PINE TREE, Ark. — Farmers should expect to see an unusually dense wave of insect and pest populations in crops across the state.
Experts with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture say the influx of the pests is due primarily to widespread flooding in the spring and early summer and late-season planting.
The prevalent pests include stink bugs in rice fields and corn earworms in soybeans, among others.
Gus Lorenz, an extension entomologist for the Division of Agriculture in Lonoke, says a concentrated pest presence is a typical challenge associated with late-planted crops.
He says the sheer number of insects in some fields, combined with the insects' speedy reproduction rates, can make it increasingly difficult to save a crop — even with the use of pesticides.