Introduc)on to Crop Scou)ng Rachael M. Cheverie
Crop Scouting for Organic Agriculture
Jul 16, 2015
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Introduc)on to CropScou)ng
Rachael M. Cheverie
• Using all available tools to manage pestseffec)vely, economically and in anenvironmentally sound manner
• Not only relying on chemicals but alsoincorpora)ng cultural and biological controlswhere applicable
• Not all bugs are ‘bad bugs’
What is Integrated Pest Management
• Gives you a snapshot of what’s going on in thefield at any given )me throughout the season
• Determine whether pest insects are reachingthresholds
• Determine if there are beneficial insects atwork
Crop Scou)ng
• Field mapping of weeds
• Check plants for signs of nutrient deficiency
• Disease symptoms
• Any other physiological disorders
Crop Scou)ng
• It’s OK to have ‘some’ pests – you want tocontrol only when the cost of the control isless than what you would lose in yield if youdidn’t control!
• ET = Cost of Control < yield lost if notcontrolled
• Thresholds for most of the economicallyimportant pests have already beenestablished
Economic Thresholds
• Clipboard/pencil– field map and datacollec)on sheets
• Smart phone/Tablet – pics with gps loca)ons?
• Sweep net and tray
• BoWles/ziploc bags for samples -‐ cooler
• Hand lens
• Sunscreen/bug spray/water
What you should have with you whenyou scout?
• Sandals – always wear boots or shoes(waterproof)
• Shorts – always wear long pants
• Sunglasses – can change the look of plants – ifwearing, consistently wear them… but a hatmay be beWer
‘What Not to Wear’ – the scou)ngedi)on
• Scou)ng should be done randomly – walk thefield in an X, Y, or W paWern… and change it upeach week!
• Start at a different end or side of the field eachweek so you get a good representa)ve samplesize
• How do you pick which plants to look at? Irandomly pick a number in my head from 1-‐20…take that many steps look down and check theclosest plant
Covering the field
Crop Scou)ng – field paWerns
• Depends on field size – you’d want at least 30plants/areas per field – based on a field size ofabout 5ac… if field is larger than that, I’d gowith an addi)onal 5 plants/areas per acre
• So a 10ac field – you are checking 55plants/areas
• 20 ac field – 105 plants/areas
How many plants to check?
• When looking for fungal diseases that needmoisture– generally a good idea to take a walkalong areas of field that may take longer todry– Shaded areas along hedgerows– Low lying areas that may have heavier dews
• Always be on the lookout for changes incolour could signify disease or nutrient issues.
Completely Random?
• Scou)ng sheets can contain all informa)onyou are looking for OR…
• You can just use columns to add numbers ofinsects/etc…
• Nice to have a field map – to shade in -‐ insectinfesta)ons and or weedy areas
What should you write down?
Plant# Cpbeggs
Cpblarvae
Cpbadults
Ecbeggs
Flea beetledamage
Disease Nutrientdeficiency
other
1-‐10
11-‐20
21-‐30
31-‐40
41-‐50
51-‐60
61-‐70
71-‐80
81-‐90
91-‐100
Field ID: Home farm #1 Date: June 12, 2014
Maintain a database – graph results
• Be able to iden)fy and quan)fy beneficialinsects
• Pollinators
• Predators
• Parasitoids
Beneficial Organisms
Pollinators
• Honey Bees
• Bumble Bees
• Na)ve Pollinators
Predators
Parasitoids
• Go back and look at product efficacy
• Look at )ming for when pest problems began
• Food safety programs require records toensure you were using best managementprac)ces
Review records at end of the year
• Talk to farmer – develop a system for knowingwhen a field has been sprayed!
• Plans change – if you see fresh tracks in thespray rows – don’t enter un)l you find outwhat has been applied
• Know the re-‐entry )mes of the products youare working with – if you cant find it on a label– err on side of cau)on and wait 24 hours!
Pes)cide Safety – Re-‐entry )mes
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