Introduction
Pepper weevil, Anthonomus eugenii Cano, is a key insect pest of peppers wherever the crop and pest coexist. In Georgia, pepper weevil was historically considered an occasional pest, with infestations generally attributed to man-aided movement. Recent overwintering monitoring of populations with pheromone traps clearly demonstrated that pepper weevil now overwinters throughout southern Georgia, including all of our primary pepper production areas.
To monitor this situation and make growers aware of the issue, pheromone traps were established and monitored throughout the winter of 2023–2024. Traps were established in the primary pepper-growing counties. In general, traps were established in early December to determine population levels entering winter and monitored into the following spring planting season to determine if weevils successfully overwintered.
Material and Methods
Fields were monitored in Brooks, Echols, Lowndes, Grady, Tift, Colquitt, and Worth Counties. In general, traps were established in fields that had been planted with peppers during the fall. Four pepper weevil traps were established in each field. Traps were baited with the standard two-part pepper weevil pheromone from Trece Corporation (Pepper Weevil 4-Station Kit, Trece Corp., Adair, OK). Traps were run for 2 weeks each month from December through February, and weekly during March for 3 weeks. In total, pepper weevil traps were run in 17 fields.
Results
The overall trends were similar to previous years, with large populations entering early winter, and obvious survival of low populations well into late winter (Figure 1).
Pepper Weevil Trap Counts, 2024, All trap data combined
Very high numbers can be captured during the winter, particularly during warmer periods. In previous years, this occurrence resulted in over 1,000 adults per trap in some fields. Maximum capture in 2023–2024 was an average of 797.25 per trap in December in Tift County, with a maximum single-trap capture of 955. The second-highest average was 86 in December in Grady County, with the maximum single-trap capture of 200 adults.
As the weather warms and planting season approaches, the majority of the weevils appear to die. However, even one weevil per trap is too many at planting time, as adults can utilize pepper foliage as a food source and survive until fruit is available for reproduction.
Pepper Weevil Trap Counts, 2024, by County
Looking at trap captures by county (Figure 2) and by individual fields (Figure 3), there is obvious variation among sites. The highest captures by county were for Tift/Colquitt, followed by Echols/Lowndes; however, in both, a single field represented the majority of trap captures, and fields with high numbers of adults entering winter (December captures) maintained higher captures during January and February.
Trap captures approach zero going into the spring planting season (March captures), irrespective of earlier trap captures, suggesting that winter weather and lack of host material cause the majority of overwintering mortality, and additional control measures during the winter likely have minimal impact.
Pepper Weevil Trap Counts, 2024, by Field
Figure 3. Adult Pepper Weevil Trap Captures by Field Within Each Sampled County.
Conclusions
As in previous years, our research indicates that the majority of weevils entering the winter do not survive spring planting (suggesting that attempts to control weevils during the winter are likely unwarranted); however, low numbers do survive and infest the spring crop, and pepper weevil remains a pest that must be managed throughout the spring and fall production seasons.
