Protective measures of pea crops against nodule weevils were carried out in the Ipatovsky district

Peas are an annual early spring crop. Currently, it is one of the most popular crops as a food and fodder plant. Moreover, it enriches the soil with nitrogen.
Pea crops in the Ipatovsky district in 2023 amount to 29.7 thousand hectares - this is the maximum area sown with this crop over the past decade.
When cultivating this agricultural crop, nodule weevils most often have a negative effect on the plant, which damage both the aboveground and underground parts of the plant.
During the survey of 2.98 thousand hectares of pea crops for the presence of pests, specialists of the Ipatovsky district department of the branch of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Rosselkhozcenter" in the Stavropol Territory found that 100% of the surveyed area was colonized by nodule weevils with an average number of 3.6 ind./sq.m.
According to the recommendations of the specialists of the regional Rosselkhoztsentr, the agrarians of the district carried out protective measures on 1.61 thousand hectares. sowing peas, that is, on an area with an economic threshold of harmfulness of 10 or more beetles per 1 sq.m.
Weevil adults overwinter in the upper soil layer in fields where legumes were cultivated. Weevils appear in early spring at a daily air temperature of 3-5 °C. Extra foodfound on growing shoots of perennial legumes. A further increase in temperature increases the activity of beetles and causes their massive flight to leguminous crops, where pests continue to feed, causing damage to seedlings.
After mating, females lay their eggs on the soil and lower leaves of plants. The fecundity of the weevil ranges from several tens to several hundred eggs, the maximum is 3600. Embryonic development lasts from 7 to 35 days.
The hatched larvae go into the soil, where they feed on the roots of legumes, mainly damaging their nodules. The development of larvae takes 30-45 days. Weevils pupate in the soil in earthen cradles at a depth of up to 30 cm. After 8-11 days, beetles of a new generation appear. After a short feeding on the leaves of leguminous plants, they fly to wintering grounds.
During the year, one generation of weevils develops.
Adults and larvae harm. Beetles gnaw round or oval sections along the edges of the leaves, giving the leaf blades a characteristic curly shape. Such damage is most dangerous in the earliest phases of development of leguminous crops: the destruction of cotyledon leaves and growth points can lead to mass thinning of seedlings. The harmfulness of weevils increases in dry and hot weather. Summer beetle damage is less dangerous, since feeding occurs already on adult plants.
Larvae, damaging the roots and nodules of legumes, contribute to the penetration of fungal and bacterial infections into plants, and also reduce the protein content in the plant tissues of leguminous crops.

Source: Branch of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "ROSSELHOZTSENTR" in the Stavropol Territory