Two Cotton Fleahopper Adults

Cotton fields range from 1-2 leaf to half-grown square.  These fields need to be monitored for cotton fleahoppers.  I am finding cotton fleahoppers in cotton fields in populations ranging from 0-50 per 100 plants.  Most of these are adults moving into fields but some older fields have nymphs as well. Some fields need treatment to prevent economic yield loss or delayed harvest since the fleahoppers exceed the economic threshold of 15 per 100 plants.

Cotton Fleahopper Nymph

Most field scouts monitor for cotton fleahopper by visually looking through the plant terminals for the adults and nymphs. We are evaluating another method of scouting that may be an easier and quicker method of scouting.  This is done by carrying a bucket in the field and beating the plants inside the bucket, then counting the insects that fall into the bucket.

On the small plants I have scouted this week, using a 2 gallon bucket has been more effective than a larger 5 gallon bucket. Thus far, I have found similar numbers of adults and nymphs using the 2 gallon beat bucket.