Southern Plains Report

Holding On To Soil Moisture In The Southern Plains

Rainfall is critical to cotton across the Cotton Belt. However, effective ways to capture and maximize precipitation in the Southern Plains are always top of mind for the region’s producers. Cotton Incorporated and many cooperators invest in research to explore strategies for making the most of the limited rainfall in the area.

Conservation Tillage/Cover Crops

One West Texas study in Martin County analyzes water-efficiency data generated from using conservation tillage techniques and cover crops. This multi-institutional collaboration between the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cropping Systems Research Laboratory and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, funded by Cotton Incorporated, was established in 2019 with five area growers.

The project focuses on how cover crops could be a viable tool for this area and how they could impact production, water use, fertility, wind erosion and economics. The study includes five fields, each with two large-scaled testing sites of cover crop, no-till and conventional tillage techniques.

Each field was equipped with soil moisture sensors to track water infiltration and usage by the crop. Infra-red plant canopy temperature sensors were used to track plant stress and crop responses to rainfall events. These sensors provided continuous information to researchers about each field’s soil and crop conditions.

With two years of the study complete, the data reflects an increase in water-use efficiency in the fields using conservation tillage techniques and cover crops. The roots of the cotton plants in conservation tillage plots extracted water two times deeper than those of conventional tillage plots.

Dr. Paxton Payton, a plant physiologist at the USDA Cropping Systems Research Laboratory in Lubbock, Texas, said, “During times of little rainfall, it is important to capture whatever moisture you receive and to reduce the amount of water runoff. This research shows that moisture falling on conservation tillage fields with a cover crop could penetrate the soil profile by an additional 20 mm and 25% more effectively than a conventionally tilled field.”

Rainfall Timing Study

A different study, led by Dr. Natasja Van Gestel, assistant professor of biological sciences at Texas Tech University, looks at soil moisture content and strategies with respect to the timing of rain events. Twenty West Texas fields were tested for organic matter, soil moisture and nutrient levels in this study. Results showed that soil moisture and nutrients (N, P, and K) were more stable in fields with organic matter and conservation tillage. The study also discovered that areas with a high content of clay matter were able to retain more organic matter and soil moisture.

With respect to timing, the study identified cover crops and conservation tillage as ways for producers to take advantage of rainfall events when there is the uncertainty of future rainfall. Van Gestel reported, “Summer storms are often intense. Our research with cotton growers across West Texas showed improved August rainfall capture — a crucial time in the cotton-growing season — in fields with reduced tillage and residue.”

Dr. Kater Hake, vice president of agricultural research for Cotton Incorporated, said, “The results regarding soil moisture absorption and retention in August, during the critical time of boll maturation, is encouraging. This research and information are vital to have in a region where every drop matters to producing a profitable cotton crop.”

These two research projects, funded by Cotton Incorporated, show reduced tillage practices and cover crops can make a difference in effectively capturing rainfall. For more information on these and other cotton research projects in your area, visit Cotton Incorporated’s Cotton Cultivated research website at https://cottoncultivated. cottoninc.com.

BY SHELLEY HEINRICH

SLATON, TEXAS

Shelley Heinrich is the Cotton Board Southern Plains regional communications manager. Email her at sheinrich@cottonboard.org.

Response to rainfall in conservation tillage cotton crop (red line) compared to conventionally tilled (no winter cover) cotton crop (blue line) in Martin County, Texas. The cover crop soil profile showed an approximately 25% greater water infiltration response to rain events compared to conventional tillage.

Keep Insects In Check To Maintain Yield

James “Wish” Patterson

James A. Patterson Consulting Pickens, Arkansas

I grew up in an agricultural community in southeast Arkansas where my uncle had a farm with cotton in the mix. Later, while I was working as an assistant coach, I got a job scouting cotton in the summertime in between my coaching duties in the fall and winter months. This piqued my interest in the crop, and I learned a lot from two area consultants — Charles Denver and Jesse Rice — before starting my own consulting company in 1990. In 2014, I hired Barry Boney, who is now my partner in the business.

In 2021, insect pressure was light, but it was a wet year. Early on, we got 22 inches of rain in four hours. Ten days later, we got another nine inches, but in the end, the cotton crop turned out good.

We typically start out looking for cutworms and thrips. Occasionally, aphids or spider mites may build up. The next insect we battle is tarnished plant bug, which usually comes in around pinhead square. When we start seeing missing or blasted squares, we apply Vydate® C-LV insecticide/nematicide to take out the adult plant bugs that are coming in and out of the field when the cotton is small. It also provides some suppression on nematodes.

When corn starts drying down, plant bugs will move from that crop into cotton. We then monitor the small square set for plant bug damage and begin making treatments when the square set drops below 80%. This typically happens the third week of squaring or the second week if the plant bugs come in early. At that time, we’ll make the first application of Transform® WG insecticide tankmixed with Diamond insecticide. Transform controls the adult plant bugs, and Diamond controls the nymphs. If you don’t keep this pest in check, it can devastate your cotton crop.

After cotton gets too big for the sweep net, we use the drop cloth to scout the crop. Since we don’t have to worry about treating for bollworm much in our Bollgard 3 cotton, we’ll make another tankmix application of Transform and Diamond. When cotton aphids start showing up, Transform is very effective in controlling them, too. We also like to include boron in our insecticide tankmixes, which helps retain the fruit on the plant. We use plant growth regulators each year to keep cotton in the fruiting mode instead of letting it get tall and rank. This potentially allows us to save on treatments for cotton diseases, such as target spot.

With the high cost of fuel and fertilizer this year, farmers need to harvest as many pounds of cotton as they can to help counteract this expense. Once the crop is made, we hope Mother Nature and the Good Lord will give us favorable weather to keep the cotton on the plant and get it picked in a timely manner.

Sponsored by James “Wish” Patterson (right) and his business partner, Barry Boney, serve farmers in southeast Arkansas.

• Patterson: Bachelor’s in manufacturing technology. Bachelor’s in physical education, health, recreation and social science,

University of Arkansas-Monticello. Boney: Bachelor’s in business and accounting. Bachelor’s in plant and soil science,

UA-Monticello. Master’s in plant pathology, UA-Fayetteville. • Full service consulting on cotton, corn, soybeans and rice. • Patterson: Member, Arkansas Crop Protection Association and

Arkansas Agricultural Consultant’s Association. Boney:

Member, American Society of Agronomy. • Patterson: Wife Sandy. Two daughters: Rae Ashley King (Kevin) and Jala Patterson. Two granddaughters. Boney: Wife Kaley and daughter Kennedy Jane. • Patterson enjoys hunting, fishing and playing golf. Boney enjoys hunting and wildlife management.

Recap: Keep Insects In Check To Maintain Yield

▼

1. Tarnished plant bug usually comes in around pinhead square. When we start seeing missing or blasted squares, we apply Vydate® C-LV insecticide/nematicide to take out the adult plant bugs that are coming in and out of the field when the cotton is small. It also provides some suppression on nematodes.

2. When small square set drops below 80%, we’ll make the first application of Transform® WG insecticide tankmixed with Diamond insecticide. Transform controls the adult plant bugs, and Diamond controls the nymphs. 3. When cotton aphids start showing up, Transform is very effective in controlling them, too.

Joe Wilder (left), Jayce Wilder, Spencer Wilder and Jay Wilder in front of one of their planters.

The Wilders: A Texas Heritage

Providing For The World One Generation At A Time

BY CASSIDY NEMEC

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Joe Wilder, a long-time farmer in Snook, Texas, likely never imagined the family farm he married into and joined back in 1964 would be what it is today.

In 1912, the Porter Farm began with Julius Porter and grew to include his son — Joe’s father-in-law, Holland Porter — and Joe Wilder. That is when the Wilder family name came in. After years of working on the farm, Jay Wilder — Joe’s son — and Jayce and Spencer Wilder — Jay’s two twin boys — came to be a part of the family farm.

“When I graduated from A&M in ’93, Dad and I soon formed our partnership in ’95,” Jay said. “Grandfather retired in ’98, and Dad and I started renting the land at that point.”

A Heritage Farm

The Wilders have a diversified farming operation that includes both dryland and irrigated cotton, soybeans, grain sorghum, wheat and sunflowers. They also run a cow-calf and a purebred Limousine operation. In addition, the Porter-Wilder Farm was granted the designation of Family Land Heritage Property in 2012 by the state of Texas for having 100 years of agriculture on that land running in the same family. This designation can continue to be granted by the Texas Department of Agriculture every 50 years the agricultural operation stays within the family.

“The boys are in charge of making sure it gets to 2062,” Jay said, laughing. “The land has just become so valuable along the way that generations who aren’t involved with the actual farming are selling the land, and that makes it [the Heritage Farm designation] harder and harder to hold together.”

Family Land Heritage designation plaque provided by Commissioner Todd Staples of the Texas Department of Agriculture

Cotton, Cotton, Cotton

As for their irrigated cotton, the Wilders mainly use center pivots to get the crop the moisture it needs to make it through the season. In 1996, they bought their first center pivot and now have seven.

“That’s becoming more and more of a labor issue,” Jay said. “It’s a high cost per acre to put in initially, but when you eliminate labor issues and all the different kinds of costs that goes along with that, we save. For the most part, those have been really good, and with today’s technology, I can start one right now sitting right here with a phone.”

“Boy, we thought that was something else when they came up with those center pivots,” Joe added.

Variety selection plays a significant role in the Wilders’ cotton crop each year. “Last year, we had Phytogen 400, Deltapine 2020 and NexGen 4936. This year we will have pretty much those same varieties … and we’ll try a new one with NexGen’s 4109 and a little bit of Deltapine 2012,” Jay said. He commented they turn to a crop advisor and data when it comes to selecting their varieties and chose these specific varieties based on previous experience with Deltapine and NexGen and wanting to utilize the technology in Phytogen.

Control What Can Be Controlled

2021 brought a tough season for weed control to the Wilder Farm. “More so early, we couldn’t get things sprayed in a timely manner to help with weed control, and we couldn’t get things fertilized in a timely manner that we normally would try to do,” Jay said. “But once it did dry up to where we could do that, the crops really responded well, especially to the fertilizer.

“I think the dicamba and the Phytogen Enlist products have really helped in situations where you get late or you get behind, even more so the Enlist side of it.”

Jay then discussed the rocky start to the 2022 growing season. “Every year seems to be so different,” he said. “Last year was so wet; this year I think we’ve had ample amounts of moisture, but the wind has been relentless … and it’s hampering us on our weed control.” He attributed insect control on the farm to his consultant and suggested disease pressure is not normally an issue for them, emphasizing weed pressure is their biggest issue.

“It seems like those things run in cycles; you get something under control, then in three or four years, it’s a whole different kind of animal,” Jay said.

The History Of The Gin

The Wilders have ginned with Scarmardo Gin since the early 1990s when they shut down their own family gin still present on their property.

“Mr. Porter built it in the 1920s,” Joe said. “We primarily ginned just the family cotton then some for the tenants who lived on the farm … in the late 50s or early 60s, our gin caught fire and burned down.” The disassembled gin was hauled to Sherman, Texas, to be rebuilt before it was brought back.

“I think it had ginned about 300 bales when it caught fire, and they came back and ginned about 200 at the end of the season,” he said. “We couldn’t gin it fast enough.”

Joe said lots of work was done on the family gin in the 60s after the fire, and that gin carried them to the early 1990s. When insurance for the gin went up, it was no longer feasible to keep it running. “It had been a family gin, but with the state, a family gin is everybody that’s in the family — not kids who married into the family,” he said. “So, because of me, they kicked it out … our insurance was going to double or triple, and that’s about the time labor issues started to kick in, so we shut it down.”

Understanding Strengths And Weaknesses

When asked how they split up their responsibilities every day, laughter filled the room. “I don’t want to do it, and he doesn’t want to do it, so it just keeps going down the line,” Jay said. “Spencer’s the youngest, so he’s probably going to end up with it.” Joking then aside, Jay said it depends on what the task is. “We all get in and go … Dad will be on choppers, Spencer and Jayce will be planting, and then I’ll be trying to spray it if the wind will let me … everybody kind of has their niche, and we go from there. We divide and conquer.”

“It’s amazing because with the old rig we had, nobody wanted to drive it, but then we got a new one with air conditioning, and all of a sudden everyone wants to drive it,” Joe joked.

Understanding one another’s strengths and weaknesses plays a role in how the Wilders run their operation. Jay said they rely on his dad for all the experience he’s acquired over the years and discussed how Jayce and Spencer, growing up in a world of new technology, contribute with their ability to understand those new techniques.

“Take the boys, for example,” Jay said. “They learned how to weld really well through FFA, and they aren’t scared to try something.” He said he attributes a lot of that to the resources available on phones now through YouTube and other ag forums.

Joe reflected on his prior experience on the farm before technology became a major player. “We didn’t have that 20 or 30 years ago. We weren’t scared to try something, but we did mess up a bunch.” He said with the current technology, “It’s just unbelievable what you can do.”

Joe Wilder, long-time farmer, in his Snook, Texas, office.

“I’ll ask if they know what they’re doing, and they’ll say, ‘Yeah, we watched a video on it,’ so that is good … if something breaks down, they’re not afraid to look something up and tackle it,” Jay said.

From The Ground Up

Thinking back to how they got to where they are today, the Wilders discussed their involvement in organizations growing up that assisted them in getting to where they are today and helping for a better future.

Joe was involved in 4H growing up, both Jayce and Spencer were active in FFA and Jay engaged with the Young Farmers & Ranchers group through Texas Farm Bureau. Jayce and Spencer both went to Poland through a program through Texas A&M where they stayed with host families and learned about the agrarian landscape over in Eastern Europe.

Jay currently participates in a myriad of local, state and national agricultural organizations. On the local level this includes the county Farm Bureau board and the Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation District Board. At the state and national levels, he is on the Texas and National Grain Sorghum Board, as well as the Texas Limousine Association and North American Limousine Board. In addition, Jay was a member of the eighth TALL (Texas Agricultural Lifetime Leadership) class 18 years ago and was given the opportunity over the span of the two-year program to travel across the country and globe to see, learn about and speak on agricultural topics and issues.

“There’s all kinds of things you can be involved in when you have the time,” he said.

In regard to getting involved on the local level, Jay said it’s important to what they’re doing. “It starts at the county level and works its way to the top.” Even with boards not exclusively in ag like the groundwater conservation board, he said there should be someone in agriculture actively involved to help people better understand the details that correlate back to ag and the impact it all has.

Challenge To Triumph

Without hesitation, Jay had a two-word response for their biggest challenge of the 2022 growing season: “input costs.”

“I’ve never even seen fertilizer costs anywhere close to where they are now,” Joe said. “That’s going to be a challenge. My father-in-law would have the soil sample guy come back and say we only needed to put out 30 units of P, but he would say, no we’ve always put out 60 units, so we’re putting out 60 units.” He commented that learning how to cut those input costs at the beginning by understanding what they already have under the ground is going to be crucial this year.

“I think I went to work here in ’64, and I’ve seen a lot of changes since then,” Joe said. “Before I started fooling with it, agriculture seemed kind of set, but since then, it’s been like a rollercoaster.”

Jay said their goal with the record commodity prices the way they are is to make “an average to above-average yield to try and capture some of those record prices to combat record input prices.”

Motivation Is Key

What inspires the Wilders to get up and keep farming every day? “It’s a challenge, but somebody’s got to feed and clothe the world … it doesn’t just show up magically at the stores,” Jay said.

He said there are very few government individuals who are involved in agriculture — especially with row crops — at the state level and even less on the national level. “We’ve got those people making decisions that will affect us in the long term … we need the representation to represent ag.”

Jay said his favorite part of his job is “being able to work with the family … most days. The boys are fifth generation, so we’re hoping to keep it going and even pass it on to another one.”

Joe recounted his journey to ag from being raised in town. One summer in the late ‘50s, he went and picked cotton for the first time. “My mother told me when I started, ‘If you start, you’re going to finish.’ … after the first week, when I’d made about $16 or $17, I told her I wasn’t going to go back, and she said ‘No, you’re going to go back; you’re going to finish.’” He said he grew to love ag and knew he wanted to stay involved in it.

“It was a good lesson to start with that got me into agriculture, and I never regretted it.”

The Wilders reflect their Family Land Heritage Property designation by proving their family itself to be its own kind of Texas heritage… one of continued dedication to their craft and the overall future of agriculture.The Porter/Wilder Farm office based in Snook, Texas.

Image showing (left to right): Joe Wilder, Mr. Holland Porter and Jay Wilder in the back, and Jayce and Spencer Wilder in front.

MSU Guidebook Directs Insect Control For Pro t

Tucker Miller has a list of row crop producers who depend on him to manage insects in their fields, and every year brings a different pest challenge that threatens crop profitability.

Miller, an independent crop consultant with Miller Entomological Service Inc. in Drew, Mississippi, said there is always uncertainty in insect matters.

“We try to be on top of the situation by scouting and looking for the insects that usually appear at certain times of the crop growth stage,” Miller said.

“We work closely with the Extension Service because they have test plots across the state and on a lot of my clients’ farms,” he said. “They use these plots to develop thresholds for insect control and to test the effectiveness of different chemicals labeled for insect control.”

For insect pest management, the Mississippi State University Extension Service offers the “Insect Control Guide,” available in printed form and online. It includes a wealth of information on different pests, chemical control and when to trigger a pest treatment. The research-backed data is a primary tool for Mississippi farmers navigating their way to a successful harvest.

“There is no one-size-fits-all approach to insect control,” Miller said. “We monitor the research MSU does, and it’s spot on giving us the information we need for decisions.”

Be Flexible In 2022

Insect control got a lot harder in 2021 when farm chemical costs increased almost fourfold by the end of the year.

Higher than usual input costs can compress profit margins. At MSU’s Row Crop Short Course held in December, specialists updated participants on the insect scene from 2021 and advised on decision-making criteria for 2022.

Whitney Crow, an entomologist with the MSU Extension Service, said pest control is always situationally dependent.

“The No. 1 goal in pest management is to follow best management practices and make economically sound applications of pesticide,” Crow said. “That means you may be altering when you decide to make an insecticide application based on current conditions.”

Scouting and monitoring pest populations are always the first steps in insect control. After the insects are identified and their populations confirmed, producers then must assess their crop’s tolerance level and injury, which is often dependent on the crop’s maturity status.

“Only then can we decide if we need to apply a control product,” Crow said.

Consider Economic Threshold

MSU agricultural economists gather information on all the crop input costs and then compile that with possible market prices for the crop. Entomologists used this data along with other information to establish economic thresholds for the different row crops, a reference to the level of pest infestation at which management action is financially justified.

The economic threshold is different from the economic injury level, which is the lowest population density of a pest that causes economic damage.

“If we make a treatment before reaching the economic injury level, then the cost of the treatment outweighs the benefit,” she said. “If we wait until we have reached the economic threshold and spray around the economic injury level, the benefit is greater than the cost.”

Each insecticide application decision should be weighted by a variety of factors such as crop value, effectiveness of the treatment available and management cost.

“Management guidelines are simply guidelines, and every situation is different, but the end goal never changes: We want you to make economically sound decisions for your crop situation,” Crow said.

The “MSU Insect Control Guide for Agronomic Crops” is updated annually. Look for Extension Publication 2471 online at http://extension.msstate.edu/ publications.

CCOY

Cotton Consultant of the Year

established 1981

Nominations Open For 2022

CCOY

The Cotton Consultant of the Year Award is sponsored by Syngenta and Cotton Farming magazine. This prestigious award honors a consultant for dedication, innovation and hard work. Their footprints in the field and eyes on the crop help cotton farmers succeed and maintain a healthy bottom line.

Go to cottonfarming.com/ ccoy to access the 2022 nomination form and a list of past recipients. Nominees are voted on by the former CCOY winners.

The 2022 CCOY will be honored Feb. 24, 2023, at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis and featured in a four-page salute in the February 2023 issue of Cotton Farming.

Nominate a consultant today who has enriched your cotton farming operation!

Cotton Consultant of the Year sponsored by

Sporadic Pests Of Seedling Cotton

Keep An Eye Out For The “Odd Balls” That May Threaten Young Cotton

BY SCOTT GRAHAM

AUBURN UNIVERSITY

One of the challenges of cotton insect pest management is also one of the things that makes it exciting: no two seasons (or even weeks) are the same. For this reason, there is no substitute for “boots on the ground” weekly scouting for odd critters that may show up.

Depending on weather, we may see some “relatively” common pests, such as spider mites or three-cornered alfalfa hoppers, or we may observe some real odd balls, like white-margined burrower bugs. Walking fields weekly, beginning at planting helps identify potential problems before they arise and can help ensure we maximize our yield potential from the start.

DRY WEATHER PESTS

Grasshoppers

Grasshoppers have been a sporadic pest of seedling cotton in Alabama for many years. Dry weather during the winter favors the survival of grasshopper eggs, which are laid in pods in the soil. Shifts to reduced and no-till systems have also led to increased grasshopper populations, as eggs are not mechanically killed during tillage. In Alabama, immature grasshoppers begin emerging in late March and continue through June as soil temperatures rise and spring rains occur. Grasshoppers damage cotton by feeding on the mainstem of seedlings — often in the crook or cracking stage — resulting in stand loss.

Scouting for grasshoppers is difficult, as they are hard to capture in a sweep net. There are no current thresholds for grasshoppers and likely never will be due to their sporadic feeding nature and difficulty to sample. In fields with historic grasshopper problems, preventative approaches, such as adding an insecticide to burndown herbicides, may be needed. Border sprays are not effective since immature grasshoppers emerge throughout the entire field.

Since not all immature grasshoppers emerge at the same time, a long-lasting residual insect growth regulator insecticide could be used. Ultimately, preventative applications for grasshoppers are a judgment call and are based on the risk level an individual farmer is willing to accept. While most labeled insecticides provide control of immature grasshoppers at low labeled rates, adults, which develop later in the spring, are more difficult to control, even at higher rates.

For more information, visit the ACES publication Insect Pests of Cotton: Grasshoppers (https://bit.ly/3MfULI6) and the Alabama Extension IPM Guide IPM-0415 (https://bit. ly/36CieUA).

Two-Spotted Spider Mites

Two-spotted spider mites are an increasingly common early season cotton pest in Alabama. As acres continue to shift to reduced tillage and cover cropping systems, this trend will likely continue, particularly in dry springs. Mite populations slowly build on existing winter vegetation and will move to cotton as it emerges in the spring. One way to mitigate spider mite outbreaks is to achieve good burndown.

Historically, spider mites were mostly observed to be border pests as populations moved from weedy hosts in field edges into cotton fields. Recently, outbreaks can be found in the middle of fields, often in areas where good burndown was not achieved. In hot, dry spells, spider mites can develop from egg to adult in as little as five days. Outbreaks are more likely in these conditions and following applications of broad-spectrum insecticides.

The most efficient way to scout for spider mites is to look for symptoms of seedling injury. Mites cause damage by sucking juices from the bottom of leaf surfaces. Signs of feeding begin as white or yellowish stippling that develops into reddening or purpling of leaves along leaf veins. In seedling cotton, this can lead to defoliation and stand loss in severe outbreaks.

If early signs of spider mite damage are observed, look on the underside of the leaf for mites, which are small (0.3 mm) and yellowish with two black dots on their back. A 10x hand lens is helpful to see mites. Exposing the underside of the leaf may agi-

For information on thresholds and insecticide recommendations in cotton-growing areas outside Alabama, contact your local Extension agent.

tate mites, causing them to move and making them easier to see.

Determining when to treat for spider mites requires some professional judgement, as management decisions are not based on numbers of mites found. In addition to the number of plants showing symptoms, and the severity of symptoms, the immediate weather forecast should also be taken into consideration. If no significant rain chances are expected in the next few days, treatment may be warranted. Up-to-date thresholds and insecticide recommendations can be found in the Alabama Extension Cotton IPM Guide IPM-0415 (https://bit.ly/36CieUA).

Three-Cornered Alfalfa Hoppers

Three-cornered alfalfa hoppers (TCAH) are a sporadic pest of seedling cotton. Infestations tend to be worse on field borders and in dry springs when migrating adults move from weedy hosts to cotton fields. TCAH damage seedlings by feeding around the mainstem (girdling), resulting in a “knot” below the cotyledons that reduces the plant’s ability to move nutrients and photosynthate. Damaged plants will appear stunted, the leaf veins will turn dark red, and the leaves will turn a red-orange color. Typically, girdling is not a concern once plants reach the 6- or 7-node stage. Although sampling for TCAH is possible, most infestations are observed once plants begin to show symptoms. Often, damage observed is not as bad as it looks and is almost always confined to field borders. There are currently no established thresholds for TCAH in cotton.

Unlike soybean, girdled cotton plants usually die, and neighboring plants compensate for any stand loss. TCAH can easily be managed with pyrethroids or organophosphates. However, economic losses are rare, and treatment is not often justified. In some cases, TCAH may reinfest fields soon after application, giving the appearance that the treatments did not work. Followup applications are more likely to flare spider mites than to save cotton from economic TCAH damage.

White-Margined Burrower Bug

White-margined burrower bug is another sporadic insect that can be found in cotton fields during dry springs. This insect may be confused with the peanut burrower bug, which is a sporadic, but important, pest of peanut. Little is known about the life cycle of white-margined burrower bug or its pest status in cotton.

Infestations, though rare, tend to occur in reduced till fields and in dry years. These insects feed on developing seeds and are particularly attracted to seeds in the mint family, such as henbit or purple deadnettle. Anecdotal observations suggest that these insects are highly susceptible to insecticide seed treatments and do not pose a threat to cotton seedlings. Thus, insecticide applications are not recommended as the potential to flare other pests is increased.

False Chinch Bug

False Chinch Bug (FCB) are a rare pest of seedling cotton. This insect can be found on a wide variety of plants and weeds and builds up populations during cool, wet springs where weedy hosts thrive. Then, as conditions become hot and dry, and weedy hosts dry down, populations will move to cotton.

False chinch bugs damage cotton by sucking juices from the plants, and heavy infestations can kill cotton seedlings. Many times, infestations are confined to field borders where populations move from weedy hosts along ditch banks. But they may also be found throughout the field if high populations of weeds were present prior to a herbicide application.

In the rare cases that FBC presents an issue, they usually occur during dry periods and after a herbicide application that kills weedy host plants so FCB have no other hosts to infest but cotton seedlings. Due to the rarity of infestations, there are no thresholds for FCB in cotton. Anecdotal observations suggest some at-plant insecticides, such as aldicarb, provide control of FCB. If foliar treatment is warranted, FCB can be difficult to control. In some cases, a tankmix of acephate and bifenthrin are needed to manage populations.

WET WEATHER PESTS

Slugs

Slugs are not an insect but are a growing pest of seedling cotton in Alabama. These critters, known as mollusks, are associated with cool, wet years and reduced-tillage systems. Infestations are more likely to occur following high residue crops, such as corn or grain sorghum. Slugs may damage cotton by feeding on cotyledons or true leaves, often leaving irregularly shaped holes on leaf edges. However, the greatest risk is stand loss from slugs feeding on the mainstem of seedlings.

Slugs are often most active at night and difficult to find during the day. To scout for slugs, scratch the soil surface back and look for them. There are no thresholds for slugs and few effective options for control after planting.

In high-risk fields where tillage is not an option, setting row cleaners more aggressively can push plant residue back which may reduce the risk of injury. Additionally, ensuring the furrow is closed can help reduce the chances of slugs clipping cotton

seedlings before they emerge. Baits containing iron phosphates or metaldehyde are available, but in many cases are cost prohibitive and not readily available.

Ultimately, the best management strategy for slugs is hot, dry growing conditions that are conducive for seedling growth and bad for slugs. It is important to note that insecticides have no activity on slugs and should not be used as a control measure.

Snails

Snails are another mollusk pest that are becoming more of a threat to cotton stand establishment. Although a more consistent issue in in south Alabama, infestations have been observed in central and in northeast Alabama as well. The most common species of snails currently observed in Alabama cotton feeds on detritus and decaying organic matter, not cotton plants. Damage is caused from the sheer number of snails that climb on seedlings, with the resulting weight breaking the plants and causing stand loss.

Unlike slugs, snails are easily found during the day and can be differentiated by their shell. Snails may be worse in fields with high calcium levels or in areas where lime was over applied, as they mine this nutrient for shell production.

Like slugs, we do not have thresholds or effective control options. Currently, tillage is the only option to manage them. High-risk fields or fields that have issues with snails in the past may benefit from at least light tillage prior to planting.

Cutworms

Several species of cutworms may be observed in wet springs. Vegetation in fields prior to planting, such as cover crops or weeds, attract moths to lay eggs that results in finding caterpillars as the cotton emerges. Cutworms are more common in reduced till fields and may be more likely to be found in low lying areas where effective burndown was not achieved.

Cutworms are more active at night and damage seedlings by clipping plants at the soil level then feeding on leaves below the soil surface. Thus, the presence of severed stems with no leaves may be an indicator of cutworm infestations.

To scout for cutworms, look for signs of stand loss then scratch below the soil surface and look for the “dirty” looking caterpillar. If herbicide burndown applications are made less than four weeks prior to planting and conditions are cool and wet, preventative control measures may be justified. Mid labeled pyrethroid rates often provide adequate control of cutworms when applied with burndown herbicides or within seven days before or after planting.

For up-to-date thresholds and insecticide recommendations for cutworms, consult the Alabama Extension IPM Guide IPM0415 (https://bit.ly/36CieUA).

True Armyworms

True armyworms are a sporadic pest of seedling cotton in Alabama. Infestations are almost always confined to reduced-tillage systems as moths are attracted to existing vegetation for egg laying.

These caterpillars are commonly found on grasses in the spring and may require treatment in wheat. Thus, infestations may be more likely behind fields with grass cover crops, such as cereal rye. The caterpillars are a light brown or tannish color and have characteristic black bands around their legs. Like other spring pests, the threat of damage is from stand loss by caterpillars clipping seedling stems.

Scouting for true armyworm is best done in the morning, as larvae hide under plant stubble during the heat of the day. There are no established thresholds for true armyworm in cotton. However, planting into fields with infestations is not advised. If populations are observed, mid labeled pyrethroid rates often provide adequate control when applied with burndown herbicides or within seven days before or after planting.

Summary

Insect management is different from all other aspects of cotton production. The cotton insect situation changes from year to year, week to week and field to field in the approximately 20,000 cotton fields across Alabama. To manage key and sporadic insect pests effectively and efficiently, scouting is critical. Changes in the weather can affect which species of pests are most likely to infest fields.

Although pests, such as thrips, plant bugs and stink bugs are consistent threats, sporadic pests sometimes cause more headaches because many field advisors have less experience with them. The only way to know what insects are in fields and at what levels is to scout weekly. Familiarizing yourself with the “odd balls” is important to properly identify which insects are pests, which are beneficials and which are incidentals.