Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Spraying for stinkbugs and aphids

   We've waited all during the month of August for enough rain to cause pecan weevil to emerge. And we are still waiting. In the mean time, two other insect pests have become potential problems.
    In the absence of pecan weevil sprays, stink bugs can build up in the orchard especially when the weather turns dry. Stink bugs feed on a wide variety of plants but always prefer a green and juicy host plant. Under dry conditions, the ground cover and surrounding fields start to dry up and pecans become the most desirable food available. We decided to spray this week to keep stink bug populations under control.
    Since we were making a pass through the orchard with the sprayer, I decided to add an aphicide to the mix to knock down the population of black-margined aphids currently coating pecan tree leaves with honeydew. We used Hero insecticide to control stinkbug and Provado for the aphids.