Missouri Alfalfa Weevils Move Farther North

Alfalfa weevils are on the move in Missouri, according to the University of Missouri. Problems had previously been reported in the southern part of the state, but now its central and northern fields are also under siege. In several surveyed fields, small larvae were three to four times the economic threshold level of an average of one or more larvae per stem. Growers are advised to look for damage.

Ohio Alfalfa Weevils Are Hard At Work

Numerous Ohio alfalfa fields are suffering the effects of alfalfa weevil feeding, report Ohio State University entomologists in the most recent issue of Crop Observation and Recommendation Network. They remind growers that, although alfalfa may look great from a pickup, the only way to determine the presence and density of weevil larvae is to get into the field and scout. Seeing the feeding injury from the road for the first time is seeing it after economic damage has been done. As growers get closer to first cutting, the best management tactic often becomes early harvesting, say entomologists. They recommend early harvest when alfalfa is more than 16” tall and more than four weevil larvae are present per stem.