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Posts From Don Cook, Entomologist

Managing Insect Pest in Mississippi Grain Sorghum Updated

🕔10:06, 9.Jul 2013

Mississippi traditionally does not plant a lot of grain sorghum compared to some states but the acres we plant (42K according to USDA, 2013) have to be scouted and managed for insect pest at least weekly. Grain sorghum in Mississippi can have significant insect issues in some years, especially on late plantings.

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Rice Stink Bug Update for the Week of June 28 Updated

🕔15:01, 28.Jun 2013

I know it is a little early in the year, and very little if any rice is heading at this time. However, it is not too early to start thinking about rice stink bugs.

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How will rainfall impact seed treatments in soybeans, rice, cotton, and other crops?

How will rainfall impact seed treatments in soybeans, rice, cotton, and other crops? Updated

🕔19:54, 24.May 2013

With all of the rainfall that we have had around most of the state, there have been a lot of questions about the impact on seed treatments. In general, most of the seed treatments that are being used in all crops are water soluble. Typical levels of rainfall should not have a negative impact on the efficacy of seed treatments, but excessive rainfall may.

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Kudzu Bug Finds in Mississippi Increasing

Kudzu Bug Finds in Mississippi Increasing Updated

🕔16:00, 17.May 2013

In 2012 Kudzu bugs were found in four counties in Mississippi on Kudzu.  All finds were along major highways suggesting they “hitchhiked” in on vehicles. The counties were Warren, Lauderdale, Montgomery, and Carroll. In the last 2 weeks we have

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Do Insecticide Seed Treatments Provide any Value on Late Planted Soybeans?

Do Insecticide Seed Treatments Provide any Value on Late Planted Soybeans? Updated

🕔15:39, 17.May 2013

Due to the rain and cold weather this spring a much larger percent of the soybean crop will be planted later than normal. There have been several questions lately about whether or not we should still include an insecticide seed

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Thrips in Cotton and Peanuts Updated

🕔15:27, 17.May 2013

I have been asked several times over the last week about the need for thrips control now that we have more optimal planting conditions. This is a good question and I will attempt to provide some valuable insight about thrips control in both cotton and peanuts.

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Transform WG Insecticide from Dow Recieves Label for Cotton Updated

🕔12:42, 10.May 2013

Earlier this week Transform WG insecticide from Dow received a full Section 3 label for use in cotton.

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Will cold and rainy weather impact seed treatments in corn and rice? Updated

🕔16:38, 5.Apr 2013

This is an important question right now with the weather conditions that we have had over the last few weeks. A considerable amount of corn and a little bit of rice has been planted over the last 3 to 4 weeks. In most of those fields, the crop has either just emerged or has not emerged yet.

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Insecticide Seed Treatments in Soybeans Updated

🕔14:53, 13.Mar 2013

What is the importance of a neonicotinoid insecticide seed treatment in soybeans? Basically it is a risk management tool. Soybean seedlings have a tremendous amount of vigor and can tolerate a substantial amount of insect injury. However, early planted soybeans can encounter less than optimal environmental conditions which can stress plants and reduce vigor. Insect injury under these conditions is an additional stress. During 2010, it is estimated that the use of insecticide seed treatments in soybeans resulted in a value of $28.8 million to Mississippi soybean growers.

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Future of Agriculture Graduate Student Competition Updated

🕔12:38, 8.Feb 2013

On February 7th 2013, Mississippi State University hosted the first annual “Future of Agriculture Graduate Student Competition”. The goals of this event were to provide students an opportunity to present their research findings to a diverse audience that included growers, consultants and industry personnel and interact with people from different segments of the agricultural community.

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Future of Agriculture Graduate Student Competition Updated

🕔14:26, 25.Jan 2013

On February 7th 2013, Mississippi State University will host the first annual “Future of Agriculture Graduate Student Competition”. The competition will be open to M.S. and PhD. level graduate students that are working in production agriculture.

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Future of Agriculture Graduate Student Competition Updated

🕔09:08, 19.Dec 2012

On February 7th 2013, Mississippi State University will host the first annual “Future of Agriculture Graduate Student Competition”.

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Delta Crop Summit – November 13, 2012, Stoneville, MS Updated

🕔13:16, 26.Oct 2012

The 2012 Delta Crop Summit will be held on Tuesday, November 13, in Stoneville, MS. Please see the attached schedule.

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Fall Armyworms in Mississippi Crops Updated

🕔19:17, 3.Aug 2012

Fall armyworm can be a challenging pest to find and an even more challenging pest to manage in some crops. The damage that they cause and their management varies greatly from crop to crop. The reason for this is due to their preferred feeding sites on different crops and the presence of host strains.

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Bollworm Update Cotton/Soybean Updated

🕔10:19, 21.Jul 2012

This year started out with most folks expecting higher than usual bollworm numbers due to the mild winter. Couple that with increased corn acres and the perfect storm was thought to be brewing. This is why entomologists get “shifty” when

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How Soon Did It Rain After You Sprayed?

How Soon Did It Rain After You Sprayed? Updated

🕔16:32, 13.Jul 2012

Over the past week we have been getting a significant amount of rain across most of Mississippi. Unfortunately, most insects don’t mind the rain. Other than spider mites and aphids, we will likely have to continue managing insects in all crops despite the rain.

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Ditch Bank Survey 6/27/2012 Updated

🕔10:46, 29.Jun 2012

Overall, tarnished plant bug numbers appear to be decreasing across the Delta.  Several things are contributing to this decline.  The biggest factor is that the hot, dry weather is starting to take it’s toll on a lot of the wild

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Fall Armyworms in Soybeans and Peanuts Updated

🕔05:28, 29.Jun 2012

We have gotten multiple calls over the last week about fall armyworms in soybeans and peanuts. In every case, it has been a situation where people got behind on grass control when we were getting a lot of rain a couple weeks ago. In those situations, they have sprayed the grass during the last two weeks with products such as Select or Roundup that are relatively slow acting. A lot of the grass is infested with grass-strain fall armyworm and big worms start moving over into the crop about a week to ten days after the application when the grass starts to die.

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Rice Stink Bug Update Updated

🕔11:16, 14.Jun 2012

As some of the rice in Mississippi is starting to approach head emergence within the next few weeks, I wanted to give a brief update on rice stink bug populations that we are seeing across the Delta.

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Thrips in Peanuts and Their Impact on Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV) Updated

🕔11:14, 4.May 2012

There have been a lot of questions recently about thrips control in peanuts. In general, thrips will not hurt peanut yields except in EXTREME situations. Peanut seedlings are relatively vigorous compared to most of the crops grown in Mississippi. Foliar insecticide applications, though rarely needed, should be based on plant injury rather than thrips numbers.

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Southwestern Corn Borers Showing up Early in Non-Bt Corn Updated

🕔12:03, 1.May 2012

Yesterday (4/30), I had a call from a consultant who found about 20% infestation of 3-4 day old SWCB in Non-Bt, V6 stage corn in the Minter City area. There were places in the field that averaged 40-50% infestation, but overall was about 20%.

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