We’ve had a recent spike of tarnished plant bug movement into cotton fields in many areas, and I’ve received a number of calls about what to spray. There are several options to consider. Once blooming has begun or when nymphs become more common, I suggest Continue reading
UT’s Soybean Scout Schools are scheduled in July for the dates and locations below. The programs are supported by the Tennessee Soybean Promotion Board and include basic information about crop development, scouting procedures, and Continue reading
We need to make some adjustment in managing plant bugs as we near bloom. Much of the cotton is at or beyond the third week of squaring, and thus, the suggested sweep net threshold can be relaxed to 15 bugs/100 sweeps. However, you should be more aggressive in situations where overall square retention is at or below 80%. Continue reading
Grain sorghum acres are way down this year, but those who are growing sorghum should start scouting for sugarcane aphids now. Based on my counterparts reports in more southern states, I suspect there are already low numbers of aphids in some fields. This pest thrives in hot weather, so populations can spread and build quickly. Serious infestations that go untreated can cause catastrophic yield loss. Continue reading
Threecornered alfalfa hoppers, snails, Japanese beetles, and plant bugs … should you be worried? I’ve had a variety of calls this week, but the most frequent call has been about Continue reading
Recent research in the Mid-South has convinced me that threecornered alfalfa hopper (TCAH) is almost exclusively a pest of only small soybeans. We’ve had a relatively mild winter. Tennessee is on the northern edge of threecornered alfalfa hopper home range, and warm winters generally means higher populations. That appears to be the case in 2016. Late planted soybean such as Continue reading
Our earliest cotton is beginning to square, and I think a few reminders are in order. Continue reading
There was some good news today as the EPA approved the Section 18 requests allowing the emergency use of Transform in cotton for the control of tarnished plant bugs. Continue reading