Recent Posts

  • Peanut seed are going in the ground in Georgia, and that means thrips and thrips management questions are coming. The following is an updated version of the thrips management summary for 2016. This list is not all inclusive, but it provides information about some of the more popular management practices.

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  • Last week I wrote a short paragraph about garden fleahopper. The phone rang a few more times this week with folks telling me about seeing high numbers of this insect in peanut. I went to one of our research trials Wednesday and took some pictures of the insect and the damage for those who may…

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  • The last ten days have brought several calls from agents and consultants about spider mites showing up in peanut. It is not uncommon to see mites in peanut fields this time of year, and it would not be uncommon for low level mite infestations to fizzle out on their own. My advice last week was…

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  • Peanut Insect Update

    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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  • Mid July update

    As I ride around South Georgia visiting research plots, I am seeing areas that have had good rainfall recently and some areas that are quickly getting dry. Insect pressure is variable around the state right now. We are getting some reports of potato leaf hopper and foliage feeding caterpillars. I visited a field this morning…

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  • Lesser cornstalk borer (LCB) is one of the most damaging and difficult to control pests in peanut. This insect is very fresh on the minds of many growers after a season of widespread heavy infestations in 2014. LCB is a sporadic pest in much of GA, and while outbreak populations in back to back years…

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  • Potato Leafhopper

    As I walked through my test plots and a few commercial peanut fields this week I noticed that we are starting to see some potato leafhoppers and very early hopper burn. UGA Extension agent Rome Ethredge in Decatur County also mentioned that there was some heavy leafhopper pressure in at least one field in southwest…

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  • Though thrips numbers on our traps were never high, there were two distinct peaks: one in early April and another in mid-May. Numbers remained above above 0 at all sample locations for a couple weeks after the May peak, but they fell off this week. We saw plenty of peanut fields in May and on…

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  • Threecornered alfalfa hopper (TCAH) is commonly seen in Georgia peanut fields each year. This insect is highly mobile as an adult, and large numbers can very quickly move into and out of a field. The adults are easily identified by their triangular shape and bright green coloration, and they will flush up from the foliage…

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