Insect Description and Damage While monitoring an experimental soybean field in Princeton, I have not noticed major insect pest problems during the earlier stages of soybean growth, with the exception of thrips. Thrips are tiny, slender insects (less than 1/16…
Monthly Archives: June 2016
Tobacco Blue Mold Moving Up East Coast
Blue mold of tobacco was found last week in Caswell County, located in central North Carolina. This is further north than its previous known locations in Florida and Georgia. The pathogen that causes blue mold is an obligate oomycete, meaning…
Posted in Tobacco
Vegetable Diseases to Scout for: Cucurbit Downy Mildew
About this time last year, our first Kentucky cucurbit downy mildew identification occurred. As the most economically important disease of cucurbits in Kentucky, it is not a matter of if commercial growers and homeowners will experience downy mildew, it is a…
Posted in Vegetables
Vegetable Diseases to Scout for: Center Rot of Onion
Onion growers in Kentucky should have their eye out for bacterial rots of onion this week, particularly center rot of onion. Bacterial rots are common diseases of onions in Kentucky, and homeowners or commercial growers not actively using preventative practices…
Posted in Vegetables
Striped Blister Beetles Defoliate Tomatoes & Potatoes
The striped blister beetle is usually recognized as a potential toxic contaminant in alfalfa in mid-July, but potatoes and tomatoes are also high on its food list. In fact, one of its former common names is “old-fashioned potato bug.” This…
Posted in Vegetables
Spotted Wing Drosophila Activity Increasing
Spotted wing drosophila (SWD) activity is beginning to increase with positive samples identified from several western and southern Kentucky counties, as well as from one in central Kentucky (Figure 1). We are still collecting mostly negative samples from central and…
Posted in Fruit
Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab Highlights
The following plant disease highlights from the University of Kentucky Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratories represent recent sample submissions from field crops, fruit, vegetables, and ornamentals. Diseases diagnosed on agronomic crops during the past week have included anthracnose, common leaf spot,…
Posted in Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab
2016 Insect Trap Counts
Trap counts for major insect pests are provided by the Kentucky IPM Program. Traps are located at the UK Research and Education Center in western Kentucky and the UK Spindletop Farm in Lexington. Below are trap counts for the current…
Posted in Insect Trap Counts
Fall Webworm Tents Appearing
Fall webworm caterpillars feed on more than 100 species of deciduous trees. The first of two generations for summer is appearing now. Tiny larvae emerge from the 400 to 1,000 eggs deposited in a batch on leaves. Newly hatched caterpillars…
Posted in Forest Trees, Landscape Trees & Shrubs
Jumping Oak Galls Scorch White Oaks
Jumping oak galls, made by tiny non-stinging wasps, are causing white oak leaves to turn brown (Figure 1) and drop in some areas. Brown-to-black spots appearing on upper leaf surfaces are discolorations created by gall formation. Tiny button-shaped galls can…
Posted in Forest Trees, Landscape Trees & Shrubs
Orange or Green Gypsy Moth Traps
About 8,000 orange (Figure 1) or green cardboard traps are being pinned to trees to survey for gypsy moth, a serious threat to forest and landscape trees. The traps, placed in an approximately 2-kilometer grid, contain a pheromone to attract…
Posted in Forest Trees, Landscape Trees & Shrubs
Managing Ticks in Pastures
American dog ticks (Figure 1) and lone star ticks spend most of their lives on the ground digesting a blood meal, molting to the next developmental stage, or waiting for a host. Cattle and horses pick up hungry ticks as…
Posted in Livestock Pests
Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab Highlights
The following plant disease highlights from the University of Kentucky Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratories represent recent sample submissions from field crops, fruit, vegetables, and ornamentals. Diseases diagnosed on agronomic crops during the past week have included Pythium root rot and…
Posted in Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab
2016 Insect Trap Counts
Trap counts for major insect pests are provided by the Kentucky IPM Program. Traps are located at the UK Research and Education Center in western Kentucky and the UK Spindletop Farm in Lexington. Below are trap counts for the current…
Posted in Insect Trap Counts
Corn Diseases to Watch for in 2016: Southern Rust and Tar Spot
Two corn diseases are already making some news this season. Southern rust and tar spot have been detected in southern states and could potentially make their way to Kentucky this season. So, keeping a lookout for these two diseases is…
Posted in Grains
Kentucky Pest News 