Caterpillars
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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…
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There are plenty of insects in Georgia peanut fields this week, but infestation levels vary significantly from field to field. The most common worm pests I am seeing continue to be soybean loopers (SBL) and velvet bean caterpillars (VBC). The VBCs have been very easy to kill in our UGA trials, and I have heard…
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“What are you seeing?” is a question I have been getting and giving quite a bit the last couple weeks. The answer is a mixed bag of insects and a lot of variation in the level of pressure from field to field. We have seen three cornered alfalfa hopper (TCAH) numbers increase over the last…
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We currently have a diverse mix of foliage feeding caterpillars in GA peanut fields. Right now, the heliothines (tobacco budworm and corn earworm) are most common, but beet armyworm, fall armyworm, soybean looper, cutworms, and even some velvet bean caterpillars have been reported. Several species are commonly found in the same field. Fields where granular…
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Folks who have ventured into a peanut field in recent weeks may have seen something similar to the picture posted below. The white mass is a cluster of pupal cases (cocoons) of a parasitic wasp. The tiny wasp lays its eggs in a caterpillar, the eggs hatch, and the wasp larvae feed on the still…
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Lesser cornstalk borer (LCB) is probably the most serious pest of peanut in Georgia, and we are seeing quite a bit of LCB activity. This pest thrives in hot, dry conditions and light sandy soils…something we have plenty of in South GA right now. Fields need to be scouted to determine if LCB is present.
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There is some insect activity in GA peanut fields this week, and growers need to be watching