On the upside, we do not anticipate the high toxin levels seen last year, as recent weather has been less conducive to spread of the disease than conditions in 1996. Potato leafhopper numbers continue to be very high in alfalfa and edible bean fields. Most direct seeded alfalfa fields should be sprayed for leafhopper once they have been clipped. Remember to re-scout after a rainfall. A number of calls have come in about grasshoppers.
Grasshoppers feed from the outer edge of the leaf inward giving the leaf a tattered appearance.
Thresholds are very high and we will have more on grasshoppers next week. Top of Page Next European Corn Borer Trap Counts as of July 15, 1997. 95 Bivoltine - Trap counts remain low as we are in the trough between the first and the second generations. It looks like the first generation flight was smaller than average, and infestation levels should not be too severe. In the field we are seeing larvae up to third or fourth instar, feeding on leaves, in the whorl and in tassels.