Blayne Reed 7/12 – A quick update to the sugarcane aphid population watch. Yesterday I did find and confirm the aphid in northwestern Hale County on seed milo. The population was what I would consider very light and not at our High Plains SCA treatment thresholds yet. Less than 5% of these early bloom stage plants in this field had small colonies of 20 or less sca on them.
Listed here are those treatment thresholds:
Treatment threshold:
- Pre-boot: 20% of plants with aphids
- Boot: 20% of plants infested with 50 aphids per leaf.
- Flowering to Milk: 30% of plants infested with 50 aphids per leaf.
- Soft dough through dough: 30% of plants infested
*Do not let them get too numerous before treating*
Maximize spray coverage best you can – spray AT LEAST 10 GPA by ground and 5 GPA by air; *Spray by ground if possible*
Kerry Siders, EA-IPM in Hockley, Cochran and Lamb counties, just reported that Danny Quisenberry, a crop consultant, found sugarcane aphids on older grain sorghum four miles north of Earth in northern Lamb County.
Additionally, Greg Cronholm, a private crop consultant, just reported sugarcane aphids on sorghum in southern Castro County.
Neither of these populations is at a treatable level, just small colonies on isolated plants at present. If this year’s infestation pattern follows those of 2014-2017, then it is likely the aphids are already present in Hale, Floyd and Lubbock counties, although we have had no reports of this as yet.
