Leafminer Management Vital for Freeze-Impacted Trees

Web AdminCitrus, Pests

Cold-hardy citrus growers need to protect their trees against the citrus leafminer this year, more so than ever. A lack of control could have negative consequences for trees still recovering from the Christmas freeze last December. Xavier Martini, assistant professor of entomology at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) North Florida Research and Education Center, spoke on leafminer …

Thrips Update in South Florida Crops

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Thrips are reported to be observed at low to moderate levels overall in southwest Florida, according to the South Florida Pest and Disease Hotline. Thrips palmi populations are at moderate levels and increasing. Populations are dense enough that they are causing some leaf and fruit scarring in some crops. Populations remain low in beans. Asian bean thrips are the dominate species …

Whitefly Pressure Mostly High in South Florida

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South Florida vegetable producers should be wary of increased whitefly pressure, according to the South Florida Pest and Disease Hotline. Whitefly infestations are high and increasing on multiple crops in southwest Florida. Levels of tomato yellow leaf curl virus are high as well. Whitefly populations are low to moderate on cucumber on the east coast. Pressure is also high in …

New Invasive Pest to Watch for in Florida Citrus

Web AdminCitrus, Pests

By Maegan Beatty An invasive butterfly that seriously damages citrus trees has been spotted in Florida. The lime swallowtail (Papilio demoleus) is an invasive species from Asia that has harmed citrus trees in the Caribbean for almost 20 years. The butterfly has a wingspan of nearly 4 inches with black and white marks across the wings and a red-orange dot …

Thrips Pressure on the Rise in South Florida

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Thrips pressure is moderate to high on multiple crops in southwest Florida, according to the South Florida Pest and Disease Hotline. Infestations are moderate to high on tomato, moderate on pepper and eggplant and low potato and watermelon. Populations are low in beans but increasing in certain areas. Thrips numbers had begun to increase in beans along the east coast, but …

New Thrips Species a Wait and See Approach for Georgia Producers

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By Clint Thompson A new thrips species is wreaking havoc on pepper plants in Florida. Its impact in Georgia remains an unknown. Stormy Sparks, University of Georgia (UGA) Extension vegetable specialist, discussed Thrips (T.) parvispinus  during the Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference in January “It’s going to be a wait and see. It’s like Thrips palmi when it showed …

Regulatory Enforcement Making Pest Control Challenging for Specialty Crop Producers

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By Clint Thompson Insects are hard enough to manage if you are a specialty crop producer. The threat of a lack of pesticides due to regulatory enforcement is making something difficult even more challenging. Stormy Sparks, University of Georgia (UGA) Cooperative Extension vegetable entomologist, discussed the outlook during the recent Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference in Savannah, Georgia. “The …

Thrips Parvispinus Species Damaging Peppers in Palm Beach County

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The thrips parvispinus species that was first detected in the United States in 2020 is wreaking havoc on pepper plantings in eastern Palm Beach County, Florida, according to the South Florida Pest and Disease Hotline. Scouts have observed that the species is causing substantial damage in young and mature plantings in the region. Other fields have experienced low levels of …

Moth Counts Collected by Alabama Extension

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Moth counts compiled by Alabama Extension showed that a wet spring and dry summer in 2022 had a major effect on pest populations. The following insect counts were collected last year at 26 locations from May to October. Beet armyworm activity was four times more than the fall armyworm. There were 807 beet armyworm moths in 2022 compared to 252 …

Cold Temperatures Did Not Eliminate Pepper Weevils, Whiteflies

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By Clint Thompson Two insect pests of specialty crops in the Southeast were knocked back but not eliminated by the Christmas freeze event. Stormy Sparks, (UGA) Extension vegetable specialist, confirmed that pepper weevils and whiteflies are still a problem ahead of spring plantings despite multiple days of sub-freezing temperatures. “In whiteflies we killed a lot of adults. We probably did …