The hot topic this week has been the Cotton Jassid. Multiple fields in the county are being treated for this pest, very few fields with damage are being observed though. 7 DAT data has been collected from the Appling County Cotton Jassid Insecticide Efficacy trial see that in Dr. Roberts update below. Dr. Roberts, Zack Williams, and I also put in a Cotton Jassid yield study this past week, this study has replicated treatments of Bidrin, Bifenthrin + Imidacloprid, and No treatment. These replicated treatments will be harvested to determine the yield loss by Cotton Jassid. Hoping for a rain this weekend.
Topics in This Newsletter:
- Cotton Jassid Update – 8/18/25 (Dr. Phillip Roberts, UGA Cotton Entomologist)
- Where are the caterpillars? (Dr. Mark Abney, UGA Peanut Entomologist)
- Finalizing Peanut Irrigation (Dr. Wes Porter, UGA Precision AG/Irrigation Specialist)
- Row Crop Disease Update (Dr. Bob Kemerait, UGA Plant Pathologist)
- Talkin’ Cotton Podcast – Dicamba Update (UGA Cotton Team)
- All About The Pod Podcast (UGA Peanut Team)
Cotton Jassid Update – 8/18/25 (Dr. Phillip Roberts, UGA Cotton Entomologist)
Where are the caterpillars? (Dr. Mark Abney, UGA Peanut Entomologist)
At the risk of jinxing the whole dang thing, the question I have gotten most in recent days from peanut farmers, county agents, and consultants has been, “Where are the caterpillars?” The short answer is that I don’t know where the caterpillars are. Caterpillar pressure has been lighter than average across most of Georgia in 2025. The most common species I am seeing in fields is the rednecked peanut worm, and it is not considered a major pest. As always, the best thing a grower can do is scout or pay someone to scout fields every week and treat only when thresholds are reached. Three reports of fields with caterpillars above threshold came in today. Is this the beginning of a larger trend? No one knows yet. There is no reason to apply an insecticide to a peanut field because there are supposed to be caterpillars there in mid-August. There are plenty of reasons to scout and base management decisions on the real-time pest pressure in the field. Every dollar we don’t have to spend killing insects is a dollar we get to keep in our pocket.
Potato leafhopper (PLH) and hopper burn continue to be topics of concern. Georgia has seen above average PLH populations in 2025. The impact of hopper burn on peanut yield is not known, and treating this insect with insecticides comes with some risk. Nearly all the active ingredients that have efficacy against PLH can flare spider mites. In addition, PLH is highly mobile and can move in and out of fields. The presence of hopper burn alone is not justification for an insecticide application because the injury will remain even after the insects are gone. There is no reason to apply an insecticide to a peanut field because PLH was there last week. I have very little data, but the data I have suggest that PLH feeding is not likely to cause yield loss. Still, if you have questions or concerns do not hesitate to contact your local UGA county Extension agent.
Finalizing Peanut Irrigation (Dr. Wes Porter, UGA Precision AG/Irrigation Specialist)
Here is the link to this weeks blog post: Finalizing Peanut Irrigation | Extension Precision Ag and Irrigation. I wrote one to stay in line with the end of season cotton irrigation work on end of season peanut irrigation. We are getting close in a lot of areas and hopefully this will help your farmers ensure they don’t lose yield by shorting water at the end of the season, but at the same time don’t waste money if they don’t need.
Row Crop Disease Update (Dr. Bob Kemerait, UGA Plant Pathologist)
Early and Late Leaf Spot of Peanut
First pic is from Scotty in Worth Co. Note profuse sporulation on top of leaflet. Early leaf spot. Not only am I seeing more abundant sporulation for early leaf spot, but it also seems some fields have “flipped” from late leaf spot. To be honest, until 2025 I was beginning to wonder if early leaf spot mattered anymore against late leaf spot. Clearly it does. Pic 2 is from Seth in Terrell Co where he found both early leaf spot (sporulation on top) and late leaf spot (sporulation on underside) on different leaflets of the same leaf.
Aggressive management of lea spot now. 1) tighten spray intervals to 10-12 days. 2) consider use of Provost Silver, Alto + chlorothalonil, or Provysol + teb, 3) once devolution reaches 25% or so, a fungicide won’t help much any more, once defoliation hits 60% digging should not be far behind.
Peanut Rust
peanut rust from near Gretna, FL near Georgia line. Grower had seen this but wasn’t too concerned. Then it blew up on him. Same fungicides as above and also azoxystrobin + tebuconazole should help. Weather now is perfect for leaf spot and rust. Don’t wait. Be aggressive. Tighten spray intervals.
Southern Blight of Soybean
soybeans following peanuts,. Southern blight (exact same disease as our white mold on peanuts). Rotating soybeans with peanuts hurts soybeans and hurts peanuts.
Talkin’ Cotton Podcast – Dicamba Update (UGA Cotton Team)
Many of you have been updated on the current proposed regulations with respect to dicamba and are currently working with growers to put together comments for the EPA. Below is a link to a special episode of the Talkin’ Cotton Podcast where Dr. Culpepper and I discuss the proposed restrictions and impact for growers in GA. Feel free to distribute as you see fit so growers know how important this is for the future of this tool.
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2350262/episodes/17693527
All About The Pod Podcast (UGA Peanut Team)
EPISODE 26, Season 3
In this episode, Scott Monfort, Mark Abney, Scott Tubbs, and Eric Prostko discussed maturity of the early planted crop along with current pest management situations across the state. If you have any questions or would like to suggest topics for discussion on a future episode, contact your local UGA Extension agent.