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Monday, August 15, 2011

Time to control weevil and stinkbug

   We had over 4 inches of rain last week. The rains came slow and over several days so every drop soaked into the ground. The only down side of the rain is the effect it has on pecan weevil emergence. The rain softened the soil and adult weevils have started to emerge.
    Today we started spraying the grove to control pecan weevil and to slow down stink bug feeding (photo at right). Most nuts are in the water stage so weevils aren't laying many eggs at this point but the amount of nut drop we are seeing has prompted my decision to apply "Warrior" insecticide to our grove.
     Here's a photo of an adult pecan weevil looking for just the right spot to puncture a pecan. We've kept pecan weevil populations at the Experiment Field very low with over 30 years annual control measures. At this point, stink bugs may be a larger problem for us than weevils.