On Sept. 9, a sizable number of sugarcane aphids were documented on grain sorghum in Floyd County–hundreds of miles from the nearest sugarcane fields, according to AgriLife Today.
The confirmation near the Briscoe and Swisher county lines is the first positive identification of a sizable population on the Southern High Plains, said Dr. Charles Allen, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service’s (AgriLife) state integrated pest management coordinator at San Angelo.
The aphids are not new to the U.S., but their expanding range and taste for grain sorghum and forage sorghum is news to growers. The sugarcane aphid reproduces very rapidly and when large aphid populations goes untreated, it results in yield losses and interferes with harvest, as the insect’s waste “honeydew” gums up harvest equipment.
When 40 percent of the plants are infested with 100 or more aphids per leaf, it’s time to treat the fields. The EPA-approved pesticide Transform is an effective spray, but only two applications are allowed during a single growing season.
For more information, contact Allen at 325-653-4576, ctallen@ag.tamu.edu or Dr. Pat Porter, AgriLife Extension agronomist at 806-746-6101 p-porter@tamu.edu.