Sticky Cotton Prevention – Late Season Insect and Defoliation Management

 

Preventing sticky cotton is crucial in producing quality cotton. Late-season populations of cotton aphid and Silverleaf whitefly can produce significant amounts of honeydew when populations build. These pests are of most concern from mid-boll filling through harvest, when insect populations build and threaten exposed lint. Pest management guidelines for cotton aphid and silverleaf whitefly focus on strategies to use once threshold pest populations are reached, with the approach varying with the composition of the developing population (nymphs, adults), crop growth stage, and with the presence of exposed lint. Current pest management guidelines for whitefly and aphid can be interpreted as meaning defoliation is the final event of the season. This is based on the assumption…

 

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