Evening field day at Edisto center highlights row crops

Published: October 5, 2011

Clemson University's Ahmad Khalilian discusses sensor-based irrigation in cotton at the field day. image by: Peter Hull

BLACKVILLE — Clemson University entomologist Jeremy Greene has received more phone calls and emails this year about one bug than any other.

The chief pest is a newcomer to the state, but has not taken long to settle in.

Known as bean plataspid, or the kudzu bug, the pest was first found in the U.S. in October 2009, and it arrived in South Carolina the following year.

Kudzu bugs feed on kudzu vines. The pest also munches on soybeans, an important South Carolina crop, and its destructive power could prove costly. South Carolina growers produce more than 14 million bushels a year of soybeans with a gross value of nearly $150 million.

Greene has established test crops in fields at the Clemson University Edisto Research and Education Center and expects to start collating data this winter.

“South Carolina has become the first state to be totally infested with the kudzu bug,” Greene said. “Basically, it has moved with weather patterns.”

Greene and other Clemson scientists discussed their research at the Edisto center Tuesday at its field day, which featured cotton and soybean crops.

Tours of the center’s research included variety tests, weed and insect management in row crops, planting dates for soybeans and sensor-based irrigation in cotton.

Steven Meadows, interim chief operating officer of Clemson Extension, told the more than 100 people who attended the evening field day that research at the Edisto center and others across the state is fundamental to Clemson’s mission.

“The economic impact of agriculture in South Carolina cannot be overlooked,” he said.

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