Producers are being advised to scout their Lentil crops for any signs of pea aphids.

Generally the aphids will have minimal impact on crops that are filling and close to desiccation, but they could reduce yield in later seeded crops that may still be flowering or in the early pod stage.

Regional Crop Specialist John Ippolito says the economic threshold for insecticide control would be about 30 to 40 aphids in a 180-degree sweep of the crop.

He notes producers will need to watch their insecticide pre-harvest application timing:

"Some of them could have what we call a pre-harvest interval of 14 to maybe as much as 21 days," said Ippolito. "So that would be the time from the application of the insecticide until it's either desiccated or swathed. So especially the insecticide, if it happens to have a 21-day pre-harvest interval.

He says even if the crop hasn’t started to change color yet there is a chance harvest could still start on that crop within the 21-day period.

He adds if you notice a lot of lady beetles, they are a predator of aphids, they may take care of the issue for you without an insecticide application.