Now is the time to protect against thrips damage! Many producers are considering cutting back on costs, but an at plant insecticide treatment for thrips can payoff well in the long run. I have noticed thrips every place I go lately, alfalfa fields, weed patches, wheat pastures and residential lawns. They are out there and appear to be in large numbers. As the wheat dries down, winter weeds die and alfalfa is cut, these critters will migrate to more attractive hosts. Newly emerged cotton will be very attractive. Thrips not only cause cosmetic damage but reduce yield by slowing growth and reducing early fruit set. Make use of an at plant insecticide treatment or treated seed to reduce or prevent thrips damage. According to Dr. Jim Leser, Extension Entomologist, Texas Agricultural Extension Service Lubbock, a 2.5 -3.0 pound per acre application of Temik at planting will provide a yield increase of 21-22 percent (over untreated) in irrigated cotton.

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the last evaluation. In Lubbock County the survival was 4% and in Hale County it was slightly more than 2%. Why the great difference? One reason may be temperature related. In Gaines County the temperature in the leaf litter never got below 32 F, while the other two sites did get below 32 F. This winter's plentiful moisture may also have influenced the survival rates.

Does this mean we will have a bad boll weevil year? Not necessarily. It means the weevils of similar condition to these in the study cages had a 33% likely hood of surviving. We know the weevils in the study were well fed, ready for overwintering and that the site is very good quality habitat for overwintering. We do not however know the condition of weevils which left the fields last October/November to overwinter. The potential is present for boll weevils to be problematic. But taking this data together with the habitat sampling study below, we should have significantly fewer boll weevils.

A cooperative effort of District -2 Extension Agents -IPM and the District TAEX Staff was sampling overwintering boll weevil habitat. This study sampled boll weevil habitat at eight sites in each county. The study consisted of collecting three one square meter samples of leaf litter/debris at each site, sorting each utilizing a mechanical tumbler and then sifting through all the "weevil" sized material which remained by hand. The following table provides the results of this survey (see attached table).

The revised cotton insect guides: Managing Cotton Insects (publication E-6) and Suggested Insecticides for Managing Cotton Insects (publication E-6A) are available from this office or on the internet at: http://insects.tamu.edu/extension/ag_and_field.html

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