Northwest
Plains
Pest Management News
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| Volume 1 Issue 11 |
Bailey
and Parmer Counties
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August
23, 2002
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Northwest
Plains
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Current Crop Conditions rain >noun 1) the condensed moisture of the atmosphere falling visibly in separate drops. 2) (rains) falls of rain. 3) a large quantity of things falling or descending: a rain of blows. I had to
go to the dictionary to verify what happened Monday night and Tuesday
morning. Using the above definition it is accurate to say, it rained!
Rainfall amounts ranged from three to four inches in western Bailey County
and southwestern Parmer County. Northeast Bailey County and southeast
Parmer County received about two inches. Northern Parmer county was not
completely left out but only reported four to five tenths of an inch.
Many crops that were under severe water stress prior to the rain have
not responded. Stressed cotton continues to pitch dime and nickle size
bolls. Time will only tell how the grain sorghum will respond. Wheat may
be the big winner with this rain. Daily Water Requirements
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Cotton that reached physiological cutout (five nodes above white flower) on or before July 27 th is now safe from small caterpillar pests. Using historical weather data Cotman projects fields that cutout August 7 th will accumulate 450 heat units by September 2 nd , which will make them safe from the small caterpillar pests as well. Silage
cutters are making short work of fields that are dry enough to get the
trucks through. Maturity and spider mites have many fields changing from
green to brown rather quickly. Bollworms
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Rain August 19 th and 20 th helped remove eggs and some small worms. One half inch of fairly intense rain will wash 94% of the eggs off smooth leaf cotton and 84% of the eggs off hairy leaf cotton. Residual activity has been good for the most part, only a few fields being treated a second time as of Friday the 23 rd . As cotton matures the threshold for bollworms can be extended. Counts of 20,000 one fourth inch or smaller worms or 12,000 three eighths to one half inch worms per acre on this more mature cotton can be used as threshold. However, if 450 or more heat units have accumulated since cutout a treatment may not be justified at all. This stage of cotton is safe from the small worms. Beet Armyworms
Aphids
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A total of 60 leaves divided between the top, middle and lower portion
of the plant should be sampled from plants across the field to determine
actual infestation levels. Insecticidal control of cotton aphids should
be delayed until infestations exceed 50 aphids per leaf. Producers in
the Lubbock area have
Monti Vandiver |
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| Educational programs
conducted by Texas Cooperative Extension serve people of all ages regardless
of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion, handicap or national
origin. The information given herein is for educational purposes only.
References to commercial products or trade names is made with the understanding
that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by Texas Cooperative
Extension is implied.
The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
and the Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating
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Egg
lay continues at a somewhat lighter rate than last week, depending on
area. Most counts were in the 15,000 to 25,000 eggs per acre range. The
exception to this was in the Hub area where egg counts were in the 55,000
to 77,000 per acre range.
Beet
armyworms are being found in awf u l l y h igh numbers in late planted
black-eyed peas. Podworms (aka bollworm/corn earworm) are also present.
The podworms are boring holes in blooms and pods, feeding inside and
moving to the next location. The beet armyworms are basically eating
whatever is in front of them. 
Aphids
have crashed for the most part. They are still present but at 25% to
50% of last week. Keep an eye out as predators of aphids have been reduced
as well. 
