Waters: Onion Growers Asked to Watch For Thrips, Nutsedge

Yesterday, we told you what potato growers need to be watching for in their fields.  Today, we turn to the onions.  Tim Waters with WSU said the window on many of the early season insect threats is closing, but thrips are starting to show up in area fields.

“And those numbers are going to continue to rise, so we definitely want to be watching out for thrips in our onion fields and treat them before you get multiple thrips per plant, that’s really going to help keep those numbers down.”

Thrips hit onion fields in Eastern Oregon very hard last year.

Waters added growers need to be on the lookout for Yellow Nutsedge, which has started to spread across the Inland Northwest with ease over the past couple of years.

“So that’s one that growers really want to manage in their rotations, so, it’s a weed that if growers arnt familiar with it, they should be watching for it.  If you’re not familiar with the weed, it starts to pop up and it looks a little bit like a grass, but when you look at it from above it’s a sedge, so it has edges, it kind of has a triangular shape leaf when it comes out.”

Waters says Yellow Nursedge spreads very easily with cultivation.  To learn more about the weed, and how to stop it, contact your local Extension Office.

If you have a story idea for the Washington Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail gvaagen@cherrycreekradio.com