Cowpea curculio in southern peas

Cowpea curculio is the key insect pest of southern peas or cowpea in Georgia and elsewhere in the Southeast. Lack of control of this pest has caused localized collapses in southern pea production in Georgia. Since there are no current feasible control options for this insect pest, UGA entomologists have been exploring more of its biology to see if there are periods during the year to take advantage of weak points in its annual cycle in Georgia fields. They just recently documented evidence for diapause in this species. This could help to predict when in the fall season that this weevil is not included to oviposit and therefore cause damage to the crop during that specific time period. They documented a significant reduction in overwintering curculios with certain soil treatments.