Page 10 2025 Logan County Spring Outlook LINCOLN DAILY NEWS March 2025 Pondering the Impacts of our Very Cold Winter on 2025 Pest Control The winter of 2024-2025 has been marked by exceptionally cold temperatures across Illinois, with multiple Arctic blasts leading to significant drops in temperature. In January 2025, more than 30 states, including Illinois, were affected by a weaker and wavier polar jet that allowed for periodic Arctic intrusions. That resulted in temperatures plummeting to levels not seen in years. Air temperatures in central Illinois as cold as -10 degrees Fahrenheit on a couple of occasions, coupled with wind chills as low as -25 degrees Fahrenheit, created dangerously cold conditions. Cold Weather Advisories were issued for all of central Illinois on a couple of occasions. Looking at the Lincoln climatological summary for January from the National Weather Service in Lincoln, there were 19 days in January that were below normal, with 12 of those being double digits below normal. Due to limited snow cover during the Arctic blasts, a frost depth of 10 to 12 inches was able to develop for many locations across central Illinois. That is around 6 to 8 inches deeper than normal. That frost depth also lasted for several weeks, helping to have more impact on pests that typically winter in the surface soils. Such prolonged extreme cold conditions can have profound effects on agricultural pests and pathogens, potentially influencing the upcoming 2025 growing season in Illinois. While some pests may be adversely affected by the harsh winter conditions, others may remain resilient, and the overall impact on pest populations can vary. Impact on Insect Pests A deep frost depth in central Illinois during winter can significantly reduce the population of ground insect pests and pathogens in the spring by killing off a large portion of their overwintering stages, especially if there is little snow cover to insulate the soil, leading to a lower pest pressure when warmer weather arrives; essentially acting as a natural pest control mechanism by exposing them to extreme cold temperatures below the frost line. Some agricultural insect pests have developed various strategies to survive harsh winter conditions, such as entering diapause—a state of suspended development—or seeking shelter in protected environments. However, extreme cold can still affect their survival rates. For instance, pests that are not well-adapted to Continued --
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