Pasture and Rangeland Insect Spraying
Product Details
Grasshoppers
Chemical Application
Insecticides are most effective when applied to grasshopper hatching areas while hoppers are in early nymphal stages. If populations are reduced to less than one grasshopper per square yard, control measures may not be needed for several years unless the area is reinfested through migration from other infested areas. Grasshoppers may be controlled by directly applying insecticides. The insecticides currently registered for use on rangeland are dimilin, malathion, and carbaryl (Sevin). Rates for these products are listed on the labels. If larger grasshoppers are targeted, the higher labeled rates should be used. Other insecticides are labeled for control of grasshoppers in forages, grasses, alfalfa, and other crops.
Barrier Treatment
Ranchers also may need to consider protection-spraying "barriers" around valuable forage production areas such as highly productive hay meadows or seeded crops such as alfalfa or annual forages. Protection-spraying may require continual surveys during the summer. As the vegetation on upland range sites matures or dries, grasshoppers will move into areas with succulent vegetation. Spraying at two- or three-week intervals may be necessary to protect these valuable forage resources.
Grasshoppers defoliate grasses by direct feeding on leaf and stem tissue and by cutting off leaves or stems and heads while feeding. High populations of grasshoppers on rangeland can damage plant crowns so severely that many grass plants will not recover. With the exception of the migratory grasshopper, rangeland grasshopper species rarely feed on crops, except during years of very high populations.
Understanding how grasses respond to defoliation is critical for grasshopper management on rangelands. Each year, rangeland vegetation is defoliated by livestock, wildlife, insects, hail and/or fire. Grasshoppers can rapidly remove a large percentage of the foliage. Root growth stops and nutrient uptake is reduced for several days when more than half of the green herbage is removed from grasses. Lengths of "shut-down" and "slow-down" periods in roots increase as severity and frequency of defoliation increase. Removing more than 65 percent of the green herbage one time during the growing season can reduce total root length by 30 percent or more. When grasses are severely defoliated over several years by any combination of processes, plants become weak and die. Grasses in excessively defoliated pastures are drought stressed even when precipitation is near average because reduced root length limits access to available soil moisture. Plants on shortgrass prairie are least likely to experience defoliation-induced drought because low infiltration rates limit the depth of soil moisture on these sites.
Chemical Application
Insecticides are most effective when applied to grasshopper hatching areas while hoppers are in early nymphal stages. If populations are reduced to less than one grasshopper per square yard, control measures may not be needed for several years unless the area is reinfested through migration from other infested areas. Grasshoppers may be controlled by directly applying insecticides. The insecticides currently registered for use on rangeland are dimilin, malathion, and carbaryl (Sevin). Rates for these products are listed on the labels. If larger grasshoppers are targeted, the higher labeled rates should be used. Other insecticides are labeled for control of grasshoppers in forages, grasses, alfalfa, and other crops.
Barrier Treatment
Ranchers also may need to consider protection-spraying "barriers" around valuable forage production areas such as highly productive hay meadows or seeded crops such as alfalfa or annual forages. Protection-spraying may require continual surveys during the summer. As the vegetation on upland range sites matures or dries, grasshoppers will move into areas with succulent vegetation. Spraying at two- or three-week intervals may be necessary to protect these valuable forage resources.
Grasshoppers defoliate grasses by direct feeding on leaf and stem tissue and by cutting off leaves or stems and heads while feeding. High populations of grasshoppers on rangeland can damage plant crowns so severely that many grass plants will not recover. With the exception of the migratory grasshopper, rangeland grasshopper species rarely feed on crops, except during years of very high populations.
Understanding how grasses respond to defoliation is critical for grasshopper management on rangelands. Each year, rangeland vegetation is defoliated by livestock, wildlife, insects, hail and/or fire. Grasshoppers can rapidly remove a large percentage of the foliage. Root growth stops and nutrient uptake is reduced for several days when more than half of the green herbage is removed from grasses. Lengths of "shut-down" and "slow-down" periods in roots increase as severity and frequency of defoliation increase. Removing more than 65 percent of the green herbage one time during the growing season can reduce total root length by 30 percent or more. When grasses are severely defoliated over several years by any combination of processes, plants become weak and die. Grasses in excessively defoliated pastures are drought stressed even when precipitation is near average because reduced root length limits access to available soil moisture. Plants on shortgrass prairie are least likely to experience defoliation-induced drought because low infiltration rates limit the depth of soil moisture on these sites.
Insecticides are most effective when applied to grasshopper hatching areas while hoppers are in early nymphal stages.
- Type:Sprayers
- Country:United States
- telephone:1-330-402-2388
| Type: | Sprayers |
