Pests & Diseases

This has been a nice fall. Abundant moisture and moderate temperatures have blessed many areas. Alfalfa has winterized well, and pasture growth has finished for this season.

Plant breeders may soon be able to develop new plant hybrids that possess enhanced insect defense responses, which might allow pesticide use to be reduced. To develop pest-resistant plants, breeders have to know how plants detect and respond to insect attack.

Click here to read Loretta's article "Plants know which insect is attacking"

In another recently published study by Appel, she and collaborator Rex Cocroft studied how plants respond to vibrations caused by caterpillar chewing action.

As our weather continually becomes warmer, insects that have the potential to take profit out of forages will appear. In the southeastern U.S., the three forage insects that tend to get the most attention are the fall armyworm, grasshopper and bermudagrass stem maggot.

Some producers may be trying to decide whether they should apply agri-chemicals themselves rather than hiring a local supplier.

The sugarcane aphid is a new and widespread pest of grain and forage sorghums in the southern U.S. In 2014, the sugarcane aphid infested sorghums in 12 states from Texas to Florida and as far north as southern Kansas, Arkansas and Tennessee.