Beetles have hard forewings that may partially or totally cover their membranous flight wings. These wings can be dull, very colorful, or covered with small hairs (as in Dectes stem borer). Many have a bright metallic color, and in many…
Blog Archives
Botrytis Gray Mold of Vegetable Crops
Botrytis gray mold can affect numerous vegetable crops resulting in damage to plants and fruit. The disease occurs in field, high tunnel, and greenhouse production; however, conditions in protected agriculture environments (greenhouses and high tunnels) often lead to greater disease…
Posted in Vegetables
WARNING—Topping is Hazardous to Tree Health (PPFS-OR-W-32)
Topping is the drastic removal or cutting back of large branches in mature trees. The tree is pruned much as a hedge is sheared, and large branches are left as stubs. Topping damages numerous large, beautiful trees each year in…
Posted in Featured Pubs & Videos
2023 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
Important Time to Sample for Alfalfa Weevil
The UK Ag Weather Center’s degree day model for alfalfa weevil indicates that by the third week in March, many counties in Kentucky have exceed 190 Degree Days (DD), which is used as a starting point to begin scouting. In…
Posted in Forages
Predicting Future Leafy Green Crop Disease Risk Using Disease History
Past disease presence can indicate a risk for the same disease this year. Many pathogens overwinter on infected plant material or as pathogen survival structures. Poor sanitation practices can lead to an increased risk of these diseases in the upcoming…
Posted in Vegetables
Proper Vegetable Garden Planning for Disease Prevention
Warmer temperatures mean spring is right around the corner, and gardeners everywhere are ready to get plants in the ground. However, prior to planting, growers should develop a plan for this year’s vegetable garden. A thoughtful approach to garden layout…
Posted in Vegetables
Last Year’s Small Fruit Diseases Equal This Year’s Disease Risk
Disease presence last year can indicate a risk for the same disease this year. Many pathogens overwinter on infected plant material or as pathogen survival structures. Poor sanitation practices can lead to an increased risk of these diseases in the…
Posted in Fruit
2023 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
Downy Mildew of Grape
Downy mildew is an important disease of commercial and backyard grapes in Kentucky. Warm, wet, humid weather conditions favor infection and disease development. When flowers, clusters, and shoots become infected by downy mildew, yield losses result. This disease may also…
Posted in Fruit
EPA IPM Webinar: Managing Common Indoor Pests: Cockroaches, Rodents and Fleas
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hosting a free webinar for credit covering three of the most notorious household pests – cockroaches, rodents, and fleas. This webinar will be offered on May 24, 1 – 4:30 P.M. ET. Each of the…
Posted in Announcements
Stink Bugs in Wheat may Have an Early Awakening and Affect Corn and Soybean Seedlings
During the last two weeks of April, I observed brown stink bugs (Euschistus spp.) (Figure 1) and green stink bugs (Nezara viridula) while scouting for aphids in wheat, but surprisingly I had not seen a single rice stink bug (Oebalus…
Posted in Grains
Managing Corn Earworm in Sweet Corn
Sweet corn is our most widely grown vegetable in Kentucky based on acreage. Locally-grown sweet corn is very popular and in some ways, the first local sweet corn of the year signals the start of summer. While many people look…
Posted in Vegetables
Wild Bees Contribute to the Pollination of Apple Orchards in Western Kentucky
Importance of wild bees in agriculture Almost 60% of wild flowering plants on Earth exhibit entomophily (i.e., need insects to be pollinated), and about 80% of our crops depend on insects to be successfully pollinated and even to increase their…
Posted in Fruit
Small, Creepy, and Beautiful Predacious Tigers of the Soil
To our knowledge, beetles (Order Coleoptera) are the most diverse group of insects on the planet. In the United States, there are 30,000 described species. Such species diversity comes along with so many morphological, behavioral, and ecological differences. All that…
Posted in Beneficial Insects
Kentucky Pest News 