The number of armyworm moths trapped in Sacramento Valley rice fields continues to grow.

Here’s the latest update from University of California Cooperative Extension Rice Farm Advisor, Luis Espino:

Week of June 15

On average, we are getting 20 moths/day in the traps. This is double what we were getting last week.

We found the first worms in the four fields we are monitoring. On average, we found 2 very small worms per field, a little smaller than half an inch (see the picture below). Head capsule measures indicate that worms range from second to fourth instar, but they are mostly third instar. It took three persons searching for 30 minutes in each field to find these worms. This shows you how difficult they are to find at this point.

The degree day model predicts that these worms should reach the 5th instar starting in June 22. This would be a good time to increase monitoring of fields. 

For more information, click on the link below for the Armyworm Monitoring Website.

http://rice.ucanr.edu/armyworm_traps/

Meanwhile, there’s a new member of the UC Weedy Rice Team: Troy Clark. Here’s more from the Cooperative Extension e-newsletter:

Troy Clark will be working with us this summer visiting fields where weedy rice is known to occur. He will update the extent of the infestation, collect samples, and pull out as many weedy rice plants as possible. Troy is a graduate of CSU Chico where he obtained a degree in Land Resource Management. He has rice experience and is eager to contribute to the weedy rice team.