Thrips Injury and Acephate Rates for Peanut – Worth County Extension
Please read below from the UGA Peanut Entomology Blog on Thrips Injury and Acephate Rate in peanut. You can subscribe to this blog for updates here: https://site.extension.uga.edu/peanutent/
Over the years several folks have asked why there is a difference in the recommended rate of acephate for cotton (3 oz/acre) and peanut (6-12 oz/acre). I applied acephate (97) at 3, 6, or 12 oz/acre to peanut on 10 May (16 days after planting). The pictures below were taken on 21 May. A = untreated check, B = 3 oz acephate/acre, C = 6 oz acephate/acre, and D = 12 oz acephate/acre. The pictures may not be great, but it should be apparent that 3 oz/acre is not adequate for thrips management in peanut.
The number of dispersing adult thrips collected on yellow sticky traps declined last week. This should result in reduced risk of injury for peanut seedlings emerging in the coming weeks. We have been planting peanuts with no in-furrow insecticide each week since 24 April to examine the relationship between observed thrips injury and trap capture. The pictures below show untreated peanut seedlings planted on: A = 24 April, B = 1 May, C = 8 May. The difference in accumulated thrips in the early planted peanuts is dramatic. Adult thrips are present in the 8 May planted peanut, and we will track the progression of injury over the coming weeks. We will also continue to plant each week until June.