Scattered showers fell across the area dropping rain up to 0.6 inch. The growing conditions for the rest of the cotton fields continue to be hot and dry.

Drought stress is becoming more evident in many of the cotton fields. Small bolls are being shed, in some cases, bolls as large as a half-inch in diameter. All but the younger cotton has reached cutout, with fewer than 4 nodes above white flower (NAWF). Early May cotton has open bolls. Some fields are up to 20% open.

The fruit on the plant will be safe from bollworm damage by 4 NAWF plus 350 Heat Units (HU). Most days are accumulating between 22 and 25 HU/day. At this rate, the crop will be safe from bollworm attack 16 days after cutout.

Bollworms continue to be found in lower numbers. The combination of high heat and high beneficial populations have had a great effect on the damage worms are able to cause. In recent weeks, none of the survey fields have come close to treatment thresholds. If high numbers are found one week, the worms seem to disappear within 3-5 days.

While most insect populations remain low, it is still possible to have damaging levels of pest insects in your fields. Thus, it is still important to continue to scout these fields.

I think that we have seen that bollworms are not likely to be a problem this year. In addition to that, I do not foresee any other insects being problematic with the exception of Aphids.

We will usually see the peak aphid population toward the middle or end of August. As such, aphids can still be a problem this year. In our favor, we have a large beneficial insect population in most cotton fields. This should help to keep aphids under control. However, even though aphids may not get to high enough numbers to impact yield, as few as 30 per leaf can cause a lint quality problem as a result of honeydew. Keep an eye on your fields for aphids. Especially as the cotton begins to open.

August 13 UAP - Roscoe

August 14 Hoyle Farm - South side of I-20
between Lasky Rd and Lucas Rd

August 15 Kattes Farm - FM 1611 - 1.5 Miles
North of Hwy 180

August 16 Tuxedo Gin

All meetings will begin at 8:30 a.m.
1 hour CEU in IPM will be available at all meetings.

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. We will seek to provice reasonable accomodations for all persons with disabilites for all extension programs. We request that you contact Mr. Stephen Biles (915/236-9011) as soon as possible to advise us of the auxiliary aid or service that your require.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1

Table 4. Projected Dates of Crop Growth Landmarks for Various Planting Dates Based on Table 3