Aphids in Wheat
Posted by romeethredge on January 27, 2012
Aphids in fields I’ve been looking at are low in number, but increasing.
Yesterday we saw a good many aphids in wheat fields that had been parasitized by tiny wasps and were taken out of commission.
Aphids can be a real problem in wheat due to the fact that they transmit Barley Yellow Dwarf disease besides the fact that they damage the plant through direct feeding.
We need to be scouting our fields to evaluate aphid levels. Here’s some info from the UGA Pest Control Handbook.
Inspect fields at 25-35 days after planting, full
tiller, and heading.
Yield-reducing transmission
of Barley Yellow Dwarf virus can occur during
first two periods; transmission at heading is too
late to reduce yield.
Aphid treatment thresholds are:
Seedlings (2 per row ft.),
6-10 inch plants (6 per row ft.),
Stem elongation (2 per stem),
Flag leaf (5 per flag),
Heading (10 per head to include flag),
Soft/Hard Dough stages (Do not treat).
Here's the female aphid giving birth, yes they have live young and are prolific, they reproduce faster than any other insect.
