Alton Sparks
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We were able to conduct a bioassay on a population of diamondback moth last week. Keep in mind we work in fields with severe problems and high populations. Also, responses to insecticides can vary greatly from location to location – mostly based on to which insecticides the population has been exposed. The bioassay is a…
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I have received questions concerning the current use of chlorpyrifos (Lorsban and generics) on registered food crops. You will undoubtedly hear a great deal about this at the end of the month as the rule which cancels all tolerances on food crops will go into effect on October 29; however, the tolerances do not expire…
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Just a quick update on the broad mite efficacy test. Ty Torrance completed the second check on this tests today, 6 days after the applications. Thanks for Ty’s persistence for getting this test in and completed. This was actually our second attempt at a broad mite test this season. All of the acaricides tested provided…
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Broad mites are back (and have been for a while) and they have become common in the fall. Some fields have been treated twice and still have mites. Some have been cleaned up successfully. First – a couple of reminders: Do not put a sticker with Agri-Mek (also no chlorthalonil because it has a sticker…
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We have received many questions about Lorsban in the last week. EPA has provided a prepublication version of the final rule which will revoke all food tolerances. Some changes are possible, but not likely. Upon publication, all food tolerances for chlorpyrifos will be cancelled 6 months later (again, some changes are possible, but I believe…
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I received a question this week about spraying for spider mites and protecting honey bees. First and foremost, spider mite problems are frequently a result of repeated application of broad-spectrum insecticides. Don’t apply these products without a specific need. That said, spider mites have become a more consistent problem in the past decade and are…
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The outlook for problems with whitefly transmitted viruses does not look good for fall 2020 vegetable crops. Several viruses were reported at low levels at the end of the spring crops and have already been detected in early fall crops/experiments. This combined with rapidly increasing whitefly populations (and continued hot, dry weather) indicates we will…
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I believe everyone knows that whitefly populations have been building dramatically the last few weeks. Whiteflies love hot dry weather and reproduce rapidly under our current conditions. While we are probably not as bad as we were in 2017 (maybe a month behind), we are far ahead of the last two years. Populations are higher…
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A newly registered insecticide, PQZ, from Nichino America has shown good efficacy against the adult stage of silverleaf whitefly in multiple small plot tests in the last few weeks. While overall efficacy has not been fully evaluated, the activity on adults has appeared equal to Sivanto, which has been considered our best product on adults…
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Dr. Apurba Barman has been running a line of yellow sticky traps throughout southern Georgia for almost two years. These small traps are placed along roadways and changed and counted weekly. The trap lines include 125 locations stretching from Dothan, Alabama, to Reidsville, Georgia. The data collected from these traps are helping us to better…