New Insect Control Guide App Available
We have been working on an insect control guide app for a couple years and are proud to say it is now available in the app store for iPhones. Shortly we will be releasing a version for Android users as
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Posts From Don Cook, Entomologist
Future of Agriculture Graduate Student Meeting
On February 9th 2017, Mississippi State University will host the fifth 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
Seed Treatment Choices For Cotton Will Be More Important In 2017
In 2017, the need to maximize thrips control to avoid foliar applications will be more important than ever. With the introduction and anticipation of numerous acres with the new herbicide traits resistant to Dicamba, there will be NO INSECTICIDE tank
Ear Drop in Non-Bt Corn
Over the last 7 days we have had numerous calls about ear drop in non-Bt corn fields. In 99.9% of the cases, the amount of ears hitting the ground is completely negligible and will not result in any yield loss
Identifying Late Season Soybean Growth Stages
As we approach soybean physiological maturity, determining the specific soybean growth stage can aid in several important management decisions. Distinct differences exist between the R6 and R6.5 growth stage.
Numerous Caterpillars Showing Up in Cotton
Over the last couple weeks, we have received numerous calls about multiple caterpillar pests in Bt cotton. By far, the most common and widespread species has been bollworm, but populations of fall armyworm are also high and we have even heard
Diamide Insecticides and Soybean Looper Management
Since the introduction of the diamide insecticides (Belt, Prevathon, Besiege), soybean loopers have essentially been a non-issue. We all have plenty of data showing 24-35 day residual control of soybean loopers, however, the long residuals are a blessing and curse
Stink Bugs and Redbanded Stink Bugs in Soybeans- What to do?
Over the last few weeks we have been getting more and more calls about redbanded stink bug in soybeans. Redbanded stink bugs (RBSB) are voracious seed feeders, infest fields later, and are more difficult to control than greens, southern greens,
Tarnished Plant Bugs in 2016
What has happened with tarnished plant bug this year? That has been the million dollar question this year in cotton. Numerous consultants have told us that tarnished plant bug populations are lower than they have ever seen in their careers
Fall Armyworms in Rice: 2016
It looks like 2016 is shaping up to be another big year for fall armyworm in rice. As a reminder, our threshold in rice at this point in the season is 5 per 10 sweeps or when significant damage occurs.
Armyworms and Bollworms Becoming Widespread in Mississippi Crops
Bollworm: We have had numerous reports of bollworm (soybean podworm corn earworm) moths being flushed and small larvae in cotton and soybeans over the last couple weeks. This past week seemed to be the turning point in soybean. Nearly anyone with
Kudzu Bugs in Mississippi Soybeans
Over the last couple weeks we have begun to get numerous calls about kudzu bugs infesting soybeans. Call are coming from all over the state. We no longer keep up with county level infestations but its safe to say they
Southwestern Corn Borer Trap Counts, July 9, 2016
Southwestern corn borer trap counts remained very high in some areas this week. The highest counts reported were in Sunflower, Quitman, and Coahoma counties.
Southwestern Corn Borer Trap Counts: July 2, 2016
Southwestern corn borer trap catches appear to be peaking this week. Several counties had individual traps with numbers at or near the current threshold and a couple well above threshold. As a reminder, the current threshold is 50 per trap
Southwestern Corn Borer Trap Counts: June 25, 2016
Southwestern corn borer numbers increased significantly in some areas this week. The highest numbers were 377 caught in Leflore County and 450 caught in Coahoma County. The current threshold in the 2016 Insect Control Guide suggests spraying when 50 moths are caught
Caterpillars Infesting Field Corn
Much of the corn has reached the reproductive stages, while some is still in the vegetative stages. Several caterpillars, including fall armyworm and corn earworm, can infest corn, especially non-Bt corn, during both stages of development.
Southwestern Corn Borer Trap Counts: June 18, 2016
Overall, southwestern corn borer traps remained low throughout the state. However, one trap in Leflore county captured 178 moths over a 7 day period. Although they do not appear to be widespread, this indicates that there may be pockets with
Southwestern Corn Borer Trap Counts: June 11, 2016
All southwestern corn borer trapping locations did not report this week, but numbers were very low across the state. The highest numbers were in the south Delta, but still well below threshold with the highest number being 22 in one trap
Rice Disease Calendar
Included in this blog post are a rice disease calendar. Information presented in the calendar deals with the most commonly observed rice diseases throughout the MS rice production area. In general, the occurrence of diseases on rice will depend on the planting date, general field history as related to previous crop, and the environmental conditions throughout the season.
Comment Period is Open for Transform Section 18
In March, the Mississippi Bureau of Plant Industries and other states in the Mid-South submitted Emergency Exemption (Section 18) requests to use Transform for tarnished plant bug control in cotton. The reason for this request is that the original registration
Rice Seed Treatments and Cool Wet Soil Conditions
Every year we have a point in the planting season where we start getting questions about how heavy rainfall and cool temperatures affect seed treatments in rice. The one thing to remember is that the clock starts ticking on the
Cutworms Showing Up in Mississippi Crops
We have had several calls over the last week about cutworms reducing plant densities in cotton, soybean, and non-Bt corn. Based on the number of calls, it appears that cutworm populations are much higher than they have been the last several
2016 Scout Schools
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, and herbicide symptomology.
