Guide · Georgia

Crop pests and diseases

Pests and plant diseases cut yield and quality every year, and in west Georgia a hazelnut dieback with no known cause is spreading.

Who and when

Brown marmorated stink bug: hazelnuts and fruit in Samegrelo, Guria, Imereti and Adjara, June to September. It spends the winter in houses and sheds. It makes nuts bitter and mouldy.
Hazelnut dieback: orchards drying in the west since 2024. The cause is not known. About 72,000 farm households grow hazelnuts.
Vine mildew and rot: in wet years, May to July. In 2023 they halved yields in some vineyards.
Locusts: 23,210 ha treated in 2025; fall webworm in Kakheti.

Getting worse or not: plant diseases rising in west Georgia as rain increases (our reading); stink bug steady.

Right now

Right now (autumn 2026)

Note where stink bugs gather this autumn in houses and sheds, to plan trap places for spring.
Turkish scientists, with FAO and TİKA, sampled dieback orchards in July 2026. The cause is still unknown. The separate hazelnut subsidy stopped in 2026; the ministry points farmers to the State Agro Co-financing Programme.
In 2026 the NFA and Pakka are testing organic stink bug control in Samegrelo and Kakheti.

Before

Before: get ready

Crops and trees

Now (autumn): mark where stink bugs shelter. Bugs in winter shelters can be trapped in large numbers.
Learn integrated pest management: watch, count, and spray only when pests reach a set level (Tajik wheat trials: yields 30–69% higher). When: winter.
Spring, as stink bugs leave their shelters: hang pheromone traps. Trap counts tell you when to spray.
Apples: hang codling moth traps in February–March. Mating disruption dispensers go up at the first male moth caught (Turkish trial; general practice, check locally).
Vines: a wet late spring leaves untreated vines open to mildew. Plan protection with a local agronomist before May.
Hazelnut dieback: photograph sick trees with dates and mark which trees. Get a diagnosis through RDA advisory centres or a research centre. Don't guess the cause.
Hazelnuts: dry nuts well after harvest so they don't go mouldy (aflatoxin). FAO gave dryer grants in 2026 in the hazelnut regions.
Hail nets also keep some insects out, but cost a lot (see the hail guide).

Bees

Beekeepers: get on any spray-warning list, and know where spraying is planned. When: before April.

Money: the state treats stink bugs (450,367 ha in 2025) and locusts; whether farmers pay is not confirmed. Orchards, storage and beekeeping can be part of a State Agro Co-financing project (up to 50%, 55% for cooperatives and highland or dividing-line villages). Pest losses are not insured.

During

During: when it hits

Report the outbreak to the plant protection service.
Before anyone sprays, warn beekeepers. Don't spray crops in flower or near hives.
Beekeepers: for strong, long-lasting sprays on crops in flower, move hives at least 6.5 km, early in the morning when it is cool. Wet sacking over hives is a last resort (general practice, check locally).
Stink bug: use trap counts to decide when to spray, not the calendar.
Dieback: photograph and report sick trees.

After

After: recover

First days

Take photos with date, time and place of the damage. Note which fields or trees, and how much.

First weeks

Keep checking traps. Write down trap counts and losses for next year's plan.
Hazelnuts: sort damaged and bitter nuts from good ones before selling (stink bug damage lowers the price per grade).

Money and help

No compensation for pest losses was found. A beekeeping support programme helped 122 beekeepers in 2025.

Build back better

Use traps and keep counts every year. Georgia's programme puts out over 60,000 traps a year.
Train in integrated pest management, and spray only when counts say so.
Keep dated photos and records of diseased trees, so causes can be found.
Improve drying and storage for hazelnuts.

What the farm check looks for

Hazelnuts in west Georgia (dieback, stink bug, drying), vineyards in wet areas, apples without traps.

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Sources