Recent Posts
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The 2023 peanut growing season did not start out hot and dry, but nobody bothered to tell the lesser cornstalk borers (LCB). This pest is generally only a serious problem when temperatures are in the 90s and rainfall is scarce; nevertheless, LCB populations were reaching threshold levels in peanut fields all across Georgia by the…
Posted in: LCB -
We are at the point in the growing season where a lot of Georgia peanut fields are 25 to 35 days after planting. Though thrips pressure has not been particularly high in 2023, it doesn’t take many adults per plant to produce a damaging population of immatures on peanut. Thrips injury typically peaks around 28…
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Peanut planting time has arrived in Georgia, and that means thrips season is here as well. Many of the decisions a peanut grower makes at planting will affect the risk of thrips infestation and the risk of Tomato spotted wilt disease. By now, growers should have a plan for managing thrips and TSWV, but here…
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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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Regardless of whatever else has to be done on the farm in South Georgia over the next fourteen days, one thing that needs to happen is scouting peanut fields for lesser cornstalk borer (LCB). This insect is the most damaging pest of peanut in Georgia; it feeds on stems, pegs, and pods, and it will…
Posted in: LCB -
The value of at-plant insecticides for thrips management was readily apparent in UGA trials this week in Tifton. While untreated peanuts were getting hammered (picture on the left below), all of the in-furrow insecticide treatments we are evaluating were holding up pretty good (picture on the right below: phorate treated). Thrips injury generally peaks around…
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I will make this post as straight forward as I can. UGA research shows that for every 1% Tomato spotted wilt Virus (TSWV) incidence in GA-06G at the end of the season, peanuts lose 20 pounds of yield per acre. Most thrips management options and all TSWV management options end when the seed furrow closes.…
Posted in: Thrips -
The following is an except from a news release from EPA on 18 August 2021. The revocation of the tolerances for all commodities will be effective 6 months after the publication of the final rule in the Federal Register. “WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it will stop the use of the…
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There are two species of rootworm in Georgia peanut fields, the southern corn rootworm and the banded cucumber beetle. The immature or larval stage of both species feed on developing peanut pods and require moist soil conditions for survival. Rootworm infestations are typically found in fields with center pivot irrigation and heavier soil texture. With…
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Continued rainfall in Georgia is mostly good news for peanut growers from an insect management point of view (disease management is a different story, but Dr. Kemerait can tell that one). The most damaging pest of peanut in Georgia is the lesser cornstalk borer (LCB), and while it does not disappear when rainfall is plentiful,…
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