Cotton Fleahoppers have been the primary insect pest of concern thus far in the cotton production season.  The fleahopper is still being found above economic thresholds in some fields across Calhoun, Refugio and Victoria Counties.

Scout for fleahoppers until the first week of bloom.  By this time, we usually have most of the fruit we will harvest beyond pinhead-square which is the size susceptible to the cotton fleahopper.

We conducted an insecticide screening trial on a field in Victoria County this past week.  All five insecticides performed as desired.  The results are shown in the table below.

The Verde Plant bug, Creontiades, is beginning to be found in some cotton fields.  Verde plant bugs Feed in a similar manner as the fleahopper but they are larger and can also feed on developing seed.  I use an economic threshold similar to the fleahopper prior to bloom (15-25/100 plants).  After bloom, I use the same economic threshold as stink bugs, 20% evidence of feeding on the inside of 1-inch cotton bolls.