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Vol. 21, No. 12, August 6, 2003 Call 1-877-629-1474 for Cotton Insect Hotline |
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Vol. 21, No. 12, August 6, 2003 Call 1-877-629-1474 for Cotton Insect Hotline |
| Beltwide Cotton Conference:
"Today's Challenges - Tomorrow's Solutions" is the theme of the 2004 Beltwide
Cotton Conferences to be held at the Marriott Rivercenter in San Antonio,
TX, January 5-9. The National Cotton Council is the conferences’
primary coordinator. The forum's objective is speeding the transfer
of current and emerging technology to U.S. cotton producers and other industry
members – with an overall goal of strengthening U.S. cotton's competitive
position in domestic and world markets and increasing industry members’
profitability.
Among topics being considered for the general session of the Beltwide Cotton Conference are: 1) a cotton breeding/improvement update, 2) the impact of production practices on fiber quality and spinnability, 3) the advantages of cotton rotations with corn and small grains, 4) a grower's planting investment, including alternatives to seed treatments and rates, 5) new high volume uses for cotton lint and yarn, and 6) cotton export market development. Cotton Situation/Insect Pests: The cotton crop looks to be in good-to-excellent condition at the moment. Let's all try to do our best to keep it that way. We can't do much about the weather, but there are some things that we can do to protect against insect pests. It would be a shame to produce cotton plants that have set fruit at those highly desirable positions only to allow insect pests to nibble away at your profits. Fortunately, cotton bolls will become more immune to insect feeding as they age. By the time a boll has accumulated 350 DD60's, it will be relatively safe from attack by bollworms and stink bugs. Such a cotton boll would be about 21 days old. In the mid South, researchers determined that at NAWB=5 + 350 DD60's, it should be relatively safe to discontinue applying insecticides against bollworms and stink bugs. Fall armyworm are capable of damaging somewhat older bolls, and defoliators such as spider mites and loopers prevent the bolls from sizing properly by cutting off the supply of nutrients from the leaves. There is also a chance of a late infestation of aphids or whiteflies that could mess up the lint after the bottom bolls have opened. It would be nice if we could just set back
and watch this crop continue to develop with the assurance of an excellent
yield. But as every cotton grower knows, it's not over until the
Insect Situations: The latest HelID test by Candy Roach on a field in Sumter County showed that the eggs were 41% tobacco budworm and 59% bollworm. Bollworm moth captures in pheromone traps are still running fairly high this week, considerably higher than tobacco budworm moths. It's time for this generation of bollworms to begin winding down. There are still quite a few eggs being found in terminals and around the blooms. Most growers seem to have been successful in their attempts to control bollworms in both Bt and conventional varieties. I have heard a couple of reports concerning problems with control, but these were apparently a result of some untimely rains that either prevented spraying or overly diluted the insecticide residues. Let me know if you experience control failures. Mike Sullivan just told me that egg numbers are running from the teens to 50s/100 plants in the Blackville vicinity. Most Bt cotton has been treated once (bollworms and piercing/sucking bugs) and there have been two or more applications in non-Bt fields. Stink bugs are becoming more of a problem each week as blooming cotton fields become more attractive. Soybeans are also attracting large numbers of stink bugs at this time. Some of the stinkers would just as soon dine on soybeans as they would cotton bolls. In the Blackville area, Dr. Sullivan’s summer crews are finding more plant bugs than stink bugs in beat cloths. It's possible that the plant bugs may be inflicting much of the damage to cotton bolls. We are spraying some plots for stink bug/plant bug control as I write this newsletter. Bug numbers have been below threshold, but I saw about 15% damaged bolls this morning. Tommy Walker reported that growers in the Hampton County area had sprayed bollworms up to three or four times in conventional varieties and one-to-two times in the Bts. Pyrethroids in Bt cotton have been less than effective against brown stink bugs and most growers are adding 4-6 ounces of Bidrin to improve controls. Tommy also mentioned that he was seeing some fall armyworms, but no more than 4/100 plants (below threshold of 10/100). Fran Arnette has seen several beet armyworm egg masses during the last few days. She also said a couple of the egg masses were being picked clean by fire ants. Boll Weevils Program: Keep on the lookout for fields without boll weevil traps. This is a critical time for movement of weevils - - if there happen to be any around. Report fields without traps to Randy Lynch or Wyman Taylor at 800/269-9928. I would sure hate to see those weevils sneak back into South Carolina. Mitchell Roof
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| 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 |