CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 04/20/17

UGA peanut entomologist Mark Abney advises farmers to monitor thrips activity

By Clint Thompson

With thrips activity at a high level, peanut farmers are advised to closely monitor their peanut seedlings as planting season gets underway, according to University of Georgia Cooperative Extension peanut entomologist Mark Abney.

“No matter what thrips management tactic is chosen, scouting is still a good idea,” Abney said. “No management tactic is 100 percent effective, so the only way to know if there is a problem is to monitor fields on a regular basis.”

Thrips are tiny insects that can spread the tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) by feeding on infected plants. Infected thrips then transmit the virus when they move into healthy peanut fields and feed. The virus reproduces within the plants and can be spread as thrips disperse within the field. The virus can dwarf plants and cause significant reductions in peanut yields.

Abney is concerned about TSWV this year. The disease has progressively worsened in recent years. This winter was unseasonably warm, so cold weather did not kill the volunteer peanut plants in some fields. This has allowed the virus, and the thrips, to overwinter. The threat of TSWV is greatest for Georgia peanuts planted prior to May 10, he said.

“For the next two or three weeks, you can expect our peanut farmers to be in the fields, taking advantage of the clear weather and getting the crop in the ground. But they also need to be wary that, in that same timeframe, our thrips levels are expected to rise,” Abney said. “If they are not proactive and (don’t) apply treatments during planting, they need to be scouting their fields for any sign of damage.”

There are several thrips management options available for peanut growers. The chemical phorate (Thimet) is used in furrow, or in the ground with the seed at planting. It is the only insecticide proven to kill thrips and reduce TSWV, Abney said. Imidacloprid (Admire Pro) can be used as a liquid, in-furrow treatment and is compatible with most liquid inoculants and fungicides. Acephate (Orthene) can also be used as a foliar spray to kill thrips after seedlings emerge.

Abney cautions that omitting at-plant insecticides and relying solely on foliar sprays requires careful scouting and the ability to get into the field on short notice to make any necessary chemical applications. He was surprised to learn at a recent meeting that nearly 10 percent of Georgia farmers do not apply at-plant thrips insecticides.

Members of the UGA Peanut Team conducted a survey of random peanut fields last year and discovered significant TSWV damage in some fields.

“It is definitely out there and needs to be addressed. That starts now with planting season already underway,” Abney said.

This season is expected to be another massive growing season for Georgia peanut farmers. There are more than 700,000 acres that are projected to be planted, according to Abney.

TSWV dates back almost 40 years, when it was discovered in Texas. After showing up in Louisiana and Alabama, the disease was detected in Georgia in the 1990s, where it caused widespread damage to the state’s crop.

Clint Thompson is an agriculture writer based in Tifton, Georgia.

Authors:
Clint Thompson
Experts/Sources:
Mark Abney
To avoid thrips damage on peanuts (pictured above), consider the several thrips management options available to peanut growers.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Download Image
Combining data collection and analysis with plant pathology, precision agriculture and robotics, the UGA team will build a photographic library of the foliar symptoms caused by onion diseases and other physiological disorders, feed them into the AI software, and use machine learning to identify the diseases based on pattern and color recognition from the images. CAES News
UGA uses AI, robotics to improve Georgia’s Vidalia sweet onion crop 10/23/24 Jordan Powers
A multidisciplinary team of UGA researchers aims to enhance the competitiveness of Vidalia onion growers in Georgia by providing them with the ability to confidently detect onion diseases early, enabling them to make management decisions on their crop at a critical time. These abilities, researchers say, should result in increased yield and quality of marketable onions and an overall increase in efficiency and productivity.
Helenedamage web CAES News
Hurricane Helene: Preliminary damage assessment on Georgia agriculture and forestry industry 10/10/24 Claire Sanders Kinnard, Matthew Agvent
Today, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, in coordination with Governor Brian P. Kemp, the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES), and the Georgia Forestry Commission, announced the preliminary estimate of Hurricane Helene’s economic impact on Georgia agriculture is $6.46 billion.
heavily infestedToH web CAES News
CAES combats invasive spotted lanternfly threatening U.S. farms and vineyards 09/24/24 Jordan Powers
The spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula), an invasive insect pest that first arrived in Pennsylvania in 2014 and has since spread to 16 additional states in the Eastern U.S., has state governments urging residents to be on the lookout and to use caution when moving firewood. The insect’s preference for feeding on the tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) — another invasive species — has led to significant pest reservoirs, affecting vineyards and other agricultural sectors, including hardwoods and other ornamental and fruiting trees.
Nino Brown stands in front of a peanut field holding up a red net bag of harvested peanuts above his head as he speaks to participants in the Georgia Peanut Tour in 2022. CAES News
CAES experts study oil production to boost Georgia’s peanut power 09/05/24 Maria M. Lameiras
A new study by experts in the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is seeking to increase the value of Georgia’s peanut crops for new markets while reducing losses caused by aflatoxin, a consistent threat to the No. 1 peanut-producing state in the United States. The four-year, $490,000 grant will take a systems-based approach toward developing high-oil peanut varieties bred to withstand the unique climate and pest pressures of the Southeast.
An employee of Pyxus Agriculture Malawi shows a map explaining the various sites where the Feed the Future Peanut Innovation Lab works with 147 local farmers, Pyxus and the national agriculture program in Malawi. The demonstration was part of the 2024 Groundnut Tour in Malawi, a three-day event modeled after the Georgia Peanut Tour. CAES News
Georgia Peanut Tour inspires Malawi to host first groundnut tour 05/01/24 Allison Floyd
Ten years ago, the Georgia Peanut Tour welcomed its first visitor from the southern African nation of Malawi, where peanuts are part of the local cuisine but are only grown in small gardens or bought in informal markets. Over the next decade, visitors from Malawi attended the tour every year, traveling halfway around the world to see how farmers, shellers, researchers and others work together to get a large crop of peanuts to consumers every year.
SilverleafWhitefly CAES News
CAES researchers secure $4 million to tackle silverleaf whitefly problem 01/11/24 Emily Cabrera
A multidisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences recently renewed a $4 million contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service to build upon their previous work to develop targeted interventions to mitigate the impact of silverleaf whiteflies on vegetable production in the Southeast. UGA entomologist Allen Moore leads the research team in collaboration with USDA ARS in Charleston, South Carolina.