by Levi A. Russell and  Mac Young, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Corpus Christi Research and Extension Center

Since its first detection in southern Texas in 2013, the sugarcane aphid has spread throughout the southeast and into the Great Plains causing severe damage to crops which have resulted in significant financial losses for producers. In response, entomology faculty at Texas A&M AgriLife have studied the aphid to determine effective control strategies. Using this information, agricultural economics faculty collaborated with entomology faculty to develop a decision tool for treating the aphid.

The tool uses information about the producer’s cost of treatment, grain sorghum yield and price, and marketing costs to determine the number of aphids per leaf required for profitable treatment. A scout card for the sugarcane aphid on sorghum can be found at http://j.mp/sorghumscascout and the Sugarcane Aphid Treatment Decision Tool for Sorghum can be downloaded here: http://j.mp/sorghumsca

Please contact Levi Russell (lrussell@tamu.edu) or Mac Young (amyoung@ag.tamu.edu) at 361.265.9203 with any questions regarding the Decision Tool. Funding for the tool was provided by the Southern Risk Management Education Center.