Howdy,
This week was muddy. The places I check in Jackson and Matagorda county received up to 14 inches of rainfall this week, and Wharton county received up to 8. I am hoping for drier weather soon.
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| Cotton Field in Wharton County Kate Crumley |
I did not see many insect pests this week. Thrips are still out there if you have younger cotton, and cotton fleahoppers are still around. I saw very few this week, but a few of the consultants I talked to were picking up some nymphs in fields still. Cotton fleahoppers can cause yield reduction and need to be scouted for carefully and regularly. Below are charts with my scouting information for this past week, the week of 5/20/2021.
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| Cotton Fleahopper Adult Kate Crumley |
The chart below contains insecticide suggestions from cottonbugs.tamu.edu (also a good resource) for reference if you have fleahoppers at the action threshold in the upcoming weeks.
Thrips are a small (about 1/15") light tan, straw, to brown or black colored insect with a punch and suck type mouthpart and asymmetrical mandibles. They punch a hole with one side, then siphon the juice out with the other. They typically feed on one plant cell at a time, and march along punching and sucking as they go. The adults are winged, and can travel short distances on their own, or be carried by a breeze for a fair distance. Larvae hide on the underside of the leaves, often close to the leaf veins, as well as in the terminal of the plant. This week I found most hiding in the rolled up true leaf in the terminal. Feeding damage for this insect causes cotton leaves to crinkle and curl, and often looks silvery when examined. Thrips feeding can cause delays in plant maturity, which can lead to yield reduction.
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| Western Flower Thrips Kate Crumley |
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| Tobacco Thrips Kate Crumley |
Thrips are visible to the naked eye and scouting can be done by examining the plant, but it is easy to miss some of the smaller larvae. Smacking a cotton plant around on the inside of a cup will knock them off and can make them easier to count. Cotton with a neonicotinoid seed treatment is usually safe from thrips for about 2-3 weeks after planting, depending on weather and soil types. Seedlings in sandier soil will typically lose the effect of seed treatments more quickly than those in heavier clay soils. Heavy rainfall can also reduce the amount of time a treatment is effective, while not enough water can impact the plant's uptake of the treatment and also cause a reduction in efficacy.
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| Thrips Damage Kate Crumley |
The economic threshold for thrips is 1 thrips per true leaf until the 5th true leaf stage. Once the plant reaches this stage, treatment for thrips is rarely justified.
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| Cotton Aphid Kate Crumley |
The threshold for cotton aphids is 50 aphids per leaf, and if you see aphid mummies in the field (tan or black dry and unmoving aphids), that's a good thing. Parasitoid wasps lay eggs in the aphids, and the aphid forms a mummy while the wasp larvae is pupating inside. These wasps, lady beetles, and lacewings can knock back aphid populations. Treatment for aphids is rarely justified, but if you do decide to treat for aphids, do not use a pyrethroid. Pyrethroids and organophosphates are broad spectrum, and kill beneficial insects as well as your target insect, but pests like aphids bounce back much quicker than their predators do. Their high reproductive rate will allow their numbers to soar after a broad spectrum insecticide application kills all their predators.
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| Aphid Mummies on Cotton Kate Crumley |
Please check out our weekly IPM Audio Updates, the link is below. If you have any questions feel free to contact me either by email or calling the office. Have a good weekend everyone!
Check out our weekly IPM Audio Updates
Cotton Insect Management Guide
Development and Growth Monitoring of the Cotton Plant
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