By Clint Thompson
This week’s rainfall in South Georgia should help alleviate the current pest pressure associated with spider mite infestations.
Stormy Sparks, University of Georgia (UGA) Cooperative Extension vegetable entomologist, confirmed the spider mite infestations have been impactful this spring, mostly due to the prolonged drought throughout most of the region.
“The only thing I’ve had reported recently is spider mites. They love hot and dry weather. They were spotty, but there were some pretty heavy infestations where they were. It was at the edge of the field, which is kind of normal for them, too, when they’re starting out,” Sparks said. “This rain should help with that. If it’s wide enough and heavy enough, it knocks them back. It doesn’t get rid of them by any means, but it knocks them back pretty good.”
Vegetable growers need to be aware since multiple crops are susceptible to damage from spider mite infestations.
“They can be in a lot of different vegetables. They can be bad in tomatoes. They can be bad in watermelon. I got one picture sent to me of cucumbers. Six rows on the edge of the field were just covered,” Sparks said. “They can get bad enough to kill plants. They usually don’t, but they can get pretty bad when it’s the right conditions for them.
“We have pretty good insecticides, but most of them are pretty expensive.”
Scouting remains a vital tool for growers to utilize to determine if they have a problem. UGA Extension recommends that growers check on the bottom of the leaves to verify if mites are present.
