Wheat Pest Status March 27, 2015
Over the past few
days I have been making spot checks in some of our Hale, Swisher, and Floyd
County area wheat fields on the way to the office. All but the latest planted fields are now
jointing, in decent shape, and will be looking for some moisture soon. There is still quite a bit of insect activity
in these fields and some potential for pest problems to keep a close eye
on. The greenbugs seem to be the largest
threat at this time but there are plenty of other aphid species in this
wheat. I still have not found any
Russian wheat aphids but, in speaking with a few area crop consultants, there
are a very few in the area. Dr. Ed
Bynum, District 1 Entomologist, is consistently finding them and greenbugs in a
little heavier population than us in his area to our north.
To me, our greenbug
population seems to be trying to increase during the warm weather we have been
having. The aphid will typically move up
the plant to more tender and sensitive areas during better weather and becomes
very active in feeding. Once that
happens, the aphid is also more likely to begin reproducing heavily. In the fields I have been watching, the
predator and parasitoid population is holding the greenbugs in check. The potential and conditions are certainly
right for a pest outbreak area wide. It
is more likely that in a fair number of area fields the greenbugs could outpace
the beneficial insects. Our area crop
consultants have also made me aware of a few fields that have reached economic
levels for greenbugs that have been treated already this week. The only way to determine if your field is
nearing pest problems is thorough and educated scouting.
Action
Threshold Table for Greenbugs
Plant Height (inches) Number of Greenbugs /
linear foot
3
– 6 100 – 300
4
– 8 200 -
400
6
– 16 300 – 800
Good Luck,
Blayne
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