LCB
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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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Lesser cornstalk borer (LCB) is the most destructive insect pest of peanut in the Southeast, and it thrives in hot, dry conditions. It doesn’t get a whole lot hotter or drier in South Georgia than it has been the last couple weeks, and reports of LCB infestations in peanuts have predictably started to arrive. What…
Posted in: LCB -
I have been getting scattered reports of lesser cornstalk borer (LCB) in Georgia peanuts for several weeks now. The very dry conditions that we experienced to start the season were perfect for LCB survival, and they showed up early enough in the year to cause me no small amount of concern. The recent rain that…
Posted in: LCB -
Research tells us that peanuts planted in Georgia from this point forward should be at reduced risk of thrips infestation and Tomato Spotted Wilt infection. Nevertheless, we continue to catch adult tobacco thrips which means they are still moving around and can infest peanut fields as the crop emerges. My April planted thrips trials currently…
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There continue to be lesser cornstalk borers (LCB) in Georgia peanut fields, and I do not see any reason that should change over the next few weeks. Interestingly, most of the heavy pressure has not been in the Southwest but in the middle and eastern portions of South GA. I expect that some of the…
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I mentioned last week that we were getting some reports of lesser cornstalk borer (LCB) in peanut, and that hot, dry conditions could result in more pressure. Over the last three days I have received a number of calls and emails from agents, growers, and consultants indicating that LCB is becoming more prevalent in peanut…
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There has been no rain in Tift County this week, and as I walked my plots and a commercial field this morning I saw a few lesser cornstalk borer larvae in the sandy parts of non-irrigated fields. High temperatures combined with dry conditions favor three of the most troublesome arthropod pests of peanut: lesser cornstalk…
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Thrips numbers on our traps have mostly been trending downward since 18 May. This pattern is typical of what we have seen in Georgia over the last few years. Many if not most of our peanut acres are getting to the point at which thrips injury is no longer a concern. Though the larger “thrips…
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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…