bollworm

• By Pat Porter • My recent post discussed the proposal by Environmental Protection Agency to drastically change the resistance management regulations around Bt corn and cotton. You can submit a comment here before Nov. 9. The proposal is hard to find on the EPA website, so I have reposted it here. Part of the plan is to phase out ... Read More »

The National Cotton Council soon will submit comments in response to an EPA proposal that could negatively affect the way Bt crop resistance is managed. What does the proposal entail? ■ Early in September, the Environmental Protection Agency released its “Draft Proposal to Improve Lepidopteran Resistance Management.” The draft indicates EPA has accepted that some species of caterpillar pests already ... Read More »

• By Pat Porter • This week, the Environmental Protection Agency released a draft plan that essentially overhauls many of the regulations around insect resistance management in Bt crops grown in the Cotton Belt. There are many major changes proposed, one of which is that field failures are presumed to be cases of “practical resistance” if certain criteria are met ... Read More »

• By Pat Porter • Dr. Suhas Vyavhare and I are conducting a very detailed experiment this year on some aspects of Bt corn. Part of the experiment involves putting 120 emergence cages on the ground under corn after corn earworm larvae (cotton bollworms) have left the corn ears and entered the soil for pupation. This lets us determine the ... Read More »

• By Dominic Reisig • Should I treat this cotton for bollworm eggs, plant bugs or stink bugs? This is a question I have been getting a lot this year with all our delayed and late-planted cotton. Of course it’s not a one-size-fits-all answer, but here are a few scenarios to consider. 1) Delayed cotton with low yield potential Unfortunately ... Read More »

• By Patrick Porter, Kerry Siders and Suhas Vyavhare • The current spike in bollworm moth activity in our pheromone traps is from moths coming out of corn. These moths pose a substantial threat to cotton with majority of our fields being in peak bloom. I have not noticed significant worm activity in cotton yet, but last week we did ... Read More »

• By Scott Stewart • Although current moth activity remains relatively low, I’m expecting a peak of moth activity sometime beginning around Aug. 5 through 10. Bollworm (a.k.a., corn earworm) poses a significant threat to cotton and soybeans, and particularly late-planted soybeans that are still flowering when the flight arrives. Below are some thoughts on managing for this troubling pest. ... Read More »