Recent Posts

  • Spider Mites

    As we approach harvest time of the 2014 Georgia peanut crop, we still need to be mindful of two spotted spider mites. This pest is present in many areas around the state and under hot, dry conditions populations can explode quickly. Peanuts with two or more weeks to go before digging are still at risk…

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  • Several folks have recently asked me about the compatibility of Comite II miticide and commonly used fungicides in peanut. I sprayed Comite II alone and in combination with several fungicides last Friday afternoon. The products were sprayed at a higher than labeled rate and in the hottest part of a very hot day to try…

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  • Last week Scott Carlson in Worth County and Eddie Beasley in Berrien County each put a light trap in non-irrigated peanut fields. Burrower bugs were collected at both locations on the first night the traps ran. Only limited research has been done on burrower bug in Georgia. It is not known if granular chlorpyrifos (i.e.…

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  • Peanut Burrower Bug

    I have received a couple reports of burrower bugs in peanuts in the last two weeks. Eddie Beasley in Berrien County brought some specimens to the lab last week that were tentatively identified as the peanut burrower bug, Pangaeus bilineatus. We have no way to know how widespread infestations are or if we will see…

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  • Quick Update

    We are approaching mid-August, and the insects and mites are staying with us. The two that concern me most continue to be lesser cornstalk borer (LCB) and two spotted spider mite. I have seen several spots in recent days where LCB populations are high enough to kill peanut plants. The pattern has been the same…

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  • Over the last several weeks there have been a lot of discussions in Georgia about using foliar insecticide applications to target lesser cornstalk borer (LCB). The major constraint to this approach is less about the efficacy of the insecticides than it is about our inability to get products to the pest. LCB larvae spend most…

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  • Spider mites have been reported on a number of crops including vegetables and cotton since this spring, and as conditions continue to be hot and dry in many locations, we are beginning to see populations jump in peanut. The two spotted spider mite is a challenging pest to control. It thrives in hot, dry conditions…

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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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