Adult flies in the Syrphidae family are conspicuous day-flying insects that are very skilled at hovering, and love to frequent flowers, which led to their common names of “hover flies” or “flower flies”. They are brightly colored and are very abundant in many familiar environments. Many of the hover flies strongly mimic bees in coloration and sound and it is no wonder why many folks confuse them for being small bees or even pests. Continue reading
This is a re-run of an article posted last year. The timing is right as many fields are at or approaching cutout. Counting the number of nodes above first-position white flowers (NAWF) is a well-recognized way to monitor the maturity of your cotton crop. Cutout is defined by having an average of 5 nodes above first-position white flowers. If you record the date of cutout, you can start counting down the days until insecticide applications for some insect pests can be terminated. Continue reading
A rough start for many of TN’s cotton acres has turned into a decent summer for the majority of our acreage. This is very evident when looking at accumulated heat units noted at the West Tennessee Research and Education Center in Jackson, TN. As you can see in the below graph, we are quite a bit ahead of the last two years on accumulated heat units. Warm temperatures in mid/late June and timely rains have Continue reading
The phone has been ringing off the hook about sorghum insect control. Sugarcane aphids are being reported in more fields across a wider area. The map below provides a general status on known infestations at this time. There are also plenty of questions about controlling headworms. Let me provide some information and management suggestions. Continue reading
As reported by NASS on July 27, 2015
CORN AND SOYBEANS LOOK GOOD
Despite higher than normal temperatures across much of the state, crops were reported to be in mostly good to excellent condition. Between scattered showers, farmers applied herbicides to combat late season weeds. A few grain sorghum producers reported problems with worms. Rains have kept grass growing, aiding pasture conditions. Continue reading at Crop Progress 7 26 15.
There have been only a few calls concerning soybean insect problems. Mostly what is being reported is sub-threshold infestations of stink bugs, green cloverworm, a few remaining Japanese beetles, and kudzu bugs in some areas (see previous article). As usual, we can expect things to get more active as the season progresses. Below are some things to key on. Remember that late maturing fields are generally more likley to have significant insect pests problems. Continue reading
Corn, soybeans, cotton, and wheat were down for the week. This week, December corn and November soybean futures continued price declines that started after last week’s highs as weather remained favorable in most major production areas. Currently, the markets are approaching key resistance lev-els in December corn and November soybean futures at $4.00 and $9.60, respectively. Failure to hold prices above these thresholds could facilitate an additional futures price decline. Continue reading at Tennessee Market Highlights.
The Mid-South Ag Finance Conference will be here soon. Producers in Tennessee and surrounding states will want to mark their calendar for Wednesday, August 5, 2015 for the Mid-South Agricultural Finance Conference. This annual conference will once again be held in the Boling University Center on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Martin in Martin, Tennessee. For more information go to Mid-South Ag Finance Conference .
