NC State University Small Fruit Entomology

03/21/2021

A reminder to contact NCDA if you see spotted lanternfly in North Carolina.

While North Carolina has its fair share of invasive species already within the state, experts at the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services are also on the lookout for pests just outside of our borders.

12/16/2020

Our national organic-focused SWD grant is coming to an end. If you're a berry grower, we want your feedback on project outputs. Please complete our end-of-project survey

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10/16/2020

Our collaborative team is continuing our work on SWD.

Michigan State University Entomology professor Rufus Isaacs’ lab is joining nine other land-grant universities in a new multi-million-dollar grant awarded by U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture to improve pest management of spotted wing Drosophila (...

09/05/2020

To***co harvest is in full swing. I drove by a full trailer yesterday morning on the way back from the field.

this week is about harvest! Harvest is a much anticipated time on the farm because it is the first chance to get a return on a year's worth of investment. Right now, to***co harvest is going in earnest, corn is being harvested, sweet potato harvest is beginning, and soybean harvest will begin in about a month. During this busy season, you will likely encounter equipment or trucks hauling products out of the field to storage or market. Be aware and patient as you encounter equipment. Slow down and assess the situation before you zoom past. Harvesting equipment is big and slow. Operators will pull over when it is safe to do so to let traffic pass. North Carolina is a grain deficit state due to our large livestock industry. This means we import grain from other states and countries in addition to what we produce here. Most of the grain produced in NC goes to feed animals. North Carolina leads the nation in to***co and sweet potato production. Both of these crops are used domestically and shipped abroad. Agriculture is the number one industry in NC and in the USA. Take pride in that when you see a farmer harvesting a field, even if you aren't directly involved in agriculture. American farmers are proud to produce the safest, most sustainable, most abundant, and most affordable food supply in the world. God Bless you! Thanks for reading and have a Happy Labor day weekend! 🇺🇲💪🚜

09/04/2020

Visited our late season budworm experiment this morning. We didn't find as many budworms as we expected (which is interesting on it's own), but we saw lots of snowy tree crickets, hornworms (eggs and larvae of all sizes), and even some to***co splitworm. Also caught this green lynx spider chowing down on a fly. The fly was probably another beneficial insect--a parasitoid that lays eggs in hornworm larvae which emerge after they pupate. So, biocontrol vs biocontrol as fall edges in.

08/31/2020

Visited a vineyard in Western NC today which was concerned about sour rot being moved around by Drosophila. They're trying to get a handle on the species present, so I put out some traps. It was obvious who at least some of the flies were though, Zaprionus indianus' racing stripes are hard to miss.

08/06/2020

While I'm talking **pIPM, if you're looking for efficacy data on pesticides registered in h**p **pvt has published several recent Arthropod Management Test reprots

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08/06/2020

We've added links to fact sheets for our key h**p pests to the NCSU Industrial H**p Portal. More in the works!

Insect & Mite Fact Sheets Corn Earworm & To***co Budworm in Industrial H**p Cannabis Aphid in Industrial H**p Japanese Beetle in Industrial H**p H**p Russet Mites in Industrial H**p Twospotted Spider Mites in Industrial H**p Pesticides Labeled for Industrial H**p in North Carolina NCDA & CS Register...

08/04/2020

Benny Bloodworth was one of the first friends I made after moving to North Carolina. I'll never forget a crazy Saturday wild goose chase around Bladen County looking of a small engine shop to repair my brand new sprayer. (Pro tip: blend your oil lean at first.) We had our first kids at the same age. He will be missed.

A Tribute to the Late Benny Bloodworth August 3, 2020  |  Staff Those of us who work in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences lost a friend and colleague July 22, when research specialist Benny Bloodworth passed away. Benny was in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology and based a...

07/06/2020

Guests include farmers and others in food and agriculture; university experts in agriculture, rural development and economics; and state government officials.

07/03/2020

It's blackberry season! One of our excellent growers and research collaborators in western NC.

07/03/2020

We've used our time during quarantine to update pest fact sheets! Now posted are several new fact sheets for key pests of NC grapes. More to come for grapes and other crops this summer!

Bunch Grape & Muscadine Pests Grape Root Borer Japanese Beetles Green June Bug Twospotted spider mites Climbing Cutworms (see Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium Bunch Grape IPM Guide) Grape Flea Beetle (see Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium Bunch Grape IPM Guide) Grape Berry Moth (see South...