You will have four options to obtain the newsletter:

#1 Paper Copy for Fee
If you are interested in receiving a paper copy of this newsletter by mail during 2002, please send $10 and the subscription form to: Kerry Siders, EA-IPM, 1212 Houston St., Suite 2, Levelland, TX 79336
Make checks payable to: WEST PLAINS IPM UPDATE

#2 Free E-Mail Newsletter

#3 Free Internet Newsletter
The newsletter can be obtained, no charge, on the web sites: http://Hockley-Tx.tamu.edu & http://lubbock.tamu.edu/ipm

#4 Free Fax Newsletter
We can fax you a copy of the newsletter free if you will just provide us with your fax number on the subscription form.

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.

IPM SCOUTING PROGRAM

If you are interested in entering acres into the Hockley and Cochran IPM Scouting Program indicate so on your newsletter subscription form. The cost is $5.25/acre for weekly scouting from June through September. Insect and weed scouting, monitoring of beneficials, management options and nematode sampling will be provided. For more information contact Kerry at 894-2406.

FIELD SCOUT SCHOOL

A training session for those interested in learning more about field scouting will be held Friday, May 31st, at the Ollie Liner Center in Plainview (on Business I-27, just south of town). The scout school will begin with registration at 8 a.m. This program will offer training in pest identification & scouting procedures. CEU's for TDA Pesticide Applicators and Worker Protection Standard Training will be provided as well. For more information, please contact me at 894-2406.

Pest Management PrinciplesThe term "pest management" applies to a philosophy used in the design of insect, mite, disease and weed pest control programs. It encourages the use of the most compatible and ecologically sound combination of available pest suppression techniques. These management techniques include: cultural control, such as manipulation of planting dates and stalk destruction; crop management practices, such as variety selection and timing of irrigation;

Major factors to be considered when using insecticides include protecting natural enemies of cotton pests, possible resurgence of primary pests, increased numbers of secondary pests following applications and pest resistance to insecticides. Therefore, insecticides should be applied at the proper rates and used only when necessary, as determined by frequent field inspections, to prevent economic losses from damaging pests.

The pest management concept rests on the assumption that pests will be present to some degree in a production system, and that at some levels they may not cause significant losses in production. The first line of defense against pests is prevention through the use of good agronomic practices or cultural methods which are unfavorable for the development of pest problems (discussed below). Properly selected control measures should be taken only when pest populations reach levels at which crop damage suffered could result in losses greater than the cost of the treatment. This potentially injurious population or plant damage level, determined
through regular field scouting activities, is called an economic threshold or action level. Precise timing and execution of each production operation is essential. In short, pest management strives to optimize rather than maximize pest control efforts.

INSECTS NOTED TO-DATE

Over the past few days I have made note of some of the insect pests of various crops which we currently have. These pests are generally being found on weeds or in wheat adjacent to cropland and could present a threat to the crop once it is established. These pests include: thrips, chinch bugs, millers and moths of all sorts (mainly armyworms and cutworms), and grasshoppers. I will keep you updated on the progress of these insects over the next few weeks. The next paragraph is a discussion on grasshoppers. This may be the year we need to watch for problems.

Grasshoppers

The lubber (Jumbo) grasshopper is a large, brown, clumsy grasshopper without fully developed wings. It cannot fly but its hind legs are greatly enlarged and it is a strong hopper. It can be extremely damaging to seedling cotton. Large numbers are capable of completely destroying stands, especially around field margins.

Management and decision making. Although no economic threshold has been established for this species, field observations have indicated that populations of one per 3 row feet in the field or two per square yard in vegetation around the field may be capable of causing economic damage.

Other species. A number of other grasshopper species are occasional cotton pests. They generally move into fields from adjacent fence rows, ditch banks or field margins.

Management and decision making. Damaging infestations need to be controlled early while grasshoppers are small and still in crop border areas. Twenty or more grasshoppers per square yard in crop margins or ten or more per 3 row feet in the field are suggested treatment levels.

Thoughts On My Mind

Sprayer calibration will ensure proper rate of crop protection chemicals, good coverage, management/control of the pest, and efficient use of input cost.

Remember the goal of protecting crops from pests (weeds, insects & disease) is to limit yield loss, not to increase yields.

The use of Roundup Ready is no substitute for a good base herbicide program consisting of a preplant incorporated and at-plant preemergence herbicides.

The use of Bollgard does not excuse you from checking your crop for worms on a weekly basis.

The advice of a professional consultant on a weekly basis is even that much more important in time of economic concern and maximizing necessary production inputs.

Overwintering Boll Weevil Studies,
Texas High Plains. 1999-2001
A cooperative study between
Stan Carroll,
Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Assistant Research Scientist, and
James Leser,
Extension Entomologist at Lubbock

Overall summary:
Based on the survey and dig-up cage data, it would appear that a greatly reduced number of boll weevils made it into overwintering sites in late 2001 and that survival was very low for these weevils. No single weather event could be identified to be the cause of this mortality.

Our coldest period was accompanied by snow which provided an insulating blanket over the overwintering sites, shielding the weevils from the cold temperatures (based on temperature probe readings in the habitat and air temperatures. It is thought that maybe the accumulative effects of short duration cold periods were responsible for this significantly decreased survival.

We would expect far fewer weevils to emerge this spring/summer, giving both cotton producers and the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation a reprieve from previous high weevil years.

Active eradication zones should have very low boll weevil emergence, perhaps gaining producers a full year on the time table for eradication.

FARM BILL
As of this writing the 2002-2007 Farm Bill had been passed by the House but the Senate still was debating, and the President had not signed it yet. However, all indications are that it will go through, probably by the time you receive this newsletter. Texas Cooperative Extension has excellent information on the Farm Bill at http://agecoext.tamu.edu .

YOUTH AGRICULTURAL
EDUCATION

The future of agriculture, our local economies, and general welfare of our society, is dependent on the youth of today. In Hockley & Cochran Counties, Texas Cooperative Extension is taking a proactive approach by providing critical knowledge and experiences to youth to better understand and appreciate these agrarian values. Our agricultural related educational activities for youth include:

* the Agriculture Awareness Day for 4th grade students annually focuses on the importance of agriculture to our lives. School children attend the day with their teachers and learn about crops, animals, natural resources and technology in a fun, hands-on environment. The day is supplemented by curriculum taught in their classrooms. Reached 250 youth in the fall of 2001

* the Petting Zoo is for Pre-K through 3rd grade classes and teaches students what farm animals look, touch and smell like as well as the food and consumer products which come from these animals. Reached 1000 youth in the fall of 2001

* the Farm Safety Day Camp teaches youth ages 4 to 10 annually about the importance of being safe around the farm and home. The camp is held on a Saturday with centers for the students to learn about each safety issue. A few of the safety topics include: animal, electricity, 911 emergencies, gun and harmful chemicals. Reached 100 youth in the spring of 2001.

If you are interested in helping with or financially supporting these activities please contact us. To view a slide show highlighting and evaluating last year's Agriculture Awareness Day, visit the Texas Cooperative Extension, Hockley County website at http://Hockley-Tx.tamu.edu

Please do not hesitate to contact Hockley County Agents , Chris Edens, Kathryn Woodard, Kerry Siders and Delilia Diggs or Cochran County Agents, Jeff Wyatt and Marsha Blair, if you have any questions or need more information about these events.