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…
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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…
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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….
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As I drive across the state I see areas that have obviously received decent rainfall over the past month. On the other hand, there has been no measurable rain at my house in four weeks, and I am not the only one. It is DRY, and it is no secret…
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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…
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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…
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Over the years several folks have asked why there is a difference in the recommended rate of acephate for cotton (3 oz/acre) and peanut (6-12 oz/acre). I applied acephate (97) at 3, 6, or 12 oz/acre to peanut on 10 May (16 days after planting). The pictures below were taken…
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Trap captures of adult tobacco thrips increased right on schedule last week at four of our six monitoring locations. The NCSU thrips model predicts peak dispersal will occur around 15 May in the Tifton, area. Thrips dispersal will not end all at once following the peak, and growers should be…
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Peanuts are being planted, tobacco thrips are moving, and there is nothing unusual about either of those things this time of year in Georgia. Our thrips traps are picking up numbers that I would describe as typical for late April. Growers should remember that peanuts planted prior to 10 May…
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Every spring I post an article on this blog about early season thrips management in peanut. The most important difference between 2019 and the previous five years is probably the economic situation of Georgia’s farmers after hurricane Michael and the almost continuous rain that fell though the 2018 harvest season….
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