Industrial Hemp Seminar

Industrial Hemp Seminar December 10th in Wharton

By Corrie Bowen

County Extension Agent

Wharton County

Anyone who’s been keeping up with current events in agriculture will know that there’s a growing interest in growing industrial hemp.  This new interest began with the enacted 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp with a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration of no more than 0.3% on a dry-weight basis. Thus, the 2018 Farm Bill allows for expanding cultivation of hemp, but not marijuana. In the 86th Texas Legislative session this year, the Texas Legislature approved Industrial hemp production in Texas with House Bill 1325.  On Tuesday, October 29 USDA released their interim rules which Texas and other states will now use in crafting their state-specific guidelines for hemp production.  Now, Texas Dept. of Agriculture will work to finalize Texas rules, which must then be submitted to USDA for federal approval.

There could be opportunity for producers growing hemp, but not without careful consideration of all the risks. With no infrastructure or research on hemp in the region, we want to provide the most relevant and unbiased information for our area so producers and potential investors can make informed decisions in the outset of a potential new ag industry.  To begin this process of educating potential producers, an industrial hemp seminar will be held on December 10, 2019 by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, in cooperation with the Wharton Economic Development Corporation at the Wharton Civic Center in Wharton, Texas.  The Wharton Civic Center is located at 1924 N. Fulton St, Wharton, Texas 77488.

Registration will begin at 6 p.m.  The seminar will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a brief welcome from Corrie Bowen, Wharton County Extension Agent, and Chad Odom, Director – Wharton Economic Development Corporation.  Our first guest speaker, Calvin Trostle, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension agronomist, Lubbock, will provide an introduction to the hemp industry. He will discuss hemp products and processing as well as the differences in growing seeds and transplants, growing for CBD oil or fiber, and agronomic considerations for growing industrial hemp.  Dr. George Knapek, Texas A&M AgriLife Agriculture and Food Policy Specialist will present the Economic Considerations for Industrial Hemp in Texas. Dr. Trostle and Dr. Knapek will allow time for questions and answers.  The program will conclude at 9:00 p.m.  If you are interested in attending the Industrial Hemp Seminar, please call Stacey by 5 p.m. on December 9 at the Wharton County Extension Office at 979-532-3310 to let us know that you’ll be attending.  The fee is $20/person, which can be paid at the door on December 10th.  Individuals with disabilities who require an auxiliary aid, service or accommodation in order to participate in any Extension activity, are encouraged to contact the Wharton County Extension Office at 979-532-3310 for assistance 5 days prior to the activity.

The members of Texas A&M AgriLife will provide equal opportunities in programs and activities, education, and employment to all persons regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation or gender identity and will strive to achieve full and equal employment opportunity throughout Texas A&M AgriLife. The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating

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For a Flyer visit: https://wharton.agrilife.org/events/agriculture-natural-resources-events/

Cotton, grain risk management workshop October 17th at Wharton Fairgrounds

Corrie Bowen

County Extension Agent

Wharton County

A cotton and grain risk management marketing workshop is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 17 at the Wharton County Fairgrounds in Crescent, Texas.  The Wharton County Fairgrounds is located at 6036 FM 961 Rd. Registration begins at 8 a.m.  Our first presentation will begin at 8:30 a.m.

The workshop is sponsored by the Wharton County AgriLife Extension Office and the Wharton County Row Crops Committee.

“This is an excellent opportunity to be briefed on the need for budgeting, decision tools, outlook and making marketing plans for the next crop year,” said Mac Young, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist, Corpus Christi.

The following is a schedule of speakers and topics:

Budgeting and Decision Tools, Mac Young.

Cotton Outlook, Dr. John Robinson, AgriLife Extension Cotton Marketing Economist.

Grain Outlook, Dr. Mark Welch, Extension Economist – Grain Marketing.

Marketing Strategies, Robinson and Welch.

‘What If” Scenarios, Discussion and Questions, Robinson and Welch

The workshop will conclude at 12:00 p.m. with a meal. Please RSVP by calling Stacey at 979-532-3310 by 12 noon on Wednesday, October 16th.

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Wrapping Up

Howdy,

Our grain in the upper gulf coast is being harvested, and most of our cotton is finishing out and past concern for insect pressure. The heat units for each county for August 1- 7 are below:

Wharton: 175

Jackson: 187

Matagorda: 183

Below I have included our cotton defoliation trial results from 2017, and I will include this year's trial information as soon as we have it. We treated the first set of treatments this Tuesday, and plan on making follow up applications next Tuesday. Please feel free to call our office if you have any questions or concerns. Stay safe harvesting, everyone!

Results for the cotton defoliation study that was sprayed on July 28, 2017 in Wharton, Texas are listed below.  A rating of the July 28th application (Application Timing A)  of 13 different defoliation treatments was taken on August 2, 2017.  The percentages given for % Defoliation, % Desiccation, % Green Leaf, and % Open Boll for the attached report is a measure of only Application A at 5 days after spraying.  The attached report does not reflect the second application of defoliant (Application Timing B), as the treatments that called for a second spraying were not sprayed until August 4th.  Approximate cost estimates reflect total cost of the treatment (e.g.  Total cost of Treatment A and Treatment B).   I will follow up later this week with the results of the defoliation study taken at  12 days after the initial defoliation.  The second report will also reflect % regrowth for the 13 treatments.

https://wharton.agrilife.org/2017/08/09/2017-cotton-harvest-aid-rating/

More info on cotton defoliation

Finishing up

Howdy,

Our grain in the upper gulf coast is being harvested, and most of our cotton is finishing out and past concern for insect pressure.

Below I have included our cotton defoliation trial results from 2017, and I will include this year's trial information as soon as we have it. Please feel free to call our office if you have any questions or concerns. Stay safe harvesting, everyone!

Results for the cotton defoliation study that was sprayed on July 28, 2017 in Wharton, Texas are listed below.  A rating of the July 28th application (Application Timing A)  of 13 different defoliation treatments was taken on August 2, 2017.  The percentages given for % Defoliation, % Desiccation, % Green Leaf, and % Open Boll for the attached report is a measure of only Application A at 5 days after spraying.  The attached report does not reflect the second application of defoliant (Application Timing B), as the treatments that called for a second spraying were not sprayed until August 4th.  Approximate cost estimates reflect total cost of the treatment (e.g.  Total cost of Treatment A and Treatment B).   I will follow up later this week with the results of the defoliation study taken at  12 days after the initial defoliation.  The second report will also reflect % regrowth for the 13 treatments.

https://wharton.agrilife.org/2017/08/09/2017-cotton-harvest-aid-rating/

More info on cotton defoliation

Howdy,

This week most folks are harvesting grain. This season is wrapping up, and cotton is moving along nicely as well, most of the fields I look at are past cutout and open in several. In the fields that are at or past cut out, or 4-5 NAWF, the carbohydrate supply is equal to the demand, and vegetative growth stops, so no more harvestable fruit will be set. That means that the squares on the plant at that time are the last ones with potential to develop into bolls.

 Most of my fields are past concern for bollworm damage, but for those of you with later cotton, bollworms, Helicoverpa zea, are caterpillars that feed on multiple crops and vegetables. In cotton they feed on squares and bolls, causing fruit loss. These past few years we have had high numbers of this insect in our Bt cotton as well.

H. zea caterpillar in cotton square
Kate Harrell

  To scout for cotton bollworms I use the terminal and square inspection method, as well as making some full plant checks, as they can lay eggs anywhere on the plant. I make about four stops in a field, more if the field is larger than 100 acres. At each stop, I look at 25 plant terminals, checking the upper third of the plant for caterpillars and eggs. I also pull 25 half grown or larger green squares to bolls and look for bollworm damage. When documenting egg lay, if I find more than one on a leaf, I only count it as one. The economic threshold for bollworms is 6% damaged bolls with live caterpillars present. In areas like ours on the upper gulf coast with documented Bt failures, the threshold for eggs on single and dual gene cotton is 20% (20 plants out of 100 with at least one egg). If you're finding bollworms in cotton, especially in viptera fields, please give me a call.

Cotton Insect Guide

 The current A&M recommendation is to use pyrethroids with caution. In areas needing residual control Prevathon at 18-20 fl oz or Besiege at 9-10 fl oz works well. If you don't need residual control you can get by with Prevathon at 14 fl oz or Besiege at 7-8 fl oz.

Cotton Insect Guide

 To scout for stink bugs pull 10 to 20 bolls about an inch in diameter from four places in the field. Check the inside of the bolls for warts, lesions, and stained lint. Texas economic threshold for stink bugs is 20% or more of the bolls with internal damage and stink bugs present. Some of the brown stink bug populations in our area have also been shown to have some resistance to pyrethroids. Once cotton reaches 450 heat units past cutout, we should be past the window for damage since the bolls on the plant that will reach maturity will be too large for stink bug feeding.

Green Stink Bug adult
Kate Harrell

Carpal Wall Warts from Stink Bug feeding damage
Kate Harrell

  Below I have included information for stink bug thresholds from a South Carolina guide with good images of what damage looks like in bolls. Our cotton does not bloom as long as theirs, so the week of bloom threshold information will not line up exactly the same for our fields. 

  

Heat unit accumulation for July 19th to 25th:

Wharton (Wharton): 155

Jackson (El Toro): 167

Matagorda (Palacios): 169

  I hope everyone has a good weekend. If you're not sure what kind of insect or issue you have, feel free to drop by the Wharton county office or give us a call.

Sincerely,

Kate Harrell

Looking for more information? Check out the Cotton Insect Guide

Looking for more information? Check out the Cotton Growth and Development Guide

Information on cotton bollworm resistance problems

Open Cotton and Late Season Pests

Howdy,

This week some of yall have started harvesting sorghum and corn. I'm glad to see our crops finishing out. The cotton is moving along nicely as well, most of the fields I look at are past cutout and in a couple places beginning to open. In the fields that are at or past cut out, or 4-5 NAWF, the carbohydrate supply is equal to the demand, and vegetative growth stops, so no more harvestable fruit will be set. That means that the squares on the plant at that time are the last ones with potential to develop into bolls.

This week we are seeing bollworm eggs, larvae, and damage in the following fields that are still susceptible:

Wharton County 

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab near Crescent
20% bollworm eggs
18% bollworm larvae
18% bollworm damage

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab + Vip3A near Crescent
10% bollworm eggs
0% bollworm larvae
4% bollworm damage

Jackson County

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab near El Toro
7% bollworm eggs
3% bollworm larvae
5% bollworm damage

Cry1Ac + Cry1F + Vip3A near La Salle
20% bollworm eggs
0% bollworm larvae
10% bollworm damage

Matagorda County

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab + Vip3A near Tidehaven
10% bollworm eggs
3% bollworm larvae
10% bollworm damage

Cry1Ac + Cry1F + Vip3A near Tidehaven
7% bollworm eggs
0% bollworm larvae
3% bollworm damage

 Bollworms, Helicoverpa zea, are caterpillars that feed on multiple crops and vegetables. In cotton they feed on squares and bolls, causing fruit loss. These past few years we have had high numbers of this insect in our Bt cotton as well.

H. zea caterpillar in cotton square
Kate Harrell

  To scout for cotton bollworms I use the terminal and square inspection method, as well as making some full plant checks, as they can lay eggs anywhere on the plant. I make about four stops in a field, more if the field is larger than 100 acres. At each stop, I look at 25 plant terminals, checking the upper third of the plant for caterpillars and eggs. I also pull 25 half grown or larger green squares to bolls and look for bollworm damage. When documenting egg lay, if I find more than one on a leaf, I only count it as one. The economic threshold for bollworms is 6% damaged bolls with live caterpillars present. In areas like ours on the upper gulf coast with documented Bt failures, the threshold for eggs on single and dual gene cotton is 20% (20 plants out of 100 with at least one egg). If you're finding bollworms in cotton, especially in viptera fields, please give me a call.

Cotton Insect Guide

 The current A&M recommendation is to use pyrethroids with caution. In areas needing residual control Prevathon at 18-20 fl oz or Besiege at 9-10 fl oz works well. If you don't need residual control you can get by with Prevathon at 14 fl oz or Besiege at 7-8 fl oz.

Cotton Insect Guide

 This week we found 3 brown stink bugs in a field near Tidehaven, and one green stink bug nymph in a field near El Toro. It is still buggy out there, but we are finishing out in most places. To scout for stink bugs pull 10 to 20 bolls about an inch in diameter from four places in the field. Check the inside of the bolls for warts, lesions, and stained lint. Texas economic threshold for stink bugs is 20% or more of the bolls with internal damage and stink bugs present. Some of the brown stink bug populations in our area have also been shown to have some resistance to pyrethroids. Once cotton reaches 450 heat units past cutout, we should be past the window for damage since the bolls on the plant that will reach maturity will be too large for stink bug feeding.

Green Stink Bug adult
Kate Harrell

Carpal Wall Warts from Stink Bug feeding damage
Kate Harrell

  Below I have included information for stink bug thresholds from a South Carolina guide with good images of what damage looks like in bolls. Our cotton does not bloom as long as theirs, so the week of bloom threshold information will not line up exactly the same for our fields. 

  

Heat unit accumulation for July 12th to 18th:

Wharton (Wharton): 169.5

Jackson (El Toro): 180

Matagorda (Palacios): 155

  I hope everyone has a good weekend. If you're not sure what kind of insect or issue you have, feel free to drop by the Wharton county office or give us a call.

Sincerely,

Kate Harrell

Looking for more information? Check out the Cotton Insect Guide

Looking for more information? Check out the Cotton Growth and Development Guide

Need help with weed control? Check out the Weed Management Guide

Information on cotton bollworm resistance problems

Bugs and Bollworms

Howdy,

The cotton is moving along nicely in our area, most of the fields I look at are somewhere between 3 and 8 nodes above white flower. In the fields that are at or past cut out, or 4-5 NAWF, the carbohydrate supply is equal to the demand, and vegetative growth stops, so no more harvestable fruit will be set. That means that the squares on the plant at that time are the last ones with potential to develop into bolls.

This week we are seeing bollworm eggs, larvae, and damage in the following:

Wharton County

Cry1Ac + Cry1F + Vip3A near Danevang
0% bollworm eggs
0% bollworm larvae
2% bollworm damage

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab near Blue Creek
2% bollworm eggs
0% bollworm larvae
3% bollworm damage

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab near Blue Creek
0% bollworm eggs
1% bollworm larvae
1% bollworm damage

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab near Blue Creek
1% bollworm eggs
0% bollworm larvae
1% bollworm damage  

Cry1Ac + Cry1F + Vip3A near the Airport
12% bollworm eggs
2% bollworm larvae
4% bollworm damage

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab near the Wharton County fairgrounds
20% bollworm eggs
4% bollworm larvae
13% bollworm damage

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab + Vip3A near Elm Grove
10% bollworm eggs
3% bollworm larvae
12% bollworm damage

Jackson County

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab near El Toro
25% bollworm eggs
6% bollworm larvae
24% bollworm damage

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab + Vip3A near Vanderbilt
4% bollworm eggs
0% bollworm larvae
12% bollworm damage

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab near Matagorda county line and 35
7% bollworm eggs
2% bollworm larvae
11% bollworm damage

Cry1Ac + Cry1F + Vip3A near Matagorda county line and 35
9% bollworm eggs
0% bollworm larvae
2% bollworm damage

Matagorda County

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab + Vip3A near Tidehaven
3% bollworm eggs
0% bollworm larvae
7% bollworm damage

Cry1Ac + Cry1F + Vip3A near Palacios
6% bollworm eggs
0% bollworm larvae
8% bollworm damage


 Bollworms, Helicoverpa zea, are caterpillars that feed on multiple crops and vegetables. In cotton they feed on squares and bolls, causing fruit loss. These past few years we have had high numbers of this insect in our Bt cotton as well. This week the size and numbers of this insect has increased in our fields lacking the Vip3A gene. They are feeding a good deal in the flowers, and this week we pulled large caterpillars for Bt testing from a field in Jackson county.

H. zea caterpillar in cotton square
Kate Harrell

  To scout for cotton bollworms I use the terminal and square inspection method, as well as making some full plant checks, as they can lay eggs anywhere on the plant. I make about four stops in a field, more if the field is larger than 100 acres. At each stop, I look at 25 plant terminals, checking the upper third of the plant for caterpillars and eggs. I also pull 25 half grown or larger green squares to bolls and look for bollworm damage. When documenting egg lay, if I find more than one on a leaf, I only count it as one. The economic threshold for bollworms is 6% damaged bolls with live caterpillars present. In areas like ours on the upper gulf coast with documented Bt failures, the threshold for eggs on single and dual gene cotton is 20% (20 plants out of 100 with at least one egg). If you're finding bollworms in cotton or in corn, especially in viptera fields, please give me a call.

Cotton Insect Guide

 The current A&M recommendation is to use pyrethroids with caution. In areas needing residual control Prevathon at 18-20 fl oz or Besiege at 9-10 fl oz works well. If you don't need residual control you can get by with Prevathon at 14 fl oz or Besiege at 7-8 fl oz.

Cotton Insect Guide

 This week I caught brown and green stink bugs in a field near the fairgrounds in Wharton county with 2% damaged fruit, 2% damaged fruit near Palacios, 3% damaged fruit in two other fields near Palacios, and 3% damaged bolls near Vanderbilt. It is still buggy out there, and as our grain finishes out, more of them will move into cotton. To scout for stink bugs pull 10 to 20 bolls about an inch in diameter from four places in the field. Check the inside of the bolls for warts, lesions, and stained lint. Texas economic threshold for stink bugs is 20% or more of the bolls with internal damage and stink bugs present. Some of the brown stink bug populations in our area have also been shown to have some resistance to pyrethroids. Once cotton reaches 450 heat units past cutout, we should be past the window for damage since the bolls on the plant that will reach maturity will be too large for stink bug feeding.

Green Stink Bug adult
Kate Harrell

Carpal Wall Warts from Stink Bug feeding damage
Kate Harrell

  Below I have included information for stink bug thresholds from a South Carolina guide with good images of what damage looks like in bolls. Our cotton does not bloom as long as theirs, so the week of bloom threshold information will not line up exactly the same for our fields. 

  

Heat unit accumulation for July 5th to 11th:

Wharton (Wharton): 162

Jackson (El Toro): 172

Matagorda (Palacios): 197

  I hope everyone had a happy 4th of July and has a good weekend. If you're not sure what kind of insect or issue you have, feel free to drop by the Wharton county office or give us a call.

Sincerely,

Kate Harrell

Looking for more information? Check out the Cotton Insect Guide

Looking for more information? Check out the Cotton Growth and Development Guide

Need help with weed control? Check out the Weed Management Guide

Information on cotton bollworm resistance problems

Wharton County Field Day

  Howdy,

  Next week we've got our field day coming up, check out our news release before the usual cotton update:

Wharton - AgriLife Extension to host Soybean and Cotton Turn Row Meeting – July 10^th

By Corrie Bowen

County Extension Agent

Wharton County

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Wharton County Office will host a  Soybean and Cotton Turn Row Meeting on Wednesday, July 10, 2019.  The soybean turn row meeting will begin at 9 a.m. at the Howard and Dolly Wittig Farm in Lane City.  You may have seen the soybean variety plot from Hwy 60 in Lane City.  The soybean plot is located at the corner of Hwy 60 South and CR 122.  The soybean plot is an exceptionally large variety trial, consisting of 47 replicated treatments.  We’re certain to have a lot to look at.  We’ll hear from Dr. Ron Schnell, our AgriLife Cropping Systems Specialist regarding soybean agronomics.  Dr. Tom Isakeit will discuss diseases in soybeans.  Following the visit to the soybean plot we’ll proceed to the Cotton RACE trial in Crescent.

The Cotton turn row meeting will begin at 11 a.m. in Crescent.  The cotton variety trial is located 1 mile south of FM 961 on CR 461.  If you are coming from the Wharton County Fairgrounds on FM 961 S heading toward Wharton, you’ll take the first county road to your right.  Proceed one mile on CR 461 and the plot is on your right.  We have a total of 10 cotton varieties in this year’s Replication Agronomic Cotton Evaluation (RACE) trial, plus two varieties selected by the cooperating grower.  This is also a very large, replicated strip trial.  The purpose of the RACE trial is to generate accurate, replicated yield data on commercially available cotton varieties for our area of Texas.  Dale Mott, Extension Program Specialist for Cotton will discuss current observations in cotton research.  Dr. Tom Isakeit will brief growers on cotton diseases and diagnosis for the 2019 crop as we progress toward harvest.  We’ll plan to conclude the turn row meeting around lunchtime.  2 CEUs will be offered for TDA pesticide license holders and 2 CCA credits have been applied for.  Please call the Extension Office by 12:00 p.m. on July 9 just to let us know that you’ll be attending.  A flyer for the July 10^th turn-row meeting is available at https://wharton.agrilife.org The flyer include maps and GPS coordinates for the two turn row meeting locations.  I hope to see you there!

The members of Texas A&M AgriLife will provide equal opportunities in programs and activities, education, and employment to all persons regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation or gender identity and will strive to achieve full and equal employment opportunity throughout Texas A&M AgriLife. The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating.  Individuals with disabilities who require an auxiliary aid, service or accommodation in order to participate in any Extension activity, are encouraged to contact the County Extension Office for assistance 5 days prior to the activity.

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 This week I've noted beneficial numbers decreasing a little since last week, but still present in locations harboring low numbers of aphids still. We are seeing bollworm eggs, larvae, and damage in the following:


Wharton County

Cry1Ac + Cry1F + Vip3A near Danevang
0% bollworm eggs
2% bollworm larvae
4% bollworm damage

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab near Blue Creek
0% bollworm eggs
0% bollworm larvae
3% bollworm damage

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab near Blue Creek
0% bollworm eggs
0% bollworm larvae
5% bollworm damage

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab near Blue Creek
0% bollworm eggs
0% bollworm larvae
4% bollworm damage  

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab near Crescent
6% bollworm eggs
2% bollworm larvae- one of those a 1/2" larvae
2% bollworm damage  

Cry1Ac + Cry1F + Vip3A near the Airport
4% bollworm eggs
2% bollworm larvae
9% bollworm damage

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab + Vip3A near the Wharton County fairgrounds
4% bollworm eggs
2% bollworm larvae
10% bollworm damage

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab near the Wharton County fairgrounds
10% bollworm eggs
1% bollworm larvae
7% bollworm damage

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab + Vip3A near Egypt
5% bollworm eggs
0% bollworm larvae
0% bollworm damage

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab + Vip3A near Elm Grove
11% bollworm eggs
0% bollworm larvae
0% bollworm damage

Jackson County

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab near El Toro
12% bollworm eggs
6% bollworm larvae
17% bollworm damage

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab + Vip3A near La Salle
10% bollworm eggs
4% bollworm larvae
12% bollworm damage

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab + Vip3A near Vanderbilt
4% bollworm eggs
2% bollworm larvae
10% bollworm damage

Matagorda County

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab + Vip3A near Tidehaven
6% bollworm eggs
0% bollworm larvae
3% bollworm damage

Cry1Ac + Cry2Ab near Tidehaven
2% bollworm eggs
1% bollworm larvae
5% bollworm damage

 Bollworms, Helicoverpa zea, are caterpillars that feed on multiple crops and vegetables. In cotton they feed on squares and bolls, causing fruit loss. These past few years we have had high numbers of this insect in our Bt cotton as well. All the larvae we've found this year have been very small, until this week I found one 1/2" larvae in a field near the Crescent area in Wharton.

H. zea caterpillar in cotton square
Kate Harrell

  To scout for cotton bollworms I use the terminal and square inspection method, as well as making some full plant checks, as they can lay eggs anywhere on the plant. I make about four stops in a field, more if the field is larger than 100 acres. At each stop, I look at 25 plant terminals, checking the upper third of the plant for caterpillars and eggs. I also pull 25 half grown or larger green squares to bolls and look for bollworm damage. When documenting egg lay, if I find more than one on a leaf, I only count it as one. The economic threshold for bollworms is 6% damaged bolls with live caterpillars present. In areas like ours on the upper gulf coast with documented Bt failures, the threshold for eggs on single and dual gene cotton is 20% (20 plants out of 100 with at least one egg). If you're finding bollworms in cotton or in corn, especially in viptera fields, please give me a call.

Cotton Insect Guide

 The current A&M recommendation is to use pyrethroids with caution. In areas needing residual control Prevathon at 18-20 fl oz or Besiege at 9-10 fl oz works well. If you don't need residual control you can get by with Prevathon at 14 fl oz or Besiege at 7-8 fl oz.

Cotton Insect Guide

 This week I caught brown and green stink bugs in a field near the Crescent area of Wharton county with 6% damaged fruit, near the airport with 3% damaged fruit with no live stink bugs found, a field near Egypt with 3% damage and no live stink bugs, and a field near Elm Grove with 8% damage and live green stink bugs found. It is still buggy out there, and as our grain finishes out, more of them will move into cotton. To scout for stink bugs pull 10 to 20 bolls about an inch in diameter from four places in the field. Check the inside of the bolls for warts, lesions, and stained lint. Texas economic threshold for stink bugs is 20% or more of the bolls with internal damage and stink bugs present. Some of the brown stink bug populations in our area have also been shown to have some resistance to pyrethroids. 

Green Stink Bug adult
Kate Harrell

Carpal Wall Warts from Stink Bug feeding damage
Kate Harrell

  Below I have included information for stink bug thresholds from a South Carolina guide with good images of what damage looks like in bolls. Our cotton does not bloom as long as theirs, so the week of bloom threshold information will not line up exactly the same for our fields. 

  

  I hope everyone had a happy 4th of July and has a good weekend. If you're not sure what kind of insect or issue you have, feel free to drop by the Wharton county office or give us a call.

Sincerely,

Kate Harrell

Looking for more information? Check out the Cotton Insect Guide

Need help with weed control? Check out the Weed Management Guide

Information on cotton bollworm resistance problems