Sugarcane aphids have returned to Kansas’s grain sorghum fields, reports The Wichita Eagle.According to a K-State Extension Office report, the invasive insects are once again threatening the state’s sorghum profits, as they did last year.
Kansas is the leading producer of grain sorghum in the United States. Grain Sorghum, also known as Milo, is used primarily as a feed grain for livestock.
Sugarcane aphids were confirmed in fields in Sumner and Cowley counties last week.
“We’re not surprised they’re here,” said Sedgwick County Extension agent Zach Simon. “But obviously we didn’t want to see them.”
Sorghum producers should check their fields early and often for the pests. Simon said he thinks producers will take the threat seriously after last year’s attack.
