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Agronomist, Andrew McMahen (Landmark), reports finding varying numbers of cowpea aphids in early flowering vetch crops near Donald and Warracknabeal, in the Victorian Wimmera district. In the worst affected paddocks ‘hotspots’ were found randomly scattered throughout the crop, varying in size up to 2 metres in diameter. In these areas plants were blackened and laying flat on the ground, and are unlikely to recover even after chemical treatment. Andrew says this year appears to be worse than previous years for aphids, and believes problems will continue to increase in the coming weeks.
The cowpea aphid (Aphis craccivora) is easily distinguished from other crop aphids. Adults are shiny black, up to 2 mm long and may have wings (‘alate’ forms). Nymphs are smaller and dull grey in colour. All stages have white and black coloured legs. They favour legume hosts and are commonly found on faba beans, lentils, medic, lucerne, clover and lupins.
Click here for images of cowpea aphids.
Cowpea aphids form dense colonies on individual plants, or in well-defined patches. Infestations start on the growing tips, and spread down the stem, causing leaf bunching and stem twisting. They also produce honeydew, which can lead to the formation of a black sooty mould and reduce plant growth. Cowpea aphids tolerate warm dry weather, and can cause severe damage in moisture stressed crops. Cowpea aphids are also known to be vectors of many important plant viruses.
What is PestFacts?
PestFacts south-eastern keeps growers and advisers informed about invertebrate pests and beneficials in broadacre crops and pastures during the winter-cropping season in Victoria and southern New South Wales.
PestFacts south-eastern is run through IPMforGrains: Best Practice Insect Pest Management, a project delivered by the National Pest Information Network (cesar, DPIRD, QDAF, NSW DPI, and SARDI). This project aims to provide grain growers and advisors with information on invertebrate grain pest occurrence and equip industry with the knowledge needed to implement integrated pest management practices. This initiative is a GRDC investment and includes in-kind contributions from all project partner organisations.
We need your reports
PestFacts is produced on an ʻas-needsʼ basis and relies upon pest observations and field reports from our subscribers. If you have recently observed invertebrate pests (or beneficial species) in broadacre crops, please contact us to report your observations.
Agricultural invertebrate identification
If you are a grower or agronomist in Victoria or NSW working with broadacre crops or pastures, we can assist you with identifying invertebrates found on farms at no cost. Please contact us for identification help.
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PestFacts map is an interactive tool that allows users to search and view historical pest reports across Victoria and NSW. The map is updated with each issue of PestFacts to include new reports.
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