The kudzu bug is now well established in parts of east central Tennessee. Specimens have been made in Bledsoe, Bradley, Hamilton, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Polk, Rhea, Sequatchie, Monroe, Loudon, Blount, Roane and Knox Counties. A few soybean fields in this part of the state were treated for this pest. It’s only a matter of time before this insect moves into areas of middle and west Tennessee where more soybean acres are grown. If you need a memory refresher, Continue reading
I am re-running the article below ….. there are many reports of heavy infestations of fall armyworms in pasture grasses and yards. I’ll also refer you to a previous article on this subject. Continue reading
I discussed the value of insecticide seed treatments for wheat in a previous article. In a nutshell, seed treatments offer the greatest value for wheat planted before the recommended fly-free date (approximately October 15th in Tennessee). A post-emergence foliar approach is a very viable option if Continue reading
I received a request from Dr. Marty Draper (NIFA, National Program Leader, Divisions of Plant Systems). He was asked to help get the word out about concerns for moving fire ants from quarantine areas in hay that is being sold into drought stricken areas of the country that may be vulnerable to fire ant establishment, Continue reading
The EPA has amended the Section 18 for Transform (sulfoxaflor) in Tennessee and other states. The amendment reduces the rotational crop restriction for all other food and feed crops from 360 days to 60 days. Thus, growers will be able to plant any crop Continue reading
This is essentially a repeat of last week’s article because the situation has not changed, but my phone is ringing more. We are dealing with stink bugs, loopers, green cloverworms or a combination of all three in some fields. After a week of evaluating many test plots, my conclusions Continue reading
Sometimes it seems like all we talk about is bad news. Well the good news is that cotton aphids were not a big issue in 2012, and for the most part, they have only occasionally cause problems in Tennessee during the last decade. The bad news is that we have now confirmed that resistance to the neonicitinoid insecticides such as Admire Pro or other imidacloprid products, Centric and Belay is present in aphid populations in West Tennessee. Continue reading
I can’t say the phone is ringing off the hook. Farmers are busy and I sense grumpiness in some corners, but let’s not cut off our nose to spite our face. Stink bugs are becoming very common in fields in many parts of the state. Loopers are more sporadic but also present in some areas. I’ve previously mentioned that the pyrethroid insecticides DO NOT provide adequate control of soybean loopers. Unfortunately, the best treatments for loopers DO NOT provide adequate control of stink bugs. I’ve included a table below that illustrates this point. Continue reading