Corn Commodity Survey: 2011 - 2016

Kentucky ranks 14th in the nation in corn production with corn produced in every one of Kentucky's 120 counties.  Western Kentucky has the largest portion of corn-producing acreage in the state.  As Kentucky's 2nd largest cash crop, the corn crop in 2008 was valued at $617 million and Kentucky corn growers produced their largest corn crop in history in 2009 with 190 million bushels produced (www.kycorn.org).  The value of the corn crop in Kentucky has been greater than that of hay or tobacco for the last 3 years.  As such a valuable commodity, it is important to safeguard this industry from potentially damaging pests by conducting surveys that will allow for early detection and eradication.

Old World Bollworm

Old World Bollworm

2011 was the first year of the Corn Commodity Survey.  We surveyed 12 corn fields:  8 in western Kentucky and 4 in eastern Kentucky.  We designed a trapping program that targeted five moth pests:  Old World Bollworm, Silver-Y Moth, Egyptian Cotton Leafworm, False Codling Moth, and Asian Corn Borer.  The traps were in the corn fields from May to September/October 2011.  We continued the corn survey in 2012 targeting the same five moth pests in 15 corn fields. In 2013 and 2014, 15 fields in western Kentucky were surveyed for the five moth pests listed above plus Cotton Cutworm.  In 2015 we replaced Asian Corn Borer with Asiatic Rice Borer as a target pest.

Egyptian Cotton Leafworm

Egyptian Cotton Leafworm

2011

  • Number of Fields Surveyed:  12
  • Counties Surveyed:  Caldwell, Crittenden, Daviess, Graves, Greenup, Marshall, Ohio, Trigg, Union
  • Number of Target Moth Pests Captured:  0

2012

  • Number of Fields Surveyed:  15
  • Counties Surveyed:  Caldwell, Carter, Daviess, Greenup, Henderson, Hopkins, Lewis, McLean, Union, Webster
  • Number of Target Moth Pests Captured:  0

2013

  • Number of Fields Surveyed:  15
  • Counties Surveyed:  Caldwell, Christian, Crittenden, Daviess, Henderson, Hopkins, Livingston, Lyon, McLean, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Union, Webster
  • Number of Target Moth Pests Captured:  0

2014

  • Number of Fields Surveyed:  15
  • Counties Surveyed:  Caldwell, Calloway, Crittenden, Daviess, Greenup, Henderson, Hopkins, Lyon, Marshall, McLean, Union, Webster
  • Number of Target Moth Pests Captured:  0

2015

  • Number of Fields Surveyed:  15
  • Counties Surveyed:  Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Daviess, Graves, Henderson, Hickman, Hopkins, Lyon, Marshall, McLean, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Union, Webster
  • Number of Target Moth Pests Captured:  0

2016

  • Number of Fields Surveyed:  15
  • Counties Surveyed:  Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Daviess, Graves, Henderson, Hickman, Hopkins, Lyon, Marshall, McLean, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Union, Webster
  • Number of Target Moth Pests Captured:  0

Silver Y Moth

Silver Y Moth

False Codling Moth

False Codling Moth

Corn Commodity Survey 2012

Corn Commodity Survey 2013