insect management

• By Scott Stewart • The three to four weeks after first bloom, and typically the last two weeks of July and the first two weeks of August, is a critical window to scout and manage insect pests. This is when we are setting the bolls that will contribute most to yield, and it’s also a time insects are most attracted ... Read More »

Rainfall has been frequent across most of the Bootheel, and as I write this, there are plenty of chances for rain in the future. Don’t be tempted to irrigate squaring cotton unless there is a substantial dry spell soon. However, starting the flowering period with adequate soil moisture is essential and should remain at adequate levels to ensure proper fruit ... Read More »

• By Scott Stewart • Good early-season management of tarnished plant bugs relies on a sweep net, monitoring square retention, and making timely insecticide applications as needed. During the first two weeks of squaring, the recommended treatment threshold is an average of eight or more plant bugs per 100 sweeps. After that, treatment is recommended anytime of infestations average 15 ... Read More »

• By Dominic Reisig • With more cotton starting to square, ALL cotton in North Carolina should be scouted so we maintain acceptable square load to bring us into blooming (see this previous article for how to scout and use thresholds for plant bugs prebloom). Dr. Sally Taylor, Virginia Tech, has been performing bioassays with tarnished plant bugs from Virginia ... Read More »

Ginger Rowsey: Thanks for listening to Call of the Week. Our guest is Dr. Scott Stewart, University of Tennessee Integrated Pest Management Extension specialist. Scott, what’s your call of the week? Scott Stewart: The call of the week has been thrips control, and that will continue until next week, but I’m also going to start getting calls about plant bugs. ... Read More »

As a youngster, I grew up hand picking cotton on a small, family cotton farm in Lawrence County, Ala., during the late 1940s and 1950s. Cotton was our primary crop. It paid the bills and purchased a new pair of shoes at harvest time. One of my favorite books, “Red Hills and Cotton – An Upcountry Memory,” by Ben Robertson, ... Read More »