Severe losses of dry matter and a decrease in forage quality can result if you don't control this insect. Effective control requires a timely application of an approved insecticide based on number of larvae per stem. To determine larval numbers, scout your fields weekly starting in mid-February. If larval populations reach one to two per stem, apply an insecticide, using 10 to 20 gallons of spray per acre. Aphids Aphids are one of the most commonly found insects on stands of grasses, clovers, or alfalfa.
Aphids are small, soft-bodied insects that have mouthparts suited for piercing plant tissue.
The insects can damage plants by sucking plant juices, injecting toxic substances, or injecting diesease organisms. Watch for the appearance of small, circular areas in fields that show dead plants in the center, surrounded by yellowed plants. Treat when you find two or three aphids per ten seedlings. Cutting at early bloom stage helps reduce the infestation. Treat when clover is 50 percent of full bloom stage.