Tag Archives: Cotton Fleahopper

Squaring Cotton and the Cotton Fleahopper

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Most of the cotton in the Mid-Coast of Texas is squaring. During the squaring period, the primary insect pest of cotton in South Texas is the cotton fleahopper. This insect can cause small square abscission. The fruit loss can reduce yield and delay crop maturity. The cotton fleahopper adult is about 1/8 inch long, with piercing-sucking mouthparts and a flattened body (Fig. 16). Adults are active flyers; they readily flit within the cotton canopy when disturbed, which makes insect sampling a challenge. Their eggs are not visible because… Read More →

Squaring Cotton and Herbicide Damage

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Cotton maturity ranges from cotyledon to 1/2-grown square. Some fields need to be scouted for thrips, while others are beyond the thrips damage window and need to be checked for cotton fleahopper. Seedling cotton should be monitored for thrips until 5 or 6 true leaves are on the plants. I usually think the growing conditions in late April are good enough to overcome thrips feeding, but some fields have high numbers of thrips that are causing significant damage. Thrips are slender, straw-colored insects about 1/15 inch long, with… Read More →

IPM Update – Cotton Growth and Fleahoppers

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Cotton maturity ranges from 5-6 leaf to third-grown square.  Continue to scout for cotton fleahoppers, I have fields with more than 40 per 100 plants.  The Economic Threshold is 15 per 100 plants so these field should be treated to prevent square loss.  Some fields or parts of fields are yellowing due to excessive soil moisture making nitrogen less available.  This should be corrected once the soil dries if the field was properly fertilized. I have had several conversations about the temperatures we have had so far this… Read More →

Cotton IPM – Matchhead square cotton

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Cotton fields range from 2-3 leaf to 11-12 leaf. Many fields have squares with the older fields at or a little beyond Matchhead square. Fields of squaring cotton should be scouted 1-2 times per week for cotton fleahoppers.  The cotton fleahopper can cause yield losses and delayed maturity by feeding on young squares, causing them to fall off the plant.  Smaller squares are more sensitive to fleahopper feeding. Once a square is 1/4 inch in width, it is thought to be safe from the cotton fleahopper.  Fields are… Read More →

Cotton IPM Update – Cotton Fleahopper

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Cotton fields range from seedling to 9-10 nodes, or pinhead square. With the beginning of the fruiting process we enter into the damage window of the cotton fleahopper. Fleahoppers can cause economic losses by feeding on small squares, or flower buds, causing the fruit to abscise and fall off of the plant. The resulting square loss can delay crop maturity and reduce yields. Treatment should be considered when cotton fleahoppers are present in numbers above 15 per 100 plants. Text below from “Cotton Fleahoppers” The adult fleahopper is… Read More →