GREAT FALLS – Montana State University researchers may have come up with a solution to a $100-million-a-year problem for the state’s wheat farmers. Researchers report they’ve identified an insecticide to kill wheat stem sawfly, which is Montana’s No. 1 small grain insect pest.
The wasplike insect destroys $75 million to $100 million worth of Montana grain annually and causes $350 million in losses across the Northern Great Plains.
Thimet 20-G, an insecticide once considered for sawfly control, was abandoned after poor results. But new research has shown the granular insecticide is successful if tilled between grain rows after the wheat has come up.
On Kurt Kammerzell’s Chester farm, Thimet-treated test plots have been sawfly-free for three years.
“Where I put it, you could line it,” Kammerzell said. “Where I didn’t put it, the wheat was falling over. Where I did, it was standing up green.”
Other farmers were cautiously optimistic.
“I think it could be a pretty big deal, though I haven’t really read up on it yet,” said Charlie Bumgarner, a Lewistown-area farmer and Montana Grain Growers Association president.
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From the MSU Ag Alerts: Thimet 20-G® for Wheat Stem Sawfly Management
Source: The Spokesman-Review
