–by Dr. Jeff Whitworth and Dr. Holly Schwarting
Aphids are becoming easier to find in sorghum fields throughout south central and north central Kansas. However, they are a mixture of greenbugs, corn leaf aphids, yellow sugarcane aphids and the new-to-Kansas sugarcane aphid.
Probably the easiest way to find aphids is to look for the shiny/wet looking leaves and then examine the undersides of the leaves immediately above the ‘wet’ leaves. This is the honeydew produced by a colony of aphids.
Headworms are still very common throughout north central and south central Kansas. There are all stages present, but remember the sorghum is vulnerable from flowering to soft dough. These headworms may cause up to 5% loss/worm/head throughout the approximately two weeks that they are feeding directly on the grain.
