Severely damaged fields have a white or gray appearance because of the drying of skeletonized upper leaves and buds. Damage is most severe to the first crop or cutting of the season and/or to the regrowth of the second crop. Larvae generally damage the first crop, while adult weevils damage regrowth by feeding on the developing crown buds, retarding growth and preventing fields from greening up after harvest. In some years larvae surviving the first cutting also have helped prevent fields from greening up.
The severity of damage is influenced by alfalfa variety, stand health, weather, growing conditions and the degree of parasitism of the weevil.
Read more about the alfalfa weevil here: http://cropwatch.unl.edu/web/cropwatch/archive?articleID=4090330
