Tag: Question of the Week
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Question of the Week – Glyphosate Injury
This week, the question was: What happened to these beets? Only the last 6′ of 6 beds are affected. These beets were injured by glyphosate overspray. The applicator was spraying the row middles and forgot to turn off the sprayer while turning around at the end of the row. The most heavily sprayed plants have…
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Question of the Week – Imperial Moth
This week, the question was: What will this giant caterpillar become when it grows up? This is the caterpillar of the imperial moth (Eacles imperialis). This is one of our largest moths in the Southeast. The caterpillars feed on the foliage of pines, oaks, maples, sweetgum, and sassafras as they develop. When they are ready…
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Question of the Week – Autonomous Laser Weeder
This week, the question was: What is this contraption? This is a fully autonomous robotic laser weeder. The weeder creeps through the field without a human driver, using GPS, Lidar, and multiple sensors. The machine detects weeds in the planted crop. When a weed is detected, a laser zaps the weed, leaving the crop safely behind.…
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Question of the Week – Cutleaf Evening-primrose
This week, the question was: What is this cool-season weed coming up in the row middles of a fall kale field? This is cutleaf evening-primrose. This weed germinates and starts appearing in the fall and grows through the winter and spring until the weather gets hot. It starts out in a rosette with smooth leaf…
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Question of the Week – Cabbage Webworm
This week, the question was: There are diamondback moth caterpillars on the right. What is the caterpillar on the left? This is a cabbage webworm. Cabbage webworms feed near the growing points of brassica plants , often damaging the growing points and causing irregular growth. They frequently feed within webs that protect them from natural…
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Question of the Week – Garter Snake
This week, the question was: This little guy was hiding under a flower pot. What kind of snake is it, and is it venomous? This is an Eastern garter snake. These nonvenomous snakes are pretty common in South Carolina and are active most of the year. They feed primarily on frogs, toads, worms, slugs, and…
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Question of the Week – Squash Beetle Trenching
This week, the question was: Why is a portion of this squash leaf discolored? The light-colored tissue we see here is the result of squash beetle behavior known as “trenching.” Trenching cuts off (at least temporarily) the translocation of cucurbitacin defense compounds, to preserve the palatability and quality of the squash foliage feeding site. The beetles…
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Question of the Week – Large Leaf Spot
This week, the question was: What is wrong with this chestnut leaf? This leaf is showing symptoms of a fungal disease called large leaf spot (Monochaetia sp.) that affects oaks and chestnuts. The appropriately named spots may reach 2 inches wide and stretch across the entire leaf, killing large amounts of tissue. This disease is…
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Question of the Week – Bee Fly
This week, the question was: What is foraging in this cantaloupe flower? This little critter looks a lot like a bee (it’s yellow, fuzzy, and foraging flowers), but if you look closely, you’ll see it has only one pair of wings (bees have two). This feature distinguishes this as a fly, specifically a bee fly…
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Question of the Week – Paraquat Drift
This week, the question was: What are the spots on this squash leaf? These spots are from a small amount of paraquat drift that occurred while the adjacent field was being sprayed in preparation for planting. Paraquat is a contact-only herbicide, so this damage will not spread to new growth. This small amount of damage…
The South Carolina Grower 