There is quite a bit of activity around Worth County this week with cotton and peanut planting occurring in many fields. Thrips are an early season pest that can injure cotton and peanuts. The Thrips Infestation Predictor is a tool that can help growers see the relative risk of thrips injury in a given location and for selected planting date(s). Historically thrips infestations tend to be greater on April and early May planted cotton. Growers can access the Thrips Infestation Predictor at the following link:
https://climate.ncsu.edu/CottonTIP
Chart for thrips risk on April 23, 2019 near Sylvester – 2019 April 23
Dr. Phillip Roberts, UGA Cotton Entomologist, also has an informative article from the Georgia Cotton News website, “What’s Your Risk for Thrips?“.
For more information or assistance, contact the Worth County Extension Office at 229-776-8216 and speak with one of the county agents.