Cotton Insect Newsletter Vol. 19, No. 4, June 6, 2001 Call 1-877-629-1474 for Cotton Insect Hotline

Cotton Situation:  Cotton appears to be growing well in most areas of the state following a week of shower activity.  Unfortunately, many farmers did not get rain in time to plant as much cotton as they would have liked to have planted.  The final cotton acreage will most certainly lag well behind some of the earlier estimates of 300,000 or more.  Expert guesses have ranged between 250,000 and 280,000.  Farmers planted about 300,000 acres of cotton in 2000 and harvested 290,000 acres. Yesterday, I held a Cotton Scouting School in Orangeburg and we had the smallest audience since we started holding the training session at Orangeburg-Calhoun Tech.  The audience at today's Scouting School at the PDREC was a little better but still lagged behind previous years.  Hopefully, the audiences are small because most farmers and scouts are busy in the field.  With low prices and bad weather, I understand why morale has been low.  Usually when prospects are bleak for a cotton crop, growers will try to cut costs every way they can.  Those who have employed consultants often try to get along without them, or perhaps only pay them to scout a few fields.  Some growers will cut back on the amount of insecticides applied, for example, reduced rates of Temik for thrips control.  Still, others will ignore economic infestations of some insect pests to save money on chemicals. Insects don't know a thing about economics and they don't appear to be too worried about the weather.  Most of the inputs you make to manage or control insect pest problems actually put money in your pocket above and beyond what you would have had by doing nothing or by cutting costs.  For example, if you have normally used a consultant and you have decided to avoid that cost in 2001, get prepared to spend a lot of time checking cotton fields and making those decisions that the consultant used to make for you.  You may wind up actually spending more money in some cases by trying to spray fields that you aren't too sure of, because you didn't have time to check them.  For example, with stink bugs, problems can potentially arise in both Bt and conventional cotton varieties from first boll set through August, and even into September for later maturing cotton.  Insurance sprays would cost an arm and a leg for that length of time.  If a problem arises with bollworms in a field of cotton that is not being checked on a timely basis, worms could get too big to turn by the time they are discovered, and yields could be drastically reduced.  I'm only pointing out the obvious I guess, or you could say I'm “singing to the choir.”  I just don't think you can ever save money by giving up lint and lint quality to insect pests when you could have avoided those losses.  A good scouting program has been the cornerstone of a good cotton insect pest management program since the early 1970's -- and it still is. Insect Situation:  Some cotton has begun squaring this week.  Scouts will need to begin looking at the percentage square set in such fields to track growth and development of the cotton plants.   Most healthy cotton plants should be setting 90% or more of squares during the first few weeks of squaring.  If you see 10% or more of the squares being shed, it would pay you to look more closely for the reason(s).  A few squares might shed as a result of physiological stress, but excessive square shed at this stage of the game usually results from insect damage by insects such as plant bugs, or even thrips.  As plants are now really beginning to grow, they should quickly outgrow thrips damage symptoms; Except where damage was severe, it could take a little longer.  When plants get to the 5th and 6th leaf stage of development, it's usually too late for insecticide treatments to save the day.  In most cases, insecticides should not be applied following the 4-leaf stage unless damage has been so severe that plants don't appear to be growing. There are some false chinch bugs being found now.  I saw a sample today that was collected from seedling cotton plants.  This insect seldom will produce economic injury, but they are most apt to damage or kill the youngest seedlings. Grasshoppers are still being found at treatment levels in some fields.  It would still be relatively safe to apply an insecticide such as Lorsban or one of the pyrethroids for control without creating a budworm problem in conventional cotton.  Treatments applied after June 15 are a bit more risky, as problems often occur with worms when predators such as big-eyed bugs are killed.  If it is only necessary to spray small portions of a field, damage to beneficials will be minimized and populations will rebuild at a faster rate. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see Japanese beetles feeding in cotton this week.  We are starting to see more of them on ornamental plants.  They are foliage feeders, and they do tend to “gang up” on a few plants.  I wouldn't, however, expect to see them widespread in a field of cotton.   Mitchell Roof  Extension Entomologist

This information is supplied with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by the Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service is implied. Brand names of pesticides are given as a convenience and are neither an endorsement nor guarantee of the product nor a suggestion that similar products are not effective. Use pesticides only according to the directions on the label. Follow all directions, precautions and restrictions that are listed. The Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to people of all ages, regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital or family status and is an equal opportunity employer.  Clemson University Cooperating with U.S. Department of Agriculture and South Carolina Counties.  Issued in Furtherance of Cooperative Extension Work in Agriculture and Home Economics, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914.  Public Service Activities