Over the last couple of weeks I have had numerous calls about caterpillar pest in young soybeans. Most of these have been concerning beans that are still in the vegetative stages (V2-V5). The species that are being found are bollworm, yellowstriped armyworm, green cloverworm, granulated cutworm, alfalfa caterpillar, cabbage looper, garden webworm, and yellowstriped armyworm.
Over the last few weeks we have received numerous calls about brown stink bugs in seedling corn in the Delta region of the state. Stink bugs attack corn by feeding through the stem or even down in the whorl of small corn plants. Typically the area where they feed becomes chlorotic due to enzymes in their saliva.
Calls are starting to come in about stink bugs in heading wheat. It is not uncommon to find numerous stink bugs in wheat after head emergence. Species attacking wheat are typically rice stink bug and brown stink bugs but greens can sometimes be found. While it may seem very alarming, keep in mind it takes extremely high numbers to cause economic damage to heading wheat.
Mississippi State University will be hosting 5 scout schools this year. We have transitioned over the years to make these trainings much more diverse than insect pest alone. This year we will be including insects, disease, fertility, weed identification, and herbicide systems. There will be numerous hands on displays of insects, weeds, nutrient deficiencies in all major row crops, and fertilizer characteristics. CEU’s Provided: Nutrient Management = 1.5, Integrated Pest Management = 3, Crop Management = 1
Although every major field crop we grow in Mississippi is responsive to at planting insect protection; field corn is perhaps the most consistent. Why is this?
The tarnished plant bug is the most important insect pest of cotton in the Mississippi Delta. Management with insecticides has become difficult in recent years and more tools are needed to economically manage this pest. Although it is early March and we are getting pair of unusual winter storms in the Delta, it is not too early to start making a plan for managing tarnished plant bugs in cotton. We have done a lot of research over the last several years with the goal of making tarnished plant bug management more economical for producers without sacrificing yield. See the attached document for more details on the best management practices listed below.
In 2014 a new pest of MS grain sorghum, Sugarcane aphid, made a dramatic entry infesting every county that grew the crop. This pest originally showed up in grain sorghum in Texas and Louisiana in 2013 with a single find very late in the season in Bolivar County, MS. By the end of 2014, this pest quickly spread throughout the entire southeast.
Its decision time in wheat. One of the questions we often get is “I am about to apply a herbicide, should I add a pyrethroid?” This is one of the few times I would have to say “Yes” to a question such as this. I think it makes sense to do so.
On February 5th 2015, Mississippi State University will host the third annual Future of Agriculture Graduate Student Competition. The competition will be open to M.S. and Ph.D. students working in production agriculture. Over the last several years, there has been a
Find attached the agenda for the 42nd Annual Delta Ag Expo to be held in Cleveland, MS on Wednesday, January 21 and Thursday, January 22, 2015. We hope to see you in attendance at the Bolivar County Ag Expo Center.
On February 5th 2015, Mississippi State University will host the third annual Future of Agriculture Graduate Student Competition. The competition will be open to M.S. and Ph.D. students working in production agriculture.
There has been a tremendous amount of scrutiny put on the neonicotinoid class of chemistry in recent years because of the potential link to declines in bee numbers. Researchers are working feverishly across the nation and the globe to determine the exact causes of bee decline. No doubt pesticides can and likely play a role to some degree, but there are many factors that also influence bee health such as habitat loss, Varroa mites, and diseases.
Soybean loopers are starting to show up in high numbers in many areas of the state. In many cases, soybeans are past the point where yield loss can occur, but there are many later planted soybeans that need to be protected for a while longer. Below are a few tips on when to treat and what to treat with.
We have had numerous calls over the last couple weeks about small, 2-5 day old larvae, under bloom tags in Bt cotton that is near, at, or beyond cutout. All of the research done to this point suggests that cotton is safe from bollworm damage when it reaches node above white flower 5 plus 300 heat units.
Bean leaf beetle numbers have been increasing steadily over the last couple weeks. We have actually made bean leaf beetle targeted sprays on a number of acres in recent days. Yield loss is caused by defoliation and less frequently by
We are quickly approaching that time of year where some of the earlier planted fields are turning color and others are approaching R6 vey quickly. Often times many of the insect pest we deal with “pile in” about this time and growers face the tough decision to treat when it may not pay back or try and race them to the end. We have devoted a lot of time and effort in recent years to evaluate and validate thresholds in soybeans under the current growing practices in Mississippi. Through these research efforts we have made several changes to insect thresholds and termination points for insect pest of soybeans in MS.
Over the last 7 days we have had numerous reports of high bollworm numbers in some BollGard II, TwinLink, and WideStrike fields in the Mississippi Delta. We have seen fields in the past that reach treatable levels but some reports are much higher than we have seen in recent years. At this time there does not appear to be any specific varieties that are adversely affected more than others. It appears to be a function of high pressure in isolated areas at this time.
White sugarcane aphid continues to be a serious problem in grain sorghum fields across Mississippi and the Mid-South. Because this is a brand new pest, there are many questions still unanswered. The Mid-South Entomology Working Group is frantically working on
White sugarcane aphid infestations are increasing across the state and more applications are going out to manage this pest. Over the last week to 10 days we have heard about numerous fields that have received a second application. Remember, that the Section 18 label for Transform states that no more than 2 applications can be made in a field.
We had a few calls over the last week about poor control of cotton aphid with Transform. In all of those cases, the field was actually sprayed for plant bugs with a 1.5 oz rate of Transform. That rate should be very effective on cotton aphid based on previous experience. As a result, we collected aphids from three different fields this week to test their susceptibility to Transform.
Over the past week we have had numerous opportunities to further observe spread and control of fields infested with white sugarcane aphids. We also have managed to get a couple of replicated small plot test out. Below are a couple bullet points based on recent experiences from walking numerous fields and talking to numerous folks around the state and Mid-South.
As more and more of the rice crop starts to head, it is time to start thinking about rice stink bug. We have been sweeping some grass around the Delta for the last few weeks, and the one general comment I will make is that populations have been fairly low in most areas. We have seen fairly high numbers in a couple places, but it was small patches of heading grass in isolated locations.
White sugarcane aphids (WSCA) have been blowing up quickly to treatable levels in several counties in Mississippi. Over the last few days here have been several field requiring treatments likely with more coming. Because this is a new pests for Mississippi, we have been following the lead of our colleagues in Texas and Louisiana who dealt with this in 2013. Below are some criteria that we put together based on what we know to date that will help in making a decision to treat WSCA.
Populations of the white sugarcane aphid are expanding and increasing across the state. We have confirmed the presence of white sugarcane aphid in grain sorghum in 7 counties in Mississippi (Fig 1) and there are likely more. The counties where white sugarcane aphids have been found include Bolivar, Washington, Humphreys, Quitman, Panola, Tunica and Oktibbeha.
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.
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