Degree Days, Phenology Models, and Insects May 10, 2002 By now you are used to our reliance on accumulation of degree-days (or heat units) to predict the development or first occurrences of several important species of insect pests in field crops in Illinois. If you are interested in learning more about degree-days and phenology models (the models used to predict time of events in an organism's development), I encourage you to visit the following Web site, created by the University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Project: http://axp.ipm.ucdavis.edu/ PHENOLOGY/models.html. In addition to excellent explanations of degree-days and phenology models, this Web site includes a huge amount of information on the use of these tools for management of many insect pests, as well as some other pests, some beneficial insects and mites, and crops. Although not all of this information relates specifically to Illinois crops, their overall treatment of the topic is excellent and worth a look. We hope to develop something similar for Illinois insect pests in the near future.--Kevin Steffey Author: Kevin Steffey

The Pest Management and Crop Development Bulletin
Executive Editor: Kevin Steffey, Extension Entomologist

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