Author Archives: admin

Soybean Loopers defoliating sunflower crops

By admin | Published: March 23, 2012
Over the past couple of weeks there have been numerous reports of sunflower crops being defoliated by caterpillars.     The caterpillar has been identified as the soybean looper, and is the same species reported on a couple of weeks ago defoliating soybeans. There are two colour forms of the soybean looper (see pictures below). Although [...]
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Loopers out in force in soybeans

By admin | Published: March 7, 2012
High soybean looper (Thysanoplusia orichalcea) populations (20-40/m2) have been reported in many regions in flowering and podding soybeans. While soybeans can tolerate 33% defoliation with no yield loss during the vegetative stages, their defoliation tolerance slips to 16% during podset/early podfill. Consequently, consider taking action if high looper populations are threatening your crop. Large soybean [...]
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Bean podborer harassing mungbeans

By admin | Published: March 7, 2012
Damaging bean podborer (Maruca vitrata) populations of up to 100+ larvae/m2 have been observed in flowering and podding mungbeans in the South Burnett, Dawson Callide and Central Highlands. Although podborer is not an uncommon pest in these regions during wet summers, very high populations can inflict devastating damage with zero pod set observed in some [...]
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Managing Silverleaf Whitefly (SLW) – Wet conditions, late crops and immigrant populations

By admin | Published: March 1, 2012
  Management of whitefly this season will be challenging as a result of the high rainfall and flooding in November and  again in February which has resulted in a wide spread of crop maturity both between and within each region. While some cotton crops will mature on time, others could be set back by as much [...]
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Green vegetable bug (GVB) in late cotton

By admin | Published: February 24, 2012
There have been several reports of GVB occurring in late cotton crops. This has led to some confusion in the industry as to whether GVB needs to be controlled at this late stage in cotton.  Research done by DEEDI entomologists has shown that younger bolls are more susceptible to lint damage caused by GVB feeding. [...]
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Broad mites in cotton

By admin | Published: February 16, 2012
Broad mites have shown up in cotton crops in Emerald and in the Gwydir this season. Whilst the mites themselves are extremely small and difficult to see, even with a handlens, being familiar with symptoms of broad mite infestation may assist with a diagnosis.
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Watch out for the Blues

By admin | Published: January 25, 2012
  Noticeable numbers of grass blue butterfly larvae (Zizina labradus) have been observed in young soybean crops in the Wide Bay Burnett. While the small green larvae (maximum length 10 mm) may be difficult to see in the crops, the damage they cause is very obvious. Grass blue butterfly larvae feeding results in windowing of the [...]
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Beware of Apple Dimpling bugs

By admin | Published: December 9, 2011
  There have been several reports of high numbers of apple dimpling bug (ADB) in early squaring cotton throughout the major cotton growing valleys. Also known as the yellow mirid, ADB adults (about 3mm long) are about one third the size of green mirid adults.  They are yellow-green, have dark spines on the legs and hairy wings [...]
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Helicoverpa and NPV in Sorghum – Current Issues

By admin | Published: December 8, 2011
As the earlier plantings of sorghum progress through flowering, moderate to high Helicoverpa pressure means that many crops have caterpillar numbers over threshold.  Nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV) is one of the main insecticides used to control Helicoverpa larvae in sorghum, however prevailing conditions play an important role in the speed and level of control achieved with NPV.
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Early season aphid identification and management considerations in cotton

By admin | Published: December 2, 2011
As the cotton season gets underway aphids are starting to be detected in crops, on ratoons, volunteers and weeds. Last season, there were some regions where Cotton Bunchy Top (CBT) was detected in crops towards the end of the season. To assess and manage the risk of yield loss caused by CBT, and minimise the [...]
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