Entomology

  • We are a month in to the new year and I just wanted to remind everyone that if you have not already done so, it is time to start thinking about a delayed-dormant application of horticultural oil for scale insect management. The above 50°F weather makes for a lovely day, but the scale insects enjoy…

    Posted in:
  • OFM Management Update

    Overview Oriental Fruit Moth (OFM), is an invasive pest of peaches. The adult moths are grayish, with darker banding on a mottled background (see above image). They are roughly 1/4 -inch in length, and have a wingspan of nearly 1/2-inch. Early in the season the females lay their eggs in new shoots. The larvae proceed…

    Posted in: ,
  • The first large peak of San Jose scale crawler activity is right around the corner. With the heat, the crawlers have been active for a few weeks, but we are now starting to collect considerable numbers of crawlers on the double-sided tapes on our un-treated research trees in Fort Valley, GA. The increasing numbers of…

    Posted in: ,
  • Today, March 18, 2019, we collected our first plum curculio of the season in one of our traps in Byron, GA. While we only found two, this indicates that plum curculio are becoming active in middle Georgia peaches. If you have varieties at or near petal fall, it is time to start preparing your plum…

    Posted in:
  • I posted last week about scale management, but I wanted to send out a reminder about scale and an update for everyone that plum curculio (PC) adults are also active in the orchards (see image above taken last week). In blocks that still have fruit, if you are and have been on top of your…

    Posted in: ,
  • The first peak of San Jose scale crawler activity is right around the corner. We have begun capturing considerable numbers of crawlers on April 17 on un-treated research trees in Fort Valley, GA (see image). The peak emergence of scale crawlers in this region is expected to occur within the next several days, and thus…

    Posted in: ,
  • We are a month in to the new year and I just wanted to remind everyone that if you have not already done so, it is time to start thinking about a delayed-dormant application of horticultural oil for scale insect management. The above 50°F weather makes for a lovely day, but the scale insects enjoy…

    Posted in: ,
  • We are now beginning to detect plum curculio and San Jose scale crawlers in Fort Valley…

    Posted in: