Spider Mite Impact on Corn

Throughout the year, we look to our Agronomists and Precision Ag Specialists for their expertise and input on providing timely and knowledgeable articles to our customers and industry leaders via our electronic newsletter. Every summer, we challenge our Interns to do the same. We award up to 5 scholarships per year for winning articles. [...]

2023-08-30T19:45:35+00:00Categories: Controlling Crop Insects|Tags: , , |

Army Cutworms in Alfalfa – Agronomy Tip

Crop Quest President & Agronomist, Dwight Koops, digging for cutworms. The season has kicked off with warmer temperatures allowing alfalfa to break for many and wheat is putting on new tillers – especially on some of the later planted wheat fields.   Unfortunately, these warmer temperatures are making army cutworms active as well. These [...]

A New Tool in Insect Resistance Management

Battling resistance is rapidly becoming one of the most challenging hurdles facing agriculture. Often the term resistance is associated with weeds and the herbicides that no longer control them. The challenge is just as real with insect populations becoming resistant to traditional insecticides. The industry is also seeing regulatory bodies putting pressure on widely utilized [...]

Sugarcane Aphid Alert

As we head toward the latter part of July, sugarcane aphids have been detected in numerous counties in the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandle regions and are rapidly working their way north. Crop Quest Agronomists in the Dumas, Texas areas have reported seeing this pest show up as well. Why are we seeing signs of this invasive [...]

Controlling Volunteer Wheat

As wheat planting season approaches, a couple important questions arise.  When should we kill the volunteer wheat, and how soon before drilling?  Volunteer wheat needs to be controlled at least two weeks prior to drilling.  This should eliminate the majority of pests that are using the volunteer wheat as a host.  Producers may not have [...]

Prevent Spider Mites, Don’t Fight Them

Spider mites, both the Banks Grass Mite and the Two-Spotted Spider Mite, thrive in hot and dry climates.  With this being said, corn producers in southwest Kansas can almost count on finding mites in the field year after year.  However, after a summer where this region of the country has experienced extremely high amounts of [...]

Rootworm Strategies

June is the typical month for scouting western corn rootworm larvae in continuous corn fields of the high plains. Agronomists understand the damage that this pest can cause, and many hours are spent digging to examine the deep and brace roots for any signs of rootworm larvae feeding. Early detection is key to minimizing damage [...]

Dealing With Pill Bugs In No-till Soybeans

Pill bugs have become an issue in south central Kansas as we have transitioned away from tillage into no-till on our irrigated fields. Excess residue on the soil surface has created a perfect environment for pill bugs to thrive.  Pill bugs like moisture and cover, as they do not like to be exposed to direct [...]

Insect Resistance in Alfalfa

Weed and insect resistance to different kinds of pesticides continues to be a hot topic in agriculture. Most of us are aware of the resistance of glyphosate to a handful of common weeds.  About six years ago we started to see resistance on the alfalfa weevil with commonly used pyrethroid insecticides in alfalfa. Since then, [...]

Sugarcane Aphids

This past season, sugarcane aphids (also known as white sugarcane aphids) have migrated as far north as Oklahoma and Kansas. They have caused crop damage in some grain sorghum fields. Like other aphids, sugarcane aphids are a sucking pest, which can discolor and desiccate leaf tissue. They also deposit a thick honeydew like substance on [...]

Improve Winter Wheat Stands with Seed Treatments

Winter wheat planting time is rapidly approaching. Now is the time to evaluate your seed supply for its quality. Having seed cleaned to eliminate the light test weight kernels is a good idea. If the germination rate is low (less than 90%) you may want to use a seed treatment to increase the survivability rate [...]

Corn Borer & Late Season Pest in Corn

It is that time of year again when it becomes necessary to treat the late season lepidoptera species that can infest your corn crop. The most predominant pests this time of year are normally the two species of corn borer. These worms bore into the ear or the stalk of corn plants causing economic damage. [...]

Controlling Sunflower Stem Borer May Not Include the Use of an Insecticide

The ever increasing pest in sunflowers, the sunflower stem borer also called the soybean stem borer, is causing more damage and harvest loss to fields across sunflower producing areas. Many times you are not aware that you have a problem until you see plants lodging before harvest. Sometimes the damage may be confused with the [...]

Managing Spider Mites In Corn

You have spider mites! Just the shear words to both producer and agronomist will send a cold chill down their spine. Both banks grass and two spotted mites can be the most difficult pest to control in the High Plains region. Spider mites are unique as they are not an insect but rather fall in [...]

Alfalfa Weevil

Alfalfa weevil can cause major damage to alfalfa production during the early cuttings of the growing season.  Adult weevils lay their eggs inside the alfalfa stems in the late fall or early spring.  The hatched larvae then feed on the terminals and upper leaves of the alfalfa plant in the early spring where most of [...]

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