We need to be on the look out for stink bugs in corn. We saw a few stink bugs in the field yesterday. Pictured above is a southern green stink bug nymph. Corn is most sensitive to stinkbug damage during ear formation before silking. UGA Grain Entomologist, Dr. David Buntin, says treat when 25% of plants in ear zone are infested. Here is a link to the 2014 UGA Corn Production Guide which lists treatment options. Keep in mind, pyrethroids are less effective on brown stink bugs than southern and green stink bugs.
Another insect we’re seeing is leafminers. The leafminer is the larva of a small black fly. Female flies lay eggs on the leaf surface that hatch into tiny larvae. If you look close through the transparent “window” of the leaf mine, you can sometimes find the yellowish maggots. They do not cause any economic damage and usually see them on the lower leaves.
Thomas County Ag 