Tag Archives: Thrips

Cotton IPM Update – 2-6 leaf cotton

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Cotton Maturity ranges from cotyledon to 6-leaf cotton with squares beginning to be visible. It has been fairly windy over the past few weeks and we need to be able to distinguish between thrips feeding and wind damage. Thrips can be sampled either visually by looking closely at the underside of leaves and the plant terminal, or by beating the plants into a white cup or on a black cloth. Links to two good videos demonstrate scouting thrips and thrips management are at the bottom of this post…. Read More →

Cotton IPM Update – Early Season Thrips

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Cotton maturity ranges from germinating to 2 leaf. Cotton planted in the last week has been emerging in  5-6 days. This quick emergence is due to warm temperatures and adequate soil moisture. Emergence to first square can take 27 to 38 days. We usually see the first squares 28-30 days after emergence. Thus, cotton planted March 27, emerged April 1-2 and should have the first squares by the first of May. The primary insect of concern is Thrips. Thrips are slender, straw-colored insects about 1/15 inch long, with… Read More →

Bean Thrips in Soybeans

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We have not been finding many insect pests in Soybean fields so far this season but there are a few things to keep an eye on. Wednesday I found Bean Thrips (Caliothrips phaseoli) in low numbers of less than 1 per leaflet on the leaves of soybean plants. The top 2 pictures show minimal feeding injury along the leaf veins. Bean Thrips can be found on the lower half of the plant first, and will move up the plant as populations increase. They tend to be found on… Read More →

Seedling Cotton Pests

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Cotton ranges from emerging to 3-4 leaf plants. Weather forecasts are not optimistic for rainfall so treating for insect pests of seedling cotton is not likely profitable. The pests we can expect to find on young cotton includes thrips, aphids, and mites. I have not seen fields with insect populations requiring management. Seed treatments are typically good for 3 weeks following planting and most fields are were planted more than three weeks ago. The water needs for the plants are not very high right now so the primary… Read More →

Early Season Cotton Maturity

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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 →