After two years of field and greenhouse studies, University of Arkansas entomologists say they feel confident about recommending against treating most fall army-worm infestations in rice. But they say they want onemore year of data before they update the university's economic thresholds and treatment recommendations."We don't need to get real excited in rice about fall army-worms," says Dr. Gus Lorenz, an Extension entomologist based in Lonoke. "There's very little long-term and yield-limiting damage that fall armyworms can cause. I can feel very comfortable based on two years (of research) that I can make a recommendation, 'don't spray unless you see something that's devastating.'"The exception is if fall armyworms — known scientifically as Spodoptera frugiperda — have eaten three- or four-leaf rice plants completely to the ground. Even then, Lorenz and fellow Extension entomologist Dr. Nick Bateman say, the yield loss was onlyabout 5 bushels per acre.
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