Insects have been light-to-nonexistent in recent days. There
are a few plant bugs present and stink bug numbers have increased in some
fields. I am not sure if either are at damaging levels, especially the plant
bugs.
I believe we could safely say that leaf spot diseases are
potentially more important than insects for the remainder of the season.
Growers who have peanuts or soybeans should monitor these
crops carefully for the remainder of the season. Peanuts are attractive to a
number of foliage feeding insects – including loopers, fall armyworms,
bollworms, budworms, green cloverworms, velvet bean caterpillars and cutworms.
Two peanut fields in Monroe County were identified last week with a high
infestation of the garden fleahopper. To my knowledge this is the first time
for this insect on peanuts. I am not sure what kind of damage potential they
present. However, in cotton this pest can cause extensive foliage damage by
leaving all leaves with stippling type feeling.
This same type of damage in peanuts would seem to be just as
economic as a foliar disease.
Soybeans would be susceptible to damage from all the leps
mentioned under peanuts plus the pod feeders – podworms and stink bugs. Many of
our beans are late, planted behind wheat, and were just in full bloom the past
10 days. These beans will be susceptible to insect injury for weeks ahead. Only
by scouting will growers know when economic insect losses are occurring and
when controls are needed. We already have some fields in Baldwin County with damaging
levels of soybean loopers. Foliage loss was as high as 35% last week when I
made surveys in that area. Soybeans will be the last crop that stink bugs are
attracted to this season. Even though it has been a light stink bug season, if they
all accumulate in soybeans late season, controls will likely be needed.
I have heard little from the Kudzu bug on soybeans after
finding them in the northeast counties of Cherokee and Cleburne back in July.
Follow up surveys are needed in that area whenever time permits.
As the season winds down we will get back with further
updates as new information becomes available and the situation changes.
