As wheat harvest approaches, now is a good time to consider drying and storage options. A good place to start is by reviewing the equilibrium moisture content chart for soft red winter wheat below, which shows the limits of drying,…
Monthly Archives: May 2022
IPM 20-point Checklist for Controlling Insects in Stored Wheat
Prior to Harvest [ ] Clean all equipment thoroughly to remove old grain, trash, and debris that might contaminate the new crop – combines, carts, trucks, receiving pits/hoppers, conveyers: use pressurized air/water or an industrial wet/dry vacuum storage bins: use…
Posted in Grains
Hanging by a Thread
Dead, curled leaves dangling by fungal “threads” are typical of a disease called thread blight. This disease is more common in eastern Kentucky, where it has been observed on apple, cherry, and viburnum. Other potential hosts include cotoneaster, dogwood, gooseberry,…
Posted in Fruit, Landscape Trees & Shrubs
Peach Scout Website
The publication An IPM Scouting Guide for Common Problems of Peach in Kentucky was first introduced in 2020 as an online/paper version (ID-260). In addition to the online/paper version, and as a way to improve access to this important scouting…
Posted in Fruit
IPM Scouting Guides for Common Problems of Fruit Crops
One of the key components of IPM is to frequently scout and monitor crops to identify problems before they result in significant economic losses. Proper identification of pathogens, insect pests, nutritional, and physiologic disorders, as well as herbicide drift, is…
Posted in Featured Pubs & Videos
2022 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
Cedar-Apple Rust
Cedar-apple rust is the most common and economically important rust disease of apple in Kentucky. The pathogen overwinters as galls on cedar and juniper. Removal of these pathogen sources on cedar can later reduce disease incidence on apple. Once apple…
Posted in Fruit
Strawberry Scout Website
The publication An IPM Scouting Guide for Common Problems of Strawberry in Kentucky was first introduced in 2016 as an online/paper version. In order to improve access to this important scouting guide, a mobile website was developed. The Strawberry Scout…
Posted in Fruit
Insect Control with Home Vegetables
A question many home vegetable gardeners might ask themselves is: Should I spray my vegetable crops to control insect pests? In some years, it seems like pests appear almost out of nowhere and ruin the anticipated harvest. Particularly with rising…
Posted in Vegetables
Managing the Notorious Squash Bug
I get more questions about having to manage squash bug, a key pest of squash, gourds and pumpkins in Kentucky, than possibly any other insect pest of vegetables. While many of the questions occur in mid-summer when high populations of…
Posted in Vegetables
Cicadas Stragglers Popping Up in Kentucky
Last year, Kentucky got to experience the group of periodical cicadas known as Brood X bursting onto the scene, singing their song, mating in trees, and dying in spectacular numbers. It’s like nature’s most morbid Mardi Gras. There were likely…
Posted in General Pests
So, You Want To Mail A Bug?
The Department of Entomology at the University of Kentucky is always glad to help with identification of insects and their relatives. In this day and age, we most often receive our samples as images attached to emails, texts, Tweets, or…
Posted in Misc. Topics
Black Rot of Grape (PPFS-FR-S-16)
Black rot is the most prevalent and one of the most important grape diseases in Kentucky. While this disease can affect all young developing plant tissues above ground, fruit infections are the most destructive. Without an adequate disease management program,…
Posted in Featured Pubs & Videos
2022 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
Grass Sawflies in Hay
After the fall armyworm outbreak we experienced last fall in soybeans, alfalfa, pastures, and other crops, producers are wary of insects building up in their pastures and hay fields. Last week, we had a report from a producer in south…
Posted in Forages
Kentucky Pest News 