Current Alerts
Swipe Left or Right to navigate Alerts
Eastern Idaho Pest Alert – May 23, 2025 | Vol. 6, Iss. 2
All Crops Eastern Idaho, Magic Valley
Eastrern Idaho Pest Alert
Posted on: May 23, 2025 by Jemila Chellappa
Pest Alerts from Bonneville County – Eastern Idaho
As temperatures begin to rise across, many of us are starting to notice increased insect activity in our fields, gardens, and landscapes. It’s natural to feel the urge to reach for an insecticide at the first sign of bugs—but we encourage you to pause and take a closer look. Not all insects are harmful, and many play important roles in pollination, natural pest control, and maintaining ecological balance.
Spraying too early or without proper identification can unintentionally harm beneficial insects and disrupt the natural balance of your growing environment. Whenever possible:
- Identify the insect first—Is it a pest, a predator, or a pollinator?
- Monitor populations—Are the numbers high enough to justify treatment?
- Consider non-chemical options, such as biological or cultural controls.
Let’s work together to protect both our crops and our ecosystem. Reach out to your local Extension office for help with insect ID and integrated pest management (IPM) strategies tailored for your area. https://www.uidaho.edu/extension/directory/counties
Stay informed, and spray smarter! Find more information in the attached newsletter -Temperature Watch: Recent warm days may be misleading—nighttime temps below 40°F can damage tender plants such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, beans, and zinnias. Be ready to protect your plants!
Garden Tip – Hardening Off Transplants: Give new plants time to adjust outdoors.
Weed Alert – Quackgrass: Spreading aggressively by rhizomes and seeds, quackgrass is hard to control in lawns and flower beds.
Fire Blight Update: Cool temps have kept fire blight risk low, but risk will increase as temperatures rise and trees bloom. Monitor forecasts and prune infected tissue early.
Fire blight risk levels vary across locations—some areas entering High to Extreme Risk by late May.
Codling Moth Monitoring: Moths detected in warmer locations, but no spray timing yet for Eastern Idaho. Continue monitoring traps. Spray dates TBD.
Backyard Control Options Listed – Both conventional and organic sprays outlined for codling moth. Be sure to rotate products each generation. Full list available in the alert bulletin.
Upcoming UI Extension Events: Check the PDF attached
More Information, contact:
Lena Allen
Horticulture Secretary
University of Idaho
Bonneville County Extension
208.529.1390
Potato Growing Degree Days
Potato All Locations
Posted on: May 22, 2025 by Nora Olsen
Calculating growing degree days (GDD) or heat units is one method to look at the effect of temperature on the potato crop. Plant growth and development is greatly influenced by temperature, and we use GDD to get an idea of how the plant is developing throughout the season. It also gives a great perspective of how the current season compares to previous seasons.
To quantify this period of cold temperatures, we collated the cumulative GDDs for Parma, Kimberly and Shelley. The source of the GDD was AgriMet (www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/wxdata.html) weather stations located at the three sites. Daily GDD is calculated by adding the maximum temperature and the minimum temperature, dividing by 2 and subtracting a base temperature. The base temperature is used to define the temperature at which potato growth is diminished. The AgriMet calculation of GDD uses 50F as a minimum and 86F as a maximum. There are limitations to the use of these minimum and maximums since potatoes will grow outside of this range, but these calculations can still provide a reasonable prediction of the temperatures impacting potato growth.
To help provide a picture of the relationship between temperature and plant development, we will continue to update the GDD graphs weekly for the three locations and post at www.uidaho.edu/cals/potatoes/storage.
The graphs may look a little different this year than in the past. Click on the arrow near the top to toggle between the three growing locations. Also, use the dropdown menu to add or subtract the years you want to compare. The black line is 2025. The graphs will be updated weekly.
Pest Alert - Eastern Idaho
All Crops Eastern Idaho
Pest Alert Newsletter - Eastern Idaho
Posted on: May 12, 2025 by Jemila Chellappa
Pest Alerts from Bonneville County – Eastern Idaho
As temperatures begin to rise across, many of us are starting to notice increased insect activity in our fields, gardens, and landscapes.
It’s natural to feel the urge to reach for an insecticide at the first sign of bugs—but we encourage you to pause and take a closer look. Not all insects are harmful, and many play important roles in pollination, natural pest control, and maintaining ecological balance.
Spraying too early or without proper identification can unintentionally harm beneficial insects and disrupt the natural balance of your growing environment. Whenever possible:
Identify the insect first—Is it a pest, a predator, or a pollinator?
Monitor populations—Are the numbers high enough to justify treatment?
Consider non-chemical options, such as biological or cultural controls.
Let’s work together to protect both our crops and our ecosystem. Reach out to your local Extension office for help with insect ID and integrated pest management (IPM) strategies tailored for your area. https://www.uidaho.edu/extension/directory/counties
Stay informed, and spray smarter! Find more information in the attached newsletter
Treasure Valley Agricultural Advisory Meeting
All Crops Treasure Valley, Treasure Valley - Idaho
Posted on: April 30, 2025 by Jemila Chellappa
CALLING ALL AGRICULTURE PRODUCERS & INDUSTRY SUPPORTERS
PLEASE JOIN THE UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO EXTENSION, SOUTHERN DISTRICTS FOR THE 2025 AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY MEETINGS.
THERE IS NO COST TO ATTEND, BUT REGISTRATION WILL HELP US PLAN!
A WARM DINNER WILL BE PROVIDED. LET’S COME TOGETHER TO GROW AND BUILD IDAHO AGRICULTURE.
DATES AND LOCATIONS:
MONDAY, MAY 12TH - OWYHEE CO. EXT. OFFICE (238 8TH AVE W., MARSING)
TUESDAY, MAY 13TH - CANYON CO. EXT. OFFICE (501 MAIN ST., CALDWELL)
WEDNESDAY, MAY 14TH - WASHINGTON CO. EXT. OFFICE (116 W. IDAHO ST., WEISER)
THURSDAY, MAY 15TH - GEM COUNTY - LOCATION TBD
TIME: 6:30 TO 8:00 PM
To register, click HERE: https://bit.ly/25AgAdvisory
For More information, Contact UI Extension, Canyon County at 208-459-6003 or canyon@uidaho.edu with questions.
