Tag Archives: Grain Sorghum

Grain Sorghum IPM 5/30/25

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Grain sorghum fields range from bloom to soft dough. We are still finding stink bugs in sorghum fields, average fields have 1 stink bug per head but some are higher.Treatment thresholds are low at bloom and increase as the grain matures.  Some of the fields have leaf footed bugs. These insects can be considered as stink bugs since they feed in a similar manner. Sugarcane aphid numbers were low this week.  Continue to monitor for aphids when scouting for stink bugs and headworms. More Grain Sorghum pest management… Read More →

Aphids in Young Sorghum

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  Young sorghum fields should be inspected for aphids. We typically see two kinds of aphids in young sorghum; the yellow sugarcane aphid and the corn leaf aphid.  This week, I have been finding corn leaf aphids in sorghum fields. Corn leaf aphids are oval and dark bluish-green and have black antennae, cornicles, and legs. There are winged and wingless forms. These aphids are usually found deep in the whorl of preboot sorghum, but they also occur on the underside of leaves, on stems, or in grain heads. … Read More →

Headworms in Grain Sorghum

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Grain sorghum maturity ranges from milk to hard dough.  Sorghum fields that have not reached hard dough should be scouted for headworms and stink bugs.  And all sorghum should be scouted for sugarcane/sorghum aphids. We have not found aphids in colonies greater than 20-40 feet in size.  Most of these are being consumed by beneficial insects such as lady beetle, lacewing, and syrphid fly larvae. What was most noticeable this week was worms in younger sorghum fields.  The older sorghum in soft dough or beyond did not seem… Read More →

False Chinch Bugs in Grain Sorghum

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Early last week, I received reports of false chinch bugs in sorghum fields around Corpus Christi. Several fields there were treated to prevent yield losses. Today, we found a field south of Victoria with alarming numbers of false chinch bugs in some of the sorghum heads. When you shake a sorghum head into the bucket and find 200+ bugs, it can be a bit concerning. After scouting around the field, I determined the field was averaging somewhere between  20 and 50 false chinch bugs per head.  It is… Read More →

Stink Bugs in Field Crops

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The row crops in the Mid-Coast of Texas continues to progress at a normal rate. Cotton field maturity ranges from late squaring to the second week of bloom. Grain sorghum fields are from late bloom to near hard dough. And soybeans are blooming (R2), setting pods (R4) and filling pods (R5). In all of these crops, stink bugs are one of the primary insect pests of concern.  After bloom, cotton fields should be checked for stink bug management by opening 1-inch bolls and checking the inside for evidence… Read More →