Vegetable production is always at a high risk of insect damage.

Insect pests range from caterpillars and true bugs that devastate summer crops to the insects of cool-season crops like aphids and yellow-margined leaf beetles.

Warm winter temperatures and high humidity are favorable to the year-round pest activity.

Conventional vegetable producers in the Deep South must get a copy of the 2013 Southeast Vegetable Crop Handbook for complete insecticide recommendations or contact your county Extension office.

Organic producers and home gardeners should use the new Extension bulletins available at http://www.aces.edu.

Identify insect pests correctly and then think about managing them using integrated pest management (IPM) tactics.

Conventional vegetable insecticides fall in 18 different categories. Caterpillars can devastate plant stands if not controlled, and there are many effective insecticides for caterpillars with new modes of action.

We have evaluated spinetoram (Radiant) and flubendiamide (Belt) in our test plots as stand-alone or rotational products. These insecticides are more selective than synthetic pyrethroids and also are softer on beneficial insects.

Repeated synthetic pyrethroid treatments (like bifenthrin) can flare up spider mites in hot weather, so reduce your insecticide applications in unfavorable conditions or shift to selective products.

Certain insecticides like chlorantraniliprole (Coragen) and imidacloprid (Admire) can be applied through drip irrigation for early season insect control with long residual.

Through a series of demonstration plots at research stations and commercial fields, a mixed trap-cropping system with Peredovik sunflower and NK300 (forage) sorghum for leaf-footed bug and stink bug management was studied in Alabama.

The trap crops successfully attracted leaf-footed bugs away from the main crop and kept them until late-season.

Two applications of insecticides like zeta-cypermethrin (Mustang Max) and lambda-cyhalothrin (Warrior) on sorghum head reduced 70 to 90 percent of the leaf-footed bugs without the need for treating the main crop against sucking insects.

Spider mite outbreaks were common across Alabama, and mowing grass close to the crop during hot weather results in greater spread of this pest.

High-tunnel producers may also experience spider mites due to the lack of rainfall inside the structure.

Effective materials available

Effective miticides include abamectin (Agri-Mek — also kills Colorado potato beetles), bifenazate (Acramite ), and fenpyroximate (Portal — a new product). For squash bug control, bifenthin (Brigade) and dinotefuran (Venom) provided consistent results in field tests.

Apply insecticides on a timely basis when insects are most vulnerable, use a surfactant as recommended, and follow the preharvest interval mentioned on the insecticide labels before using the products.

Rotate insecticides and minimize applications to conserve the natural enemies and pollinators.

Organic vegetable insect control is difficult and labor-intensive in high pest pressure conditions.

There is more research-based information available today that should be helpful to organic producers and gardeners.

Alabama Extension and other neighboring states now provide intensive hands-on training to organic producers through small farm programs. Please consult the Extension agent in your area for more information.

In organic farming systems, pest prevention through cultural and mechanical tactics is a very important aspect that producers must understand since organic pesticides are expensive with poor residual effect.

In the Deep South, organic farming can be pesticide-intensive and farmers must use approved insecticides in a timely manner (keep multiple products handy for use).

Some of the fast-acting contact insecticides that are good for caterpillar control include spinosad (Entrust) and pyrethrum (Pyganic).

Some slow-acting, but effective caterpillar control products, include Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt (Dipel, Thuricide, Xentari), Beauveria bassiana (BotaniGard), and neem oil (Molt-X). Alabama IPM studies suggest BotaniGard and Molt-X can be tank-mixed and rotated with paraffinic oil (Suffoil-X) for excellent aphid control.

Bt formulation ‘Xentari’ is also very effective against mixed population of caterpillars and provides uniform fruit size.

Always target the small caterpillars with insecticides when they are in low numbers. Target the immature stages of beetles on foliage (e.g., Colorado potato beetle, yellow-margined leaf beetle, Mexican bean beetle) with insecticides but hand-remove the adults or use some kind of a barrier (insect netting).

Spinosad is an extremely toxic organic insecticide that is also effective against flea beetles and other late-season pests.

Remember to identify insects first and then think of an action plan based on economic thresholds. Do not use the wrong insecticide and face the frustration of crop failure.

Do not expect 100 percent control of pests with organic insecticides and rotate products to avoid insecticide resistance.

Stop spraying if the pest population is low or when natural enemies are abundant.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: The 2014 Alabama Fruit and Vegetable Growers Conference and Tradeshow will be held at Auburn, Ala., on Feb. 7-8, 2014. This is the largest networking and learning opportunity of its kind, so don’t miss it.

For more information, visit http://www.afvga.aces.edu/.

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