General Conditions: Cotton is in fair shape throughout the two-county area with growth stages of three to seven true leaves in program acreage. Most transgenic varieties that have been treated appear to be in good shape with minor thrips damage, wind burn and heat stress.

Thrips: Thrips numbers have actually increased in some program fields but with "growth dilution" of earlier planted cotton, they remain at a sub-economic level. Cotton that was replanted or late planted with two or less true leaves should still be monitored closely for this pest. This is especially true in fields containing weeds or adjacent to pasture, roadways, or other sources of alternate host plants.

Fleahoppers / Lygus Bugs: Early infestations of Fleahoppers have been noted in program fields but at sub-economic levels to date. These pests are much easier to identify in the cooler portions of the day and should be highly suspect if cotton should be squaring but is not. Feeding on small pin-head squares will cause fruit loss that sometimes goes unnoticed without close scrutiny. Lygus Bugs have been reported in Eastern Crosby Co. by Robert Carter, (Crop Consultant), (adjacent to a sorghum field) where noticeable damage to small squares was evident. Earlier April-planted cotton is susceptible to earlier problems as in this case.

Beet Armyworms: Larvae of this species are still in the news in a few program fields but have not faired well due to weather fluctuations, limited amount of canopy in small cotton and beneficial insects noted in program fields. The next generation may prove more resilient with the maturation of the cotton crop and warmer weather. Traps counts for BAW moths have increased slightly over the last week but are not at alarming rates at present.

Boll Weevil: Trap counts have increased slightly but continue to fluctuate with the highest number reported for one week( June 6- 13) at 13 in southern Floyd County. Plains Cotton Growers Grid Trapping results for June 4-8 indicate an average of 1 to 4 in Floyd County and 5 to 16 in southern Crosby County. When pin-head squares are present and with average trap catches of 2 Weevils per week are noted, treatment is probably justified. However, field inspection should be done in conjunction with trap indexing. The presence of one or more Weevils per 100 plants checked or four per 100 row ft. will justify treatment and allow time to apply insecticide prior to "match head " size squares. One or two treatments may be necessary depending upon further trap catches and field inspections. Trap index numbers utilized to make treatment decisions should be based on traps adjacent to the field in question. When cotton has reached the 1/3 grown square stage, it is time to cease Overwintered Boll Weevil insecticide treatments.