An important aspect of scouting is the accurate identification of pests. Lumping insects into the general category of worms or identifying weeds only as grasses is a mistake. Knowing precisely which insect, weed, or disease is in a field is important. Identifying diseases and weeds will also help when planning rotations and selecting varieties. Avoid the temptation to make pest control decisions for several fields based only on information from one or two fields.
Pest levels can vary greatly from one field to another, even though the fields appear similar.
Each field should be checked closely, or scouted, once a week. On each of these scouting trips, the grower should take samples, or stop at predetermined locations in the field and examine plants. The chart tells how many stops should be made, or samples taken, per field and how many plants should be examined per sample. Look for pests on both sides of the leaves of the five plants to be examined at each stop. Most pests will be found in the top half of the plant, but don't ignore the lower half.