Pests & Diseases

Will Ricks had a big problem with aphids in his alfalfa. “Aphids can do a lot of damage, especially in large numbers,” he says.

For dairy farmers, the goal for corn silage is simple: harvest the most tons possible of a highly digestible hybrid.

Spring is the time when many farmers and ranchers think about pest management, especially weed and insect management.

The background

One summer day in 2010, University of Georgia (UGA) Extension entomologist Will Hudson got a call from county extension agent Philip Edwards in Irwin County, Georgia, about a problem in one of his hay producer’s fields.

A wise man once said to worry about things you can control. In this lifetime, most of us will be unable to control the weather, so drop that off your worry list. Dirt in your hay is something you can control, so give it some thought.

Rodents can be a significant pest in alfalfa fields for producers. Damage to irrigation equipment, loss in hay yield and the rapidly increasing number of rodents present can be a costly problem for any operation. Current control systems for rodents can be the use of traps, flooding or poisoning.