Caterpillars
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After thrips, foliage feeding caterpillars are the most often treated insect pest in Georgia peanut fields. While it is certainly not uncommon for caterpillar infestations to reach the economic threshold (the threshold ranges from 4 to 8 caterpillars per row foot depending on crop condition), not every peanut field in the state will need to…
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Velvetbean caterpillars (VBC) have become abundant in Georgia peanut fields over the last 10 days. Growers that do not have a scout or consultant should check their fields for infestations TODAY. Over the course of the last week I have seen fields stripped to bare stems and have heard of caterpillar counts up to 15…
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The July rain in South Georgia will reduce the severity of lesser cornstalk borer infestations in many fields and will at least buy us some time before spider mites become a serious concern. If the rain continues through the remainder of the season, we will likely not have to battle either of these pests over…
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June will bring a shift in insect concerns in peanut, and as usual, the weather will play a large role in determining what happens next. April and May insect questions were primarily about thrips, so I will give a short summary of the 2020 thrips situation. Thrips pressure in my trials was variable with some…
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It came as no surprise on Monday morning when the phone starting ringing with questions about foliage feeding caterpillars, lesser cornstalk borers and two spotted spider mites in peanut fields. Most of the foliage feeding caterpillars we are seeing now are velvetbean caterpillars (VBC). This species is generally easy to kill with insecticides, but left…
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Velvetbean caterpillars (VBC) have arrived in large numbers in some Georgia peanut fields over the past couple weeks. Peanuts that are 70 to 90 days after planting are likely to be at greatest risk for yield loss from defoliation; the risk is even greater in fields that are drought stressed. VBCs have voracious appetites and…
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It is always something…this week in the world of peanut entomology that something is cutworms. We see cutworm injury to peanut foliage every year in the month of June, and in most cases these infestations are nothing more than curiosities. This year scouts, agents, and growers are finding and reporting much higher than usual populations…
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Insect activity is beginning to pick up in some of our Georgia peanut fields, and now is a really good time for growers who may not have a consultant or scout to get out and walk the crop. I have seen a mixed bag of caterpillars in my research plots and in commercial fields this…
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Here is an entry I wrote last week and realized today that I never published it… Things have been relatively quiet in terms of insect pressure in most peanut fields so far in 2017, but that could change quickly. I have been getting reports of heavy caterpillar pressure in some areas of Florida, and agents…
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One of the last things a peanut grower wants to do is make an insecticide application in late September, and it is one of the last things that I want to recommend. We still have fields in Georgia with velvetbean caterpillar (VBC) infestations, and populations in some fields are high. The question that we get…