You Are Here: Management Updates 2008 Archive April 30, 2008

Date: April 30, 2008
Category: Insects
Subject: Annual Bluegrass (Hyperodes) Weevil

We were in Westchester County New York on Monday, 21 April, and the Forsythia were pretty close to peak blossom at that time. Then the week of high temperatures accelerated development and by the time we returned to Westchester County yesterday (28 April), most of the Forsythia were more green than gold and to top it off there was a dogwood in full bloom about 100 yards from the Forsythia. So ... things have been happening quickly. But now, of course, the weather is turning cooler again so who knows what will happen next?

From what I am seeing, most golf courses in Connecticut and areas south of there are already in the "window of opportunity" for targeting adult annual bluegrass weevils (ABWs). The traditional materials for that approach have been the pyrethroids or chlorpyrifos (Dursban™). Note that Dursban is only available for use on golf courses. However, indoxacarb (Provaunt™), a new product from DuPont is also being positioned for preventive applications and could be used in the same period of time. We don't know as much about Provaunt™ as a preventive product (there have not been as many field trials conducted), but certainly it has looked very promising against the larvae and looked quite good in some of the adult trials last year.

Many of you have reported seeing adults on the move several days (or even a few weeks) ago. That is normal. We often see adults moving on surface before Forsythia is at full bloom. Remember that you usually are better off waiting a little while after you first see the weevils ... in this case, the early bird sometimes misses the worm. So if your Forsythia is showing a fair amount of green or if your dogwoods are in full bloom, now would be a REALLY good time to act!

Submitted by: Dr. Pat Vittum

DISCLAIMER - As always, it is the responsibility of the applicator to verify the registration status of any pesticide BEFORE applying it. Different states have different regulations as well. The author and the University of Massachusetts are not liable for any consequences of any pesticide "recommendations". Mention of any trade name is not to be considered endorsement of a product.

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