{"id":1796,"date":"2021-06-02T10:59:57","date_gmt":"2021-06-02T15:59:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/mid-coast-ipm\/?p=1796"},"modified":"2021-06-02T10:59:57","modified_gmt":"2021-06-02T15:59:57","slug":"midge-in-grain-sorghum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/mid-coast-ipm\/midge-in-grain-sorghum\/","title":{"rendered":"Midge in Grain Sorghum"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sorghum Midge (Stephen Biles)<\/p><\/div>\n

Grain sorghum fields range in maturity from nearing bloom to soft dough and all of these fields need to be scouted frequently.<\/p>\n

Blooming sorghum is susceptible to sorghum midge<\/strong> and field scouts are finding more midge in the fields this week. Scout sorghum fields 2-3 times per week until past bloom.<\/p>\n

Start by scouting fields on the south side (downwind) as the midge is a poor flyer and will be found on the field margins first. When you are finding them on field margins, move 150-200 feet into the field and check again.<\/p>\n

Look for adults on the yellow blooms by inspecting carefully and at close range all sides of randomly selected flowering grain heads. The reddish, gnat-like adults crawl on or fly about the flowering heads. During inspection, handle the grain heads carefully to avoid disturbing the adult midges.<\/p>\n

Clapping your hands on the sorghum head can be useful to find large numbers of midge but may not find the midge if there are only 1-2 per head.<\/p>\n

The economic threshold can be determined by this equation: Click HERE for ET calculator<\/a><\/p>\n

Number of sorghum midges\/flowering heads = Cost of control as $A \u00d7 33256 \/ Value of grain as $ per cwt \u00d7 Number of flowering heads<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Headworm (S. Biles)<\/p><\/div>\n

My current economic threshold for sorghum midge is 0.5 midge per head (or 1 midge per 2 heads).<\/p>\n

Once fields have bloomed, sorghum should be scouted for headworms and stink bugs. Headworms<\/strong> include the fall armyworm, corn earworm and occasionally the sorghum webworm.<\/p>\n

Scout these fields by beating heads in a bucket. We use a 2-gallon bucket for scouting sorghum. Look here for a\u00a0brief video.<\/a><\/p>\n

Using the bucket you can find how many headworms and stink bugs are in your field.<\/p>\n

I addressed stink bugs<\/strong> in sorghum last week HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Also, we have not found fields with concerning numbers of sugarcane aphids<\/strong> yet, but continue to watch for them.<\/p>\n

Economic thresholds for grain sorghum are as follows:<\/p>\n

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More Information:<\/p>\n