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Army worm and potato leaf hopper pressure in alfalfa

A forage specialist encourages alfalfa growers to be on the lookout for a couple of pests.

Jeff Jackson with CROPLAN says reports of army worm are coming in on social media.

“Or they’re sending me messages saying ‘oh my gosh look at the pressure we have.’ But these army worms are the real deal, and if you aren’t paying attention they can wipe you out quickly. So that’s one (and) the second one would be potato leaf hoppers.”

He tells Brownfield those insects are being blown in from the south.

“And they will stunt and make some alfalfa stands turn yellow, so just keeping an eye on those pests (and) treating when you can and protecting your alfalfa investment. Because if you’ve got the quantity out there, we need to keep the quality in good shape.”

Jackson says aphids can sometimes be a problem in alfalfa, but he’s not hearing of many issues.