EMILY CABRERA / TIFTON, GEORGIA
“That’s the nature of this insect,” said Phillip Roberts, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension entomologist based on the UGA Tifton campus. Within days of detection, Extension specialists were running laboratory bioassays to answer the most urgent question growers ask when a new pest arrives: “How do you kill it?”
“That’s always the first question,” Roberts said. “But it can’t be the only one.”
Roberts, who has worked in Georgia cotton since 1996, helped lead a response that unfolded almost entirely in real time, from lab benches to grower fields to county meetings. On-farm trials began almost immediately, made possible by growers who opened their fields and agents who coordinated logistics county by county.
“What made this work was the county delivery system,” Roberts said. “Specialists work with agents, and agents work with growers.” From hand to hand, information moved as fast as the insect.
Learning at the speed of the pest
Early thresholds, based on research from regions where the pest is endemic, suggested growers could tolerate up to five jassids per leaf before treatment. But data from Georgia quickly drove that number down – first to three, then two, and ultimately one.
“It was fluid,” Roberts said. “As we learned more, the recommendations changed. And those updates went straight out through county offices.”
By mid-summer, Extension specialists had trained county agents across the state to recognize symptoms, scout consistently and speak the same technical language. Roberts said that clarity mattered. Instead of vague calls reporting “a lot of bugs,” growers began sharing precise counts tied to leaf position and plant stage. The result was smarter timing, fewer wasted sprays and better yield protection.
By season’s end, roughly 60% of Georgia’s cotton acreage had been treated specifically for cotton jassid, an added cost in a year already defined by high inputs and low commodity prices. Despite that pressure, Georgia cotton still posted the second-highest yields on record.
“That doesn’t mean it was a profitable year,” Roberts said. “But without that response, it could have been worse.”
What yield losses reveal
Data from 18 trial locations showed average yield losses of 13% where jassids were present, with some sites exceeding 40%. The heaviest losses clustered in southeast Georgia, where populations built quickly and the pressure was intense.
“The interesting thing about this pest is it shows you what it’s about to do,” Roberts said. “But only if you’re looking.”
The insect’s behavior helps make it visible and, therefore, more manageable. Jassids tend to infest field edges first, creating a yellowed border that growers can spot from the road. Turn over a leaf, and the nymphs are there. Learning to spot signs early is one of Extension’s central messages heading into the next season.
“This pest will push us to scout 100% of our fields,” Roberts said. “Do not underestimate it. It’s not one you want to get behind on.”
A broader risk beyond cotton
Although cotton carries the greatest economic risk, the jassid is not a crop-specific threat.
Early detections came from okra, and the insect also feeds on eggplant, hibiscus, sunflowers and other vegetables. That broad host range allows it to persist even in counties without commercial cotton production, complicating efforts to track overwintering and spread.
“Okra is everywhere,” Roberts said. “If we know when and where people start seeing jassids on okra this year, that will tell us a lot about winter survival and movement.”
Not every crop responds the same way once jassids begin feeding. While the insect can build populations on a wide range of plants, only some crops develop the characteristic “hopperburn” damage that leads to yield loss. That means treatment thresholds established for cotton – and possibly okra – may not translate cleanly to crops like squash or other vegetables.
Defining which crops are truly susceptible – not just hosts, but hosts that suffer economic injury – is one of the key questions researchers hope to answer this year.
Georgia’s vegetable industry, already navigating labor shortages, weather volatility and pest pressure, is watching closely. Whiteflies are a perennial challenge for many vegetable growers, and as it turns out, management strategies used to suppress whiteflies may also be helping keep cotton jassid populations in check.
“That overlap is something we’ll be paying close attention to this summer,” said Stormy Sparks, a UGA Extension vegetable entomologist. “If a spray program aimed at whiteflies is also reducing jassid pressure, that is useful information for growers.”
Vegetable producers are accustomed to adapting, Sparks said, shifting acreage and crop mixes as conditions change. But flexibility has limits.
“Farmers are incredibly resilient,” Sparks said. “They adapt constantly, but they’re also realistic. They grow what they believe they can afford to grow.”
Why response infrastructure matters
Georgia’s cotton industry routinely generates more than $1 billion in farm gate value, with ripple effects across ginning, transportation, chemical inputs and export markets. An invasive pest that adds cost without warning threatens far more than a single crop.
“This isn’t just a cotton problem,” Roberts said. “Agriculture matters whether you’re in Tifton or Atlanta. Which is why sustained funding and sustained relationships matter.”
Roberts credits grower-supported organizations for backing research, including the Georgia Cotton Commission, Cotton Incorporated, and the National Cotton Council of America, which have helped secure resources and stood alongside researchers from the outset. He is also grateful for county agents, technicians and student workers who spent long hours collecting data that shaped the response.
“I hate the situation,” he said. “But I’m thankful we’ve maintained the capacity to deal with something like this.”
Looking ahead without a silver bullet
For now, cotton jassid remains a problem without a permanent fix. Research on host-plant resistance may come, but that solution is measured in decades, not seasons.
This year will require routine scouting, precise timing of management tools and continued information-sharing across Georgia and with neighboring land-grant institutions, where each observation and small, repeated actions collectively drive the ongoing research process.
“There are 10 years’ worth of questions to answer,” Roberts said. “But the most important thing right now is that people know what to look for – and when to act.” ∆
EMILY CABRERA / UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
A tiny cotton jassid insect clings to the underside of a leaf, partially hidden in shadow, showcasing its slender body and translucent wings.
Standing near a cotton field at UGA-Tifton, Phillip Roberts reflected on Extension’s response to the spread of cotton jassid: “What made this work was the county delivery system.”
Hopperburn, or yellowing along leaf edges, is an early indicator of a cotton jassid infestation. (Photo by Vivek Bist, Agriculture and Natural Resources agent for UGA Extension)
“If a spray program aimed at whiteflies is also reducing jassid pressure, that is useful information for growers,” said Alton “Stormy” Sparks, entomology professor at UGA-Tifton. (Photo by Lily Mae Thurman)
Cotton jassid was first detected on okra in early July 2025 in Seminole County (highlighted in blue). Within weeks, the pest had spread north from Florida and surged across most of Georgia’s cotton-producing counties (highlighted in red). (Map by Justin Patton)
LINK: https://fieldreport.caes.uga.edu/news/uga-extension-response-cotton-jassid/?utm_source=CAES+Newswire&utm_campaign=72d13a8e33-Newswire_Media_Daily&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4cb3048305-72d13a8e33-451574296