Northwest
Plains
Pest Management News
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| Volume 1 Issue 13 |
Bailey
and Parmer Counties
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September
6 , 2002
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Northwest
Plains
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Current Crop Conditions Most if not all cotton has accumulated 450 heat units past cutout. Cotton that has accumulated 450 heat units since cutout is relatively safe from small worms. Caterpillar pests would be hard pressed to cause significant yield losses from here on out. Once cotton has reached 850 heat units since cutout, harvest aid applications should be considered. Using historical weather data the Cotman computer model projects cotton that cutout by August 5 will have accumulated 850 heat units past cutout by October 14 th . Corn silage harvest is finished on all but the very late planted corn. Corn grain harvest has started here and there across Bailey and Parmer Counties. Wheat is
being sown at a blistering pace. Recent rains have lead to near ideal
planting conditions. Daily Water Requirements
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Beet Armyworms Beet armyworms are scattered around the area. Most fields only have scattered hits. Under the lighter pressure the beneficials are keeping the BAW in check. Aphids Beneficials
continue to work on the aphid population. Cotton Harvest Aids Cotton requires 850 heat units past cutout to completely mature all significant bolls. Ideally this is the time to apply harvest aids, but this could be moved to 750 heat units past cutout |
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if weather or other situations that necessitate earlier harvest are of concern. This earlier harvest aid application should not affect yield but may reduce fiber quality. Wheat Army cutworms are feeding on newly emerged wheat. Numbers to this point have not justified treatment. A few fall armyworms and beet armyworms are also present. If numbers get to a point that treatment is necessary to prevent excessive stand loss it may be more economical to replant than to apply an insecticide. The exception to this may be if there are cattle waiting in the preconditioning yard to be put out on the wheat. Alfalfa Success in alfalfa stand establishment will be affected more by varietal selection and seedbed preparation than seeding rate. Poor seedbed prep should not be compensated for by increased seeding rate, this may promote lower quality (priced) seed that will not produce the quality of alfalfa desired. A seeding rate of 15-20 lbs. per acre north of Lubbock should be satisfactory with good seedbed preparation. Use a packer if necessary to obtain a firm seedbed. If soil, weather, and irrigation conditions are favorable, then in years 1 and 2 you will have about the same stand, whether you planted 30 lbs. per acre or 20 lbs. per acre. This seeding rate range will produce about 20 to 25 plants per square foot. As a rule of thumb, optimal alfalfa production occurs when irrigation capacity is near 8 gallons per acre per minute or more. Water requirements on a per ton basis are in the five to six inches per ton of production. IPM? IPM or Integrated Pest Management is a strategy of managing pests that is designed to meet an individual's production goals in the most economically and environmentally sound manner possible using a combination of control tactics. |
IPM is a systematic, information-intensive approach which depends upon an understanding of the entire production system. It strives to use several complimentary tactics or control methods to manage pests which makes the system more stable and subject to less production risks. IPM focuses on tactics that will prevent or avoid anticipated pest problems rather than remediate problems once they occur.
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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Finding
aphids in cotton has been a hit and miss situation this week. Not only
field by field but site to site in the same field. For the most part they
have become a nonissue. There are just enough present to not allow you
to forget about the altogether.
