Tag Archives: Cotton Fleahopper
Cotton Insect Report
Cotton plant maturity ranges from 9-14 true leaves. We began seeing blooms in a few fields. The fields with blooms had 6-7 nodes above white flower, which shows the effect of drought stress. The water demand of a crop increases significantly as bloom nears and fruit production begins. If we do not get rainfall soon, expect to see wilting cotton fields in the afternoons. Fortunately, we have not seen insect pressure requiring insecticide applications. Cotton fleahoppers have been difficult to find in most fields. Few fields have more… Read More →
Squaring Cotton and Drought
Most cotton fields are squaring so the cotton fleahopper is the primary pest of interest in these fields. I use an economic threshold of 15 cotton fleahoppers per 100 plants. Adults and nymphs count the same. The cotton fleahopper will feed on the soft plant parts in the terminal of the plant. They cause injury when they feed on small squares causing the square to be “blasted” and then abscise, or fall off the plant. Once a square is larger than a pin head, it is considered safe… Read More →
Rain and Square Loss
Scouting fields this week we are finding each field is different from the next. Much of this has to do with how the rain affected the field. If the water got off the field or did not stand for too many days, the crop was better off. Fields that held water are more likely to have square losses. Many of these fields have lost the larger squares leaving fruit smaller than match-head square. An example of this is shown. I removed the leaves showing the lower four squares have… Read More →
Early Season Cotton Maturity
I’ve been asked by a few growers “Why is my cotton growing so slowly?” The answer is primarily cold temperatures. The table below shows how many days are usually required to get from one stage to another. Notice emergence to first square usually takes 27 to 38 days. The difference between these is how warm or cold temperatures are. SOURCE I planted a cotton variety trial in Austwell, TX on March 12, or 47 days ago. Today this test is at 6-7 true leaf and I am finding… Read More →
Pest Update and 2020 Insect Thresholds
This week we have been finding low numbers on insect pests in cotton, grain sorghum and soybeans. Cotton ranges from 1/3 grown square to mid-bloom. While most fields are below threshold, we have found a few fields with 30-40 cotton fleahoppers per 100 plants. Continue to monitor for cotton fleahoppers until bloom and treat when they exceed an economic threshold of 15 per 100 plants. Blooming cotton has had significant bollworm moth flights this week but so far, egg numbers have been low. Bollworms are important pests and should… Read More →
