07/10/07 More on the Haanchen Barley Mealybug

Farm and Ranch July 10, 2007 It may be called the Haanchen barley mealybug but this insect is likely to become more of a problem not only for barley in the region but other cereal crops as well. After a seemingly 40-50 year absence in the U.S. the pest was found in dryland barley in eastern Idaho in 2003 and now in 2007 in northern Idaho. University of Idaho entomologist Ed Bechinski explains what the mealybug does to the plant. Bechinski: "Sucks sap and that doesn't seem to be the main damage the insect causes. It seems as it feeds and injects the plant with its saliva and then the plant responds by getting yellow and spotted and then just keels over to the ground." And the Haanchen barley mealybug can cause problems for more than plants. Bechinski: "And honeydew is just the liquid, sticky feces of this insect. And it secretes so much it will gum up combines at harvest time." Bechinski says there are currently no insecticides specifically registered for this mealybug but the EPA does allow pesticide use against pests not listed on the label so long as the crop is listed. His database search found only four active ingredients that legally could be used in barley as foliar sprays; they are for aphids in barley so they might be effective against mealybugs. They were Thionex, malathion, Penncap-M and Lannate L V. There are a few more choices for wheat. Looking ahead Bechinski says seed treatments like Cruiser, Gaucho or Draxall can be used but it must be at the full season rate. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.