Pest Identification: Rice, Cotton, and Peanuts | Pennsylvania Approval #001PDZ

Instructors: Ben Thrash, John Corbin, Gene Merkl

Rice Insect Pests. This section details the major and the minor pests commonly associated with rice crops. These include weevils, stink bugs, armyworms, aphids, borers, midges, and more. Students will learn to identify insects at various stages of maturity and to recognize specific insects based on the damage done to the crop.

Cotton Insect Pest and Management Strategies. This section will demonstrate how to identify insect pests in cotton, and outline the most common management strategies. Major insect pests in cotton include thrips, plant bugs, stink bugs, bollworm, budworm, beet armyworm, fall armyworm, spider mites, and others.

Peanut Insect Pests.  This section will cover the major pests commonly associated with peanut crops. These include thrips, cutworms, lesser cornstalk borer, threecornered alfalfa hopper, rednecked peanutworm, peanut burrower bug, and several defoliators.

After completing this course participants will be able to:

• Outline the most common insect pests of rice, the damage they cause, and prevention methods for each.
• Describe the impact these pests have on the yield and quality of rice grain.
• Identify various insect pests typically found in cotton.
• Develop management strategies to control these pests.
• Discuss the most common insect pests of peanuts, the damage they cause, and prevention methods for each.