By now most folks have heard of Kudzu bugs. In fact, we have now confirmed them in 52 counties in Mississippi. Kudzu bugs, Megacopta cribraria, was first found in Georgia in 2009. Since that time it has spread rapidly across the southeast kudzu bug map 7_8and is now moving west in to Mid-southern states. It was first found in Mississippi in 2012 and now covers most of the state.
Tarnished plant bug numbers have actually started off at low to moderate levels this year in the Delta region but just in the last few days numbers seem to be picking up pretty good in a few locations and square
In 2013 a new aphid pest called the White Sugarcane Aphid, Melanaphis sacchari, was detected in grain sorghum in 38 counties in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and one county in Mississippi. This species has apparently been around for years but the hosts switch to grain sorghum appears to be new. This pest can be devastating to grain sorghum if populations reach high densities. In fact, some fields have seen 100% yield loss. Another major factor is this aphid is difficult to control with currently labeled products.
Square retention is a critical component of early season plant bug management. I would strongly encourage you to take square retention counts along with your sweep net counts prior to bloom. Not only does this help in the decision making process of treating plant bugs, but it also helps you to get a better idea of how the products you are applying are working. Numbers alone can be deceiving when adults are steady moving into the field. When large numbers of adults are migrating into a field it is not uncommon to have as many or more plant bugs 4-5 days after a spray than you did before you sprayed and it still would not equate to a control failure.
There are several caterpillar pests that commonly infest field corn in Mississippi. These include corn earworm, fall armyworm, and southwestern corn borer.
I have had numerous calls recently on green stink bugs in beans that are either vegetative or at R1-R2 stage with no pods. Numbers have ranged from 4-5 to 8-12 per 25 sweeps depending on the field. It is not uncommon to have a field or two on occasion to have threshold numbers of stink bugs before soybeans put on pods, but the number of fields this year being reported is certainly unusual.
The tarnished plant bug calls have started to come in on small cotton already. In some cases, consultants and growers are finding nymphs on very young cotton with only 1-2 squares. Similarly, some are reporting plant bug flagged terminals in pre-square cotton. We rarely have to spray pre-square cotton for plant bugs, but our threshold is 1 flagged plant per 10 row feet with bugs present. Although tarnished plant bugs are our most important and most consistent pest of cotton in the Delta, we usually don’t start finding nymphs until closer to first flower.
Over the last few days I have started getting calls about fall armyworms showing up in soybeans. We see some of this every year, and it is primarily related to larvae moving off of a grass host after a Roundup application
Every year at some point during the season we seem to hit a rainy spell where it seems to rain at some point every day and we have showers widely scattered across the state. It started raining last Wednesday and we have had some rain everyday since then and it is currently raining in Stoneville right now (Monday morning). With that, the questions start about how long you need to spray before a rain to get acceptable control.
We have been getting a lot of questions the last 7 to 10 days about potential injury or problems associated with mixing thrips insecticides with POST herbicides over cotton. This will no doubt be controversial, but we are going to lay it out like we would if you called.
I have had several folks asking if there is a time when thrips should be treated in soybeans. Ordinarily thrips are not a problem in soybeans. Cotton and soybeans are completely different when it comes to how the plant can tolerate thrips. Soybeans are not nearly as sensitive to thrips as cotton and therefore can tolerate high numbers of thrips without yield loss.
I have gotten numerous calls about slugs this year in all crops but lately in cotton and soybean. Slug problems usually start on corn then soybeans then cotton in our area. This is only because we typically plant in this order. We have had isolated problems with slugs since 2004, some years worse than others.
Many of you have heard us talk about the declining efficacy of seed treatments against thrips throughout the winter meeting circuit. We started seeing the first signs of inadequate control about 4 years ago and the problem has seemed to get worse every year. Last year, most of the cotton in Mississippi was sprayed for thrips at least one time and many fields were sprayed multiple times, even behind a seed treatment. Until now, thiamethoxam (Cruiser, Avicta, or Acceleron N) has been impacted more than imidacloprid (Gaucho, Aeris, or Acceleron FI).
The soybean crop ranges from still in the bag to around V5 stage on average across Mississippi. Over the last 10 days I have received numerous calls (mostly from Delta region) about bollworms attacking vegetative stage soybeans. Arkansas has also reported high numbers of bollworms in soybeans. In fact, AR has some fields where bollworms are infesting emerging soybeans in the crook stage and eating them to the ground where vegetation was present during planting.
Over the last few days I have had several reports of true armyworms showing up in wheat. Most of the calls I have received so far have been numerous worms at the ground level starting to defoliate up the plant but head clipping has been very minimal. Once wheat reaches the dough stage it is very difficult to show any yield benefits from treating armyworms in the absence of head clipping simply from defoliation. However, we have numerous fields that are still in the milk stage and susceptible.
The dates for the 2014 Scout Schools have now been set. We will be providing detailed information on identification, biology, thresholds, and management of the major insect and disease pest of Mississippi row crops. These trainings can also be used to renew your insect and disease consultants license and CEU’s for Certified Crop Advisors will be provided at each. The meetings will also serve as In-Service training opportunities for MSU-ES agents as well. These trainings are great for the experienced and the inexperienced.
We have had several calls in recent days as news gets out about the EPA’s recent label changes for neonicotinoid insecticides. The intent is to offer greater protection for pollinators in and around crops where this class of insecticides may be applied. Basically, the new language forbids the use of these products while bees are foraging and until flowering is complete and all petals have fallen off the plants. There are a few exceptions if certain criteria are met.
Although very little, if any, cotton has been planted in the Delta, it is not too early to start thinking about managing tarnished plant bugs.
Recently several groups in Mississippi came together and developed then adopted a set of Cooperative Standards for row crop farmers and beekeepers in an effort to increase awareness of pollinator’s and create an environment where each could coexist while minimizing any
I have gotten numerous question about calibration of in-furrow rigs this year, so I am republishing an article I put up in the past that breaks calibrating pesticides down to a very easy understandable level. Proper calibration can mean the difference in control or failure of a product against the targeted pests and potentially thousands of dollars of savings to the grower.
The 62nd annual Mid-South Farm & Gin Show will be held February 28 – March 1, 2014 at the Cook Convention Center in Memphis, TN. More than 400 exhibitors from more than 40 states will be on-hand showcasing the latest
Over the last several years we have seen a consistent response in wheat yield when a pyrethroid was used during the late winter months (late January-February). Often when this application goes out it is very difficult to find aphids at
Over the last several years there has been a media blitz surrounding the decline in honey bee populations around the globe. It seems like the science changes daily as to cause of the problem. Most believe it is a complex
Attached please find the agenda for the Delta Ag Expo in Cleveland, MS. Make careful note that the dates of the meeting have changed from previous years due to a minor scheduling conflict with the Bolivar County Exposition Center.
Since 2011 we have seen a decline in efficacy of thiamethoxam treated cotton seed against tobacco thrips. This has led to the increase of foliar applications in mid-south cotton acres. Recently Syngenta has confirmed that populations in the mid-south region
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