Insect Management

• Insecticide Chart
• Insecticide ID Guide
  

Improve Your Insect Management
Peanuts should be scouted from the time they crack the ground until they are dug for insects and/or damage caused by insects. Why? Because insect pests can reduce yield, quality and profits, and it can happen quickly at times.

Early season scouting should focus on thrips damage and possible soil insects such as white grubs, which affect plant stand.

The focus of mid-season scouting should be on foliage feeders such as cutworms and corn earworms. Also, look for damage caused by leafhoppers and three-cornered alfalfa hoppers.

For the mid-to-late season, especially during pegging, look for soil insects or damage to pegs and pods. Lesser cornstalk borers are often found in hot-dry weather, and velvetbean caterpillar can quickly defoliate the crop.

Insecticide application decisions should be made on a field-by-field basis and used only when a threshold has been reached.

Scouting Tips:
• Scout once a week.

• Take enough samples – at least 10 per field – to cover all field borders and interior areas that might have different soil types or growth habits.

• Sample to include 2 to 3 linear foot of row, and brush down or shake plants to dislodge foliage-feeding worms.

• Pull back vines to identify and count any caterpillars that are present.

• Look on the underside of lateral limbs for webs or holes where LCBs might be feeding.

• Check pegs and developing pods in the sample area.

• Inspect foliage and/or stems for leafhoppers, spider mites or three-cornered alfalfa hopper damage.