because army worms had stripped the leaves off the alfalfa, leaving the stems. For some reason, the first 50 or so feet in from the fence didn't have army worms just yet and that's the reason I failed to catch the infestation. There goes the sixth cutting.

So today, the ass fell into the well and I had to get out the sprayer and kill the army worms on Sunday. Army worm moths were flying everywhere around the tractor as I sprayed. Hopefully, I killed all those suckers using Tombstone at about 4.5 oz per ac, a bit higher than the recommended rate. Maybe more leaves will grow and and still allow me to make a cutting before Oct. 1, the cut off date to allow the alfalfa to have six weeks growth before the average first frost date of Nov. 15th.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

That's unusual to have em start in the interior of the field , 90% of the time I find them in my BG they have seemed to have started on the edge and moved to the interior....so much so that I very rarely ride the interior of the field while scouting. Good luck, hope you get that final cut......any news on Mr. Wilson?


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Are Army Worms normally found in Alfalfa?

This has been our worst year in years for Army Worms in the Bermuda fields. We did have some eat Johnson Grass. Alfalfa is not common here. I suppose I thought Alfalfa was safe from them.

Hopefully you will get some leaf growth in time.


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

Tim/South said:


> Are Army Worms normally found in Alfalfa?
> This has been our worst year in years for Army Worms in the Bermuda fields. We did have some eat Johnson Grass. Alfalfa is not common here. I suppose I thought Alfalfa was safe from them.
> 
> Hopefully you will get some leaf growth in time.


 Yep, army worms like alfalfa as well. For the 3 years I have been growing alfalfa they have been a problem 2 out of 3 of the years. A few weeks ago I found them in my alfalfa and luckily they had just started feeding and the weather allowed me to start cutting the next day so they didn't do much damage. Seems they eat the bud out of the alfalfa and then start on the leaves.

They also got in a couple fields of teff grass and I didn't catch it soon enough and they pretty much at it down to the stem before I could spray or cut. Funny thing is like Vhaby said they started in the middle of the field and the outside 30-40 foot was hardly touched.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

FarmerCline said:


> They also got in a couple fields of teff grass and I didn't catch it soon enough and they pretty much at it down to the stem before I could spray or cut. Funny thing is like Vhaby said they started in the middle of the field and the outside 30-40 foot was hardly touched.


Maybe the have gotten 'smarter', I am thinking like weeds becoming RU resistant, knowing you guys are just scouting the edges. Hey, it's early yet, blame it on spending a lot of time in the tractors yesterday, trying to get the 4th cutting off.

Larry


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## wentworth6 (Jun 26, 2015)

Just finished spraying for them today

southwest Missouri

they are getting bad here in out alfalfa


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

Sprayed alfalfa remains clean of army worms and is attempting to put on leaves, but rains predicted days ahead are failing to materialize...now drought is delaying leaf output. May have to cut next week, regardless. Or, calves are scheduled for weaning by Oct. 2nd, so could turn them onto alfalfa. Really need more sm sq bales however.


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

Army worms are back in the bermudagrass hay field with a vengeance. The hay crew initiated cutting the grass today rather than spray 40 acres again. Will need to monitor the army worm population after completing this haying operation to determine the need to spray so that the grass has a chance to regrow for standing hay to graze this fall. Looks as though a freeze may be the only thing that will stop this army worm onslaught this season, and the average first frost date here is Nov. 15.

Army worm moths were numerous in the alfalfa that still had not put on sufficient leaf to warrant cutting and baling it, so it got sprayed again, this time with 3 oz Tombstone mixed with 2 oz Dimilin per acre for residual control.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Been spraying here as well, sprayed 140 ac last week....a tank mix of Bifenture and Dimillin...3oz respectively.


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## Apm1026 (Feb 11, 2012)

When you see moths , expect a hatch in 7-10 gays , and remember the pyrethroids are contact insecticides primarily , you might get 24-36 hrs activity after spraying if no rain or irrigation. So when I see all the moths I want to time spraying about 2 weeks after. What we need in the SE is a good wide spread rain event, that will slow them down


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