By Rajagopalbabu Srinivasan The sweetpotato whitefly, commonly referred to as whitefly, is a major problem in vegetable production in Georgia and the southeastern United States. The whitefly can colonize hundreds of host plants in the landscape and has established itself year-round in this region. The pest has a short life cycle and is equipped with prolific reproductive capabilities. Consequently, its …
Managing Soil Pests
Soil insects can be tricky to spot because they can’t be seen, but they can cause major devastation to vegetable crops. Ayanava Majumdar, Extension entomologist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension system, knows that when pests are out of sight, they are sometimes out of mind as well. Oftentimes, symptoms from soil pests will not appear until planting time. Some soil …
Whitefly Management Methods
By Hugh Smith The silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) transmits tomato yellow leaf curl virus in tomatoes. The pest also transmits three viruses to cucurbits, including squash vein yellowing virus, which causes watermelon vine decline. In addition to virus transmission and contamination, the silverleaf whitefly induces irregular ripening in tomato and the silverleafing in squash that gives it its common name. …
Battling Silk Flies in South Florida Sweet Corn
By Julien Beuzelin South Florida sweet corn growers continue to face two major insect problems: fall armyworms and corn silk flies. The two pests can be devastating, but corn silk flies are more challenging to manage than fall armyworms under current production practices. Three silk fly species have been reported to cause the majority of the damage: Euxesta eluta, Euxesta …
Beetle Borer in Blueberries
By Janine Spies Since 2014, several Florida blueberry growers have reported seeing tunneling or girdling on the canes of their blueberry bushes. Oscar Liburd at the University of Florida has been investigating the source of the damage in blueberries along with his graduate students Lindsy Iglesias and Krystal Ashman in the Fruit and Vegetable IPM Laboratory. In the summer of …
Growers of Organic Vidalia Onions Face Challenges
By Bhabesh Dutta, Carroll Johnson and Jason Schmidt Vidalia onion ranks first in terms of farmgate value among vegetables in Georgia, making it the most important vegetable crop in the state. Among the spring-grown onions in the United States, Georgia ranks first because Vidalia onions are predominantly grown in spring. Although most of the acreage is conventional, nearly 20 percent …
Diamondback Moth Update
Diamondback moth (DBM) has been a menace for brassica growers around the globe for decades. After a major outbreak in 2016, the issue became much more prevalent in Florida and Georgia. So, researchers from the University of Florida (UF) and the University of Georgia (UGA) have recently been studying how resistant these pests have become to commonly used insecticides. Hugh …
Biological Controls for Growers
By Alison DeLoach Integrated pest management is an economic way for growers to control pests. Jim Walgenbach an Extension entomologist at North Carolina State University, studies integrated pest management on tree fruits and vegetable crops. At the 2019 Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference, he discussed research on biological controls for certain pests. When it comes to managing spider mites …
Bacterial Spot Presents Challenges for Peach Growers
Peach growers are currently in need of ways to control bacterial spot, a severe disease that is at its worst when rain is frequent. Dave Ritchie, a plant pathologist at North Carolina State University, spoke about the disease and management options for growers at the 2019 Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference. Bacterial spot is particularly challenging because of the …
The Pepper Weevil Problem
By Ernie Neff University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) entomologist Hugh Smith says the pepper weevil is a major challenge to growers because it’s “a primary pest that directly attacks the marketable part of the fruit.” Smith, associate professor at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Wimauma, says the pepper weevil attacks all types …