Though thrips numbers on our traps were never high, there were two distinct peaks: one in early April and another in mid-May. Numbers remained above above 0 at all sample locations for a couple weeks after the May peak, but they fell off this week. We saw plenty of peanut fields in May and on into this week with moderate to severe thrips injury. There are still some adult Tobacco thrips moving around out there, and there are certainly populations present in a good number of peanut fields. A question I have gotten several times is whether peanuts going into the ground in the next few days will experience any significant thrips pressure. There is no way to know for certain, and every location is different, but I think generally we are past any major thrips dispersal. If growers decide to plant without any at-plant insecticide they should still watch fields closely after emergence even though the risk of heavy infestations has decreased.

I rated our thrips trials in Tift County today. As expected, plots are beginning to grow out of the thrips damage and most newly emerging terminals are free of thrips injury. We have gotten some much needed rainfall on most of our trials over the last 10 days.Thrips Graph 6-5-15

These data are being provided for informational purposes only and may not be representative of thrips dispersal at your location. Peanut fields should be scouted regularly to quantify actual thrips populations.

If you have questions about thrips or thrips management please contact your local county Extension agent.

 

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