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Author Archives: admin
Season wrap-up for Whitefly in Cotton
Outlined in today’s blog are the results for whitefly parasitism assessments, whitefly species composition and whitefly resistance testing from the 2009-2010 cotton season.
SPECIES COMPOSITION
There has been no Q biotype detected by DEEDI entomology staff since surveillance commenced in April 2009. While Q biotype may be present in Australia at very low densities, it certainly does [...]
Posted in Silverleaf whitefly Leave a comment
Avenge of the caterpillars…
High rainfall and active plant growth have created perfect conditions for insects to build up in high numbers. On the Downs there have been reports of castor oil looper and common armyworm in plague numbers as well as other caterpillars including sorghum head caterpillar.
Posted in armyworm Leave a comment
How to check for parasitism in whitefly populations.
We have fielded numerous enquiries this week from consultants who would like to assess levels of whitefly parasitism. This is achievable in the field with the use of a hand lens.
Parasitism levels appear to be a little down from last year, but still good levels have been recovered. Parasitism so far has ranged from 50-90% [...]
Posted in Natural enemies, Silverleaf whitefly Leave a comment
Exotic mealybug species – a major new pest in cotton
Biosecurity Queensland has confirmed an outbreak of an exotic species of mealybug currently affecting cotton properties in Emerald is also present in cotton crops in the Burdekin region.
The exotic species of mealy bug is commonly known as the Solenopsis mealybug (Phenacoccus solenopsis).
Posted in mealybugs 3 Comments
Dealing with chemical shortages for whitefly management – Zara Ludgate
We have received numerous enquiries about whitefly in the last week especially from the MacIntrye and Lower Namoi areas. Shortages of chemicals to control whitefly is currently of major concern to many growers and consultants in this region. Many enquiries also relate to species identification.
Whitefly samples identified from the MacIntyre and Lower Namoi areas have [...]
Posted in Admiral, Pegasus, Silverleaf whitefly Leave a comment
Brown stink bugs in cotton – by Moazzem Khan
Brown stink bugs have been reported in some Bollgard® II cotton crops on the Downs. As the season progresses, bug numbers may increase.
Distinguishing ‘brown’ stink bugs from each other.
Adults brown stink bugs (Dictyotus caenosus) are shield shaped, matt brown, and smaller than green vegetable bug (GVB), about 7 – 8 mm long (Plate 1). They [...]
Posted in Cotton, Stink bugs Leave a comment
Managing Helicoverpa softly in vegetative soybeans
While soybeans are more likely to be attacked by helicoverpa from flowering onwards, severe infestations can occur as early as the seedling stage. In recent years, severe early infestations have been reported on the Downs and in the coastal Burnett with the affected crops experiencing significant yield losses.
The latest published thresholds for helicoverpa in vegetative [...]
Posted in helicoverpa, soybeans 2 Comments
Chemigation for corn earworm control
Control of corn earworm, Helicoverpa armigera, in maize has generally not been practised because of the high cost associated with repeated insecticide application required during silking. In most years it is a case of forsaking the top of every cob to larval damage
However, in some years, very high pest activity results in more severe cob [...]
Posted in NPV, helicoverpa Leave a comment
Mealybugs in cotton
Outbreaks of mealybugs have recently been reported from a number of cotton farms in central Queensland. While mealybugs are considered a minor pest of cotton, they have, on rare occasions, reached minor outbreak levels or 'hotspots' in commercial crops in central Queensland
Good IPM starts in winter