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Two species of hornworm caterpillars feed on tobacco and other plants. Tobacco hornworms (Manduca sexta) and tomato hornworms (Manduca quinquemaculata) are easy to confuse. They both have similar appearance, life cycles, and eat some of the same host plants. Mature caterpillars of either of these pests can quickly defoliate tobacco and tomato plants.
This publication covers insect control in a variety of crops, as well as household pests.
Leafhoppers are insects of importance to highbush blueberry growers in North Carolina. Species in the genus Scaphytopius, namely the sharp-nosed (Scaphytopius acutus) and blueberry leafhopper (Scaphytopius magdalensis), can contribute to economic losses in blueberry production. While these leafhoppers cause very little harm to blueberry plants directly, they can transmit a destructive disease called “blueberry stunt” through their feeding. Blueberry stunt is a microorganism that inhabits the sapwood of blueberry plants and infects its host for life. It causes severe stunting, with infected plants achieving only half the size of healthy plants, and once infected, disposal of the plant is necessary to avoid further spread. Therefore, it is important to monitor, identify, and manage associated insects as soon as they are observed in the field.
This guide for growers, updated annually, provides information on production and pest management practices applicable to growing flue-cured tobacco in North Carolina.
This publication covers insect and disease control in apples, blueberries, caneberries, grapes, peaches, pecans and strawberries.
Whiteflies (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) are small (< 0.12 inch) and highly diverse insects that feed on the underside of leaves of many food crops and ornamental plants. They are a large group, with 1,550+ described species. The whitefly species most commonly found on North Carolina blueberries is Tetraleurodes ursorum, also known as the bearberry whitefly. Little is known about the biology and economic impact of this pest, and this fact sheet includes a summary and some points on its management in blueberries.
Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), a member of the Orthotospovirus genus, was first described in 1915 in Australia and later confirmed as the causal agent of spotted wilt disease in the 1930s. Its global emergence intensified in the 1980s and 1990s, driven largely by the spread of western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis), a highly efficient vector. TSWV was first detected in North Carolina in 1988 and became widespread by 1997, with average incidence reaching 10–15% in the Coastal Plains and severe crop losses reported. In the southeastern U.S., the primary vector in tobacco is the tobacco thrips (F. fusca), which, along with the virus's ability to infect over 1,000 plant species, contributes to its persistent threat to diverse agricultural systems.
This publication provides at-a-glance information for growing tobacco in greenhouses, including sanitation practices, source water analysis, fertilizer management, disease control, and insect control.
This factsheet describes the biology and management of cylamen mites in strawberries.
This Extension publication provides an overview of the tobacco budworm (Chloridea virescens), a common pest in flue-cured tobacco. It outlines the insect’s life cycle, behavior, and the types of plant damage observed during the growing season. The resource emphasizes the importance of regular scouting after transplant, and it presents economic thresholds. Management recommendations focus on insecticide applications when thresholds are exceeded, along with the role of natural enemies such as parasitic wasps and predatory paper wasps in regulating budworm populations.
This factsheet describes the biology and management of strawberry clipper weevils in commercial strawberry production.
This factsheet describes sap beetles and their impact on North Carolina strawberries.
Several species of grasshoppers can cause foliar feeding damage in tobacco. They are typically most numerous in dry years and in fields adjacent to hay or weedy strips. Weed burndown or hay mowing can drive grasshoppers and other generalist insects into tobacco and increase feeding activity.
This article will cover two important scale insect pests of blueberries in North Carolina, terrapin scale (Mesolecanium nigrofasciatum) and cottony scale (Pulvinaria spp.), focusing on their biology, scouting, and management. It will describe key identification features, such as the dome-shaped, banded shells of terrapin scale and the conspicuous white egg sacs of cottony scale, and outline their seasonal life cycles. Scouting recommendations will be provided to help detect infestations using stem and leaf inspections during peak activity. Management strategies, including dormant oil applications, targeted treatments during crawler emergence, cultural practices like pruning, and the role of natural enemies, will also be discussed to support effective and sustainable control.
This publication, chapter 9 of the 2025 Flue-Cured Tobacco Information handbook, covers insect management in tobacco production.
This factsheet provides information about Prionus infestation in North Carolina Blueberries.
