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P.O. Box 318 |
Hillsboro,
TX 76645
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June 20, 2002 Vol. VIII No. 8 |
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GENERAL SITUATION Rainfall was recorded on June 16 with the majority of the area receiving 6/10 to 1 inch. The soil moisture situation is adequate to dry. Corn was in desperate need of rainfall and the additional moisture will increase yield. Corn will range from just past roasting ear to soft dough stage. Grain sorghum looks good and the majority of the fields are in seed with some turning color. The majority of the cotton has started to bloom. The cotton is growing off well and in most cases setting a lot of squares. Growing conditions for cotton have been close to ideal. CORN and GRAIN SORGHUM Grasshoppers continue to move into some area fields next to pastures, waterways, roadsides, etc. In some locations grasshoppers have moved in further than just the edge of the field. Producers should monitor corn and grain sorghum for grasshoppers. |
Producers who are planning on silaging corn should be very careful on their insecticide use for grasshoppers - days to harvest. Lorsban® is 14 days to harvest. Greenbugs are light to non-existent. Yellow sugarcane aphids are light to non-existent. Sorghum midge will range from 0-10 per 100 heads. The economic threshold is an average of 1 per head. Producers with any late fields of milo in the yellow bloom stage should be monitoring these fields on a daily basis. In past years when we had some fields of milo starting to turn color is usually about the same time we see an increase in midge numbers. Milo in the yellow bloom stage next to these more advanced fields will see a movement of midge into these later fields. Sorghum headworms will range from 4-20 per 100 heads. We have just started to monitor fields for headworms and early results indicate they are light. The economic threshold is an average of 2 per head. |
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COTTON Cotton continues to grow off well. In most cases the plants are loading up well. A number of fields reached first bloom June 14 through June 17. In general, the insect situation is light. The main concern at this point will be the upcoming bollworm egglay. Thrips are a problem in youngest, least advanced cotton. Cotton aphids remain in light numbers throughout the area. Grasshoppers continue to be a problem in some area cotton fields. There have been a few fields where border treatments have been applied. Spraying the edge of cotton fields for grasshoppers is risky and may lead to a bollworm problem-upsetting the balance of beneficial insects. Fleahopper numbers will range from 0-16 per 100 terminals. Most fields are past fleahopper problems. Overwintered boll weevil percent punctured squares are below detectable levels. Trap counts are very light with only one location, in the Chatt area, picking up one weevil. The rest of the locations did not capture any weevils. Bollworm eggs will range from 0-6 per 100 plants. Bollworm larvae will range from 0-8 per 100 plants. We are seeing a decrease in bollworm activity with most fields having bollworm eggs 0-3 and larvae 0-4.
There have not been any fields treated for bollworm larvae. Beneficial activity appears good and larvae numbers and damage is below threshold levels. The predicted date for peak bollworm egglay is July 8. This predicted date is later than what I would expect. The study indicates three peaks occurring on July 2, July 5 and finally the larger peak on July 8. |
A study was conducted to determine the bollworm peak egglay in cotton. Two fields of corn with slightly different maturity dates were utilized. Larvae were collected and measured and projected to first day of oviposition as an adult moth into cotton. Spider mites are not being seen. Beet
armyworm moth trap counts are light. Larvae are not being seen in
the field. BEET ARMYWORM TRAP COUNT
*Trap
was down at Chatt location. Counts include just Vaughan trap. (The cumulative
average of two traps/week. Trap locations are in the Chatt and Vaughan
area) Bollworm/Budworm Moth Trap Catches
(Number of moths per trap) * Bollworm and budworm moth trap counts are not indicative of the number of moths out in the field. The trap counts are used as a monitoring tool to determine the percent bollworm and percent budworm in the area.
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*********************************************************************************************************************************************************** Educational programs conducted by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service 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 the Cooperative Extension Service is implied. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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