P.O. Box 237, Garden City, Texas 79739
Home Phone: 915-354-2466
Fax: 915-354-2348
Office Phone: 915-354-2477
Daily Insect Update: 915-354-2476
E-Mail: w-multer@tamu.edu
 
 
Website: http://entowww.tamu.edu
  
VOL. 22, NO. 9
Warren L. Multer, EA/IPM
July 11, 2002
 

PEST MANAGEMENT REPORT

NEWS ABOUT INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT IN GLASSCOCK, REAGAN AND UPTON COUNTIES

  

GENERAL SITUATION

Some showers this past week ranged from 0-2.9". Cotton ranges up to the second week of bloom. Bollworm egg-lay and worm hatch has increased to economic levels in some non-Bt fields.

SCOUT SAFETY

Please contact your scouts or me if you are spraying the field they are scouting with an insecticide. We do not want anyone to be exposed unnecessarily to pesticides.

APHIDS

Cotton aphids have been present in lower numbers for most of the season but we are seeing some larger spots of heavy aphids present. These are not economically damaging now but could be if beneficial insects are removed by worm sprays.

BOLL WEEVIL

No boll weevils were caught and no activity was found in fields this week.

PINK BOLLWORM

Pink bollworms averaged 0-3 moths /night this week.

BOLLWORM

Bollworm activity has increased over the past few days.

Eggs ranged from 20,000 per acre or 0-45 per 100 plants.

Small worms ranged from 0-14,000 per acre or 0-30 per 100 plants. The economic threshold is 5000 small worms per acre or 10 per 100 plants.

Egg-lay and worm hatch has definitely increased over the past few days. Several fields are being treated for worms now. If you have non-Bt fields, you should check them soon for worm activity.

Several options are available if you have fields with economic worm numbers. They are pyrethroids or some of the new chemistry such as Steward® and Tracer®.

The pyrethroids are cheaper but are less selective and usually more detrimental to predators.

FLEAHOPPERS

Fleahoppers ranged rom 0-15 per 100 terminals. Percent square sets ranged from 83-100%. Fleahoppers do not seem to be a significant problem in most area fields.
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PECAN NUT CASEBEARER

It is time for the second generation of pecan nut casebearer to be present. If you have pecans that may be affected, you should check for their activity.

BENEFICIAL INSECTS

We are seeing moderate numbers of key predators including spiders, damsel bugs and minute pirate bugs. They should help us with the worm activity.

GROWTH REGULATORS

Several people have asked questions about growth regulators and several fields have received applications. I would consider the history of growth in a field, amount of soil moisture, amount of irrigation water available and current growth rate.

TURNROW MEETINGS

Wednesday July 17th - 9:00 a.m. Glasscock Co. Coop
Wednesday July 17th - 1:30 p.m. Midkiff Coop

Wednesday July 24th - 9:00 a.m. Glasscock Co. Coop
Wednesday July 24th - 1:30 p.m. Midkiff Coop

WORKER PROTECTION
STANDARD TRAINING
FOR PESTICIDE HANDLERS

Thursday, August 1, 2002
Glasscock County Coop - 10:00 a.m.
Midkiff Community Center - 2:00 p.m.

This is to train your employees on how to handle pesticides properly and how to avoid exposure. It will be given in English and Spanish.

Mr. Glen Walkup, Glasscock County Coop, Midkiff Farmers Coop and Texas Cooperative Extension is sponsoring this program.

BASIC IPM CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS

Last of the continuing series on basic IPM concepts and definitions.

Public Health and Environmental Concerns
The public has become increasingly concerned about the use of pesticides and the possible adverse effects on human health, wildlife, ground water, and overall environmental quality. Pesticide exposure from drift to non-target areas; contamination of ground and surface waters; and residues on food are topics of concern to the general public. Applicators should be especially concerned because they may have the highest potential for exposure and thus, may
have the greatest health risks. All applicators must be sensitive to public concerns about pesticide use and apply materials only in a safe and judicious manner.

Cost of Pesticides
The cost of developing new pesticides has risen at an increasingly rapid rate. Government regulations and more stringent registration requirements have also slowed the rate of development and increased the costs of new products. Concerns about potential product liability have discouraged companies from introducing new products. Increasing problems with pest resistance have likewise resulted in shorter market lives for many pesticides than in the past. All of these factors result in higher costs and potentially lower profits for chemical companies. In turn, this leads to higher prices for pesticide users. Maintaining the economic viability of agriculture is also one of the goals of Integrated Pest Management.

Reduced Risk Pesticides
EPA has established a category of pesticides called "Reduced Risk" pesticides to encourage the development, registration and use of products which could result in reduced risks to human health and the environment. New conventional pesticides are considered for "Reduced Risk" status if they have at least one or more of the following characteristics: low risk to human health, low toxicity to non-target organisms, low potential to contaminate ground water, surface water or other valued environmental resources and have the potential to expand the adoption and effectiveness of IPM.

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WEATHER DATA

Weather data for the past two weeks is included in the table that follows:

DATE HIGH
TEMP		 LOW
TEMP

RAIN		 AVG WIND
SPEED		 SOIL TEMP
6-27 87 65 .4 6 82
6-28 93 66 0 4 81
6-29 93 67 0 8 81
6-30 92 65 0 8 81
7-1 87 69 0 11 82
7-2 91 68 0 8 81
7-3 86 70 0 8 83
7-4 91 67 0 10 82
7-5 92 70 0 8 82
7-6 92 66 .32 9 83
7-7 87 67 0 7 81
7-8 93 68 0 7 80
7-9 94 68 0 5 81
7-10 93 66 0 6 82

HEAT UNITS averaged 20 per day the past week. Heat units since 5-1 and 5-15 and 6-1 are compared with last year and a five year average in the table below.

DATES 5-1 5-15 6-1
2002
1116 913 660.5
2001
1105 951 689
5 YEAR AVERAGE 1175.6 976.1 668.9

 

 


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