Kansas alfalfa growers are worried about weevil damage to the crop’s second cutting. That’s because unusually high numbers of weevil moths emerged near Emporium, KS, just before the first cutting was ready.
In most fields, the weevils didn’t cause serious damage to that cutting, says Leroy Brooks, Kansas State University extension entomologist.
"But adults can survive harvesting procedures by dropping to the ground," he points out. "And given the size of this population, there’s a good chance they’ll wait around and feed on field stubble, alfalfa stem bark and the next cutting’s emerging buds."
Brooks usually becomes concerned when he finds 25-50 moths per 10 insect-net sweeps. This time he found more than 500 per sweep in some fields.