Specialists Speaking-Josh Lee
Josh Lee
ALABAMA
Cotton pests come in all shapes and sizes. By the time you read this, the May-planted cotton crop will be approaching about a month old, which coincides with the pinhead square development stage. At this stage, we need to be scouting the field for signs of tarnished plant bugs. To scout for plant bugs, it’s time to break out the sweep net and look at square retention. Specifically, look at the upper first position squares on the upper two or three nodes of the plant and evaluate if there is at least 80% square retention. As we go into bloom, the sweep net can be traded in for a drop cloth for monitoring plant bugs. Plant bugs will infest earlier-planted cotton first. Timeliness on scouting and treatment is critical for managing plant bugs. Plant bugs work fast and can rob yield quickly.
At the time I’m writing this article (May 8), there are no reports of cotton jassids found in Alabama cotton fields. There are many things that we will learn this year about cotton jassid management. What I do know is that scouting cotton fields will be a necessity. Last year, cotton jassids became prevalent in Alabama cotton fields during the later part of the cotton growing season. Will cotton jassids be an early season pest this year? That is a great question. That question will be answered as we get more into the growing season. Numerous projects are in place across Alabama to better understand how to manage this pest in the cotton system. What we do know are these four takeaways that apply to both jassid and tarnished plant bug management:
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Ensure that your fields are being scouted weekly for insects.
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Know what insect species you have present in the field to make an appropriate insecticide selection.
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Make timely spray applications when thresholds are met.
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Evaluate the effectiveness of insecticide applications in the field.
To stay up to date on the Alabama cotton insect situation, subscribe to the Alabama Cotton Shorts Newsletter, Alabama Crops Report Podcast, and the Syngenta Pest Patrol Hotline. If you have questions about early season pest management, Alabama Cooperative Extension is here to help! Please don’t hesitate to contact your local Extension agent or specialist for more information.
Josh Lee
ALABAMA
