Thrips

A common insect, the flea beetle is tiny, shiny, and jumps when disturbed. Injured plants may have streaks or white stripes on upper leaf tissue. Damage can be more extreme when cool or dry weather slows sorghum development. Similar injury can be caused by thrips, tiny insects found in the whorl. Sorghum usually suffers less damage than corn. Flea beetles should not be a concern unless seedlings are infested with several beetles per plant.