It has been a fairly quiet summer so far in corn and sorghum, but that seems to be changing now. Independent crop consultants reported finding sugarcane aphid colonies in sorghum in southern Hale County earlier in the week, and we had no trouble finding them at the Halfway Experiment Station today. I also found them at the Lubbock Research and Extension Center on the first sorghum leaf I looked at. These were small colonies of 100 or so immature aphids surrounding one adult. At Lubbock we are just now starting to get small amounts of honeydew accumulation. It is time to start scouting your sorghum.
We had a really big fall armyworm flight five weeks ago as I reported on June 16. The next generation is more numerous than average as well according to the pheromone trap data from Lubbock this week.
Of course we need to scout sorghum for headworms and non-Bt corn setting ears, but this big flight might also be a problem for hay production, and in fact I got a call from a Lubbock County producer yesterday. This is the first such Lubbock County call I have had in several years. The southern and central parts of Texas got slammed by FAW this year, but such high numbers are not as common here. In response to the slamming downstate, my colleagues produced a quick guide to fall armyworm control in pastures.
The wet, cool and humid conditions have been good for corn and sorghum and bad for spider mites. However, as the temperatures rise and humidity drops now, spider mite populations are beginning to recover. These populations increase rapidly as corn enters tasseling, and all corn fields should be scouted.
Things are happening fast in all of our crops. If you want the latest news then consider signing up for our weekly Southern High Plains Pest Management Audio Updates. Area IPM Agents record and distribute this 7-8 minute news report on Wednesday afternoon after they have been scouting, and you will have a text link to the audio file within 30 minutes of finishing the recording. You can sign up here. We don't track you, won't try to sell you an extended warranty on your vehicle, and you can opt out at any time just by sending a text with the with the word "STOP". Relevant news with no commitments.
