Insect pest risk
| High risk | Moderate risk | Low risk |
|---|---|---|
| Helicoverpa | ||
| Early crops at greater risk. | Use of non-selective sprays in the vegetative stage can flare helicoverpa and mites. | |
| Etiella | ||
| Dryland crops in dry summers, especially if there is an end-of-season drought with conditions favouring aflatoxin. | Irrigated peanuts with access to late season irrigation. | |
| Peanut scarabs | ||
|
Crops planted adjacent to paddocks planted with peanuts in the previous year, and with a peanut scarab history. | |
| White-fringed weevil (WFW) | ||
| Crops following a previous WFW host (e.g. potatoes in NQ, or lucerne and chickpeas in other regions). | Crops close to lucerne (risk of weevils walking from lucerne field). | |
| Monolepta (redshouldered leaf beetle) | ||
| Proximity to sugar cane and horticultural hosts of this pest (Atherton Tablelands region at greatest risk). | ||
| Silverleaf whitefly (SLW) | ||
| Crops planted close to earlier maturing SLW hosts, especially cotton and cucurbits. |
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|
| Two-spotted and peanut mites | ||
|
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| Lucerne leafhopper | ||
| Cutting of lucerne hay crops in close proximity to peanuts. | ||
Pest incidence
| Pest | Crop stage | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Emergence |
Vegetative |
Flowering |
Pegging |
Podfill |
|
| White fringe weevil | Damaging | Present | Present | ||
| False wireworm | Damaging | ||||
| Cutworms | Damaging | Damaging | Present | ||
| Whitegrubs | Damaging | Damaging | |||
| Armyworms | Damaging | ||||
| Thrips | Damaging | Damaging | Present | ||
| Mirids | Damaging | ||||
| Leafhoppers | Damaging | Damaging | Damaging | Present | |
| Helicoverpa | Damaging | Damaging | Damaging | Present | |
| Mites | Damaging | Damaging | Damaging | ||
| Silverleaf whitefly | Damaging | Damaging | Damaging | Present | |
| Cluster caterpillar | Damaging | Damaging | Damaging | ||
| Etiella | Damaging | ||||
| Present | Present in crop but generally not damaging |
| Damaging | Crop susceptible to damage and loss |
Key IPM considerations for peanuts
- Peanuts are most susceptible to insect pests from flowering onwards. Excessive early damage can delay harvest.
- Peanuts can tolerate higher pest activity because plants are indeterminate and can compensate for early damage by setting new buds and pods to replace those damaged by pests.
- In drought years, etiella is a major problem in dryland crops.
- Western flower thrips are a potential threat to peanuts, mainly because they transmit tobacco spotted wilt virus (TSWV).
- Two species of leafhopper (lucerne and vegetable) occur in peanuts. Lucerne leafhopper can cause tip dieback (‘hopper burn’), which can stunt growth and reduce yield. Vegetable leafhoppers cause white stippling on the leaves, but do not impact on yield, even in drought-stressed plants.
- Mites can become a problem in late crops in some regions, particularly where there is widespread use of non-selective pesticides. Two-spotted mite in peanuts can be controlled by the release of mass-produced predatory mites.
Further information
