By the time planters start rolling across the U.S. Cotton Belt, cotton growers have already made many important decisions that will impact their end-of-season chances for success. Selected varieties will be matched to specific fields or soil types based on regional variety trial results or previous yield performance. Nutrient programs based on soil tests will ensure optimum agronomic conditions, and selected preemergence herbicides will be applied to prevent early season weeds from becoming established. All these pre-season decisions are made in hopes of giving young cotton seedlings the best chance to establish a strong stand.
Crop consultants will have started estimating potential early season pest and disease threats based on past scouting reports and other variables. Looking back should always be part of good planning for the future, especially to remember what pest populations met economic thresholds the previous growing season.
When cotyledons begin breaking through the soil’s surface, cotton growers will not be the only ones looking at those young plants. Early season insects will eventually be searching for a moist, green vegetative food source. Agronomic and environmental variables impact pest populations, so farmers and their consultants should be ready to pull the trigger to protect cotton stands from pests before they cause significant damage to young cotton squares.
“Migrating pests from host plants may be difficult to gauge but May is the time to evaluate prospective plant bug populations in the Midsouth based on collected sampling in weedy hosts,” says Derek Clarkson, senior sales consultant, Crop Protection, Corteva Agriscience. “I would have a supply of Transform® WG insecticide with Isoclast® active ready to make an application when needed.”
In the Southwest, after cotton starts squaring, fleahoppers will move into the area by June, with aphids coming by July or August.
“If we have ample heat units moving past May and into June, cotton will grow quickly, eventually setting fruit that could become susceptible to fleahoppers,” says Katie Verett, market development specialist, Corteva Agriscience. “Transform WG insecticide controls insect pests on contact and through ingestion and displays translaminar movement in the leaf which means that if the spray lands on the top of the leaf it will move down to the cells on the bottom side of the leaf so it effectively reaching the pests out of the direct line of spray.”
After several years on the market, consultants continue to recommend Transform WG insecticide, which is trusted by farmers as a benchmark product for controlling fleahoppers and aphids. It is the only member of the Group 4C class of insecticides and features Isoclast® active. It provides a needed rotation option for resistance management programs and delivers quick knockdown plus the residual control farmers expect and need.
Best management practices support decisions related to making targeted spray applications through an effective insect management program. An integral part of that program and those practices should include adherence to state pest thresholds. Economic data on crop costs, plus potential market prices for the crop, help establish economic thresholds for the different row crops. Most state Extension offices offer an online insect control guide. Product performance ratings are usually incorporated into the guide. Both are invaluable assets.
“Transform WG insecticide is soft on beneficial insects and doesn’t increase the potential for spider mites later in the crop season,” Verett concludes.
Read how Transform® WG insecticide with Isoclast® active can be a solution to your insect control problems.
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