Wheat Insects
All Wheat Insects Content
Check Your Bins This Spring
As it warms up this spring, don’t forget to check the bins. Grain bins work as solar heat collectors, and the grain inside of them may be much warmer than expected.
Monitor Wheat for Early-Season Cutworm Activity
It's finally warming up in South Dakota, and insect activity in wheat fields will be increasing. For wheat, a couple of early-season pests that may already be active are the army cutworm and the pale western cutworm.
Drought Conditions Magnifying Impact of Black Grass Bugs
With much of South Dakota continuing to experience moderate-to-extreme drought conditions, black grass bugs could become a concern in some areas. Large populations of black grass bugs can cause severe damage to pasture.
Dry Conditions Could Lead to Early Twospotted Spider Mite Infestations
Although it isn’t an insect, the twospotted spider mite is an occasional pest of crops in South Dakota, and its populations can rapidly increase during dry conditions.
2021 South Dakota Pest Management Guides Now Available
February 04, 2021
SDSU Extension has released the 2021 South Dakota Pest Management Guides.
Use the SD Spray Tool for Inversion Detection and Weather for Pesticide Application
The SD Mesonet Spray Tool provides real-time weather data for pesticide applicators. This dedicated website for pesticide applicators uses the SD Mesonet weather data, which is updated every five minutes.
2019 South Dakota Grasshopper Forecast
The USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service conducts an annual survey to monitor grasshopper populations in Western South Dakota. In 2018, SDSU conducted a survey to monitor populations in Eastern South Dakota. These previous-year surveys can be used as a prediction tool for where grasshoppers may be an issue during the upcoming season.
Cancellation of Several Neonicotinoids
On May 20, 2019, the United States Environmental Protection Agency announced the cancellation of registrations for 12 products that contain neonicotinoid insecticides. The cancellation of the product registrations was voluntarily requested by the companies that had registered the products.
Scouting Winter Wheat for Aphid Pests
Although we cannot predict aphid pressure in winter wheat, there are measures that may be taken to reduce the risk associated with these insects.
Scouting Winter Wheat for Mite Pests
Winter wheat planting is underway in South Dakota. After wheat emergence, it is important to scout for brown wheat mite and wheat curl mite populations.