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OVERVIEW

Scattered bug treatments are being made in parts of the Southeast this week. Aphids remain mostly subdued.

Cotton is blooming in more areas as we head toward the Fourth of July weekend.

It remains hot, but temperatures have moderated somewhat. Parts of the Southeast hit record highs last week. Showers have fallen, but they’ve been scattered and light in most cases. Rain is needed on a wide basis.

CROP REPORTS

Phillip Roberts, Extension Entomologist, Tifton, Ga.: "Aphid populations have been slow to develop and are actually somewhat spotty. They are getting started, but here we are, almost to July 1, and they don’t seem to be building like we normally would see. That could quickly change, of course. Some of our earlier cotton, planted in April and early May, is entering bloom. Once it reaches bloom, we need to monitor closely for bugs, primarily stink bugs and boll feeding bugs. Guys with older cotton report seeing some stink bugs, plant bugs and clouded plant bugs. I don’t know that anyone has treated, but they are infesting cotton to some degree. The stink bugs are mainly a mix of Southern green and brown stink bugs. One guy mentioned finding a few beet armyworms but nothing to treat."

Edward Kane, Ind. Crop Consultant, Robertsdale, Ala.: "We got rain in the county yesterday (6/29), from zero to 2 inches. Some areas received rain last Wednesday, too, but we have places that missed it both times. Cotton ranges from fifth leaf to blooming, which started this week. So far, we haven’t treated plant bugs or aphids. Aphids are present but slow to progress. We’ve been seeing them for 2 weeks, but numbers have never really jumped. I thought we would be treating them by now due to the dry weather, but beneficials seem to be holding them down."

David L. Wright, Florida Extension Agronomist, Quincy, Fla.: "Temperatures have cooled off after last week when we had a record 7 days of highs above 100. It’s in the mid 90s now (6/30), and we’ve generally gotten some good rains in the past few days. Our dryland crops needed it, especially dryland corn, which was suffering pretty severely. We’ve gotten 2 inches here in the last 2 to 3 days, mainly from those afternoon showers that can come up this time of the year. A lot of cotton planted early is starting to bloom and grow well. People are trying to clean up weeds before cotton canopies over. So far, no severe insect problems. Some plant bugs and stink bugs have been treated, mainly in fields near corn."

Barry L. Freeman, Extension Entomologist (Retired), Belle Mina, Ala.: "A little treating is underway for plant bugs, and a fair amount of insecticide will be piggybacked this week with herbicides before people take off for the Fourth of July. The treatments aren’t based on thresholds but are more a preventive kind of thing. I understand their thinking – trying to be cautious in case something might develop over the holiday. The downside to that is the potential to flare secondary pests. We’ve got scattered aphids and mites and have hit threshold on plant bugs in places, but they’re not bad, overall. Where they’re showing up, it has more to do with the age of the cotton than anything else. We’ve had scattered rain. One farmer got 2 inches, but that was a rare case. Overall, we’re dry. Corn is losing yield every day that it doesn’t rain. It’s a little cooler now but still hot enough that things are going to droop. We’re in the early bloom stage now in the older crop. So, cotton isn’t in the heaviest water-use period yet but is heading that way, which is a concern."

David Butcher, NC Ag Service, Inc., Pantego, N.C.: "It hasn’t gotten as hot here as we’re hearing about in states to our south. The highs have been in the 90s but haven’t gotten over 95, so it hasn’t been too bad. Cotton in some fields is in the very early start of flowering, while the rest of it is squaring. That’s about right in terms of crop development timing here. Moisture is adequate for this stage, too, but we’ll need rain before long. We’re spraying a little Pix here and there, and Roundup is going out."

Jeremy Greene, Clemson University Cotton Entomologist, Blackville, S.C.: "We’ve been hovering right around record heat, and temperatures are suppose to be in the mid 90s this week. Everything is still quiet in the cotton, just lingering problems with grasshoppers because of dry conditions. Whatever thrips, aphids or anything else that’s been building has been taken out by beneficials. There’s a healthy population of them out there right now. If we can conserve beneficials at this point, that will be a great benefit as we get into mid July and start seeing corn earworms developing out of the corn. We’re getting just hit or miss thunderstorms right now, and we’re mostly missing them."

Ron Smith, Alabama Extension Entomologist: "Adult plant bugs continue to move into fields. They’re heavier in some areas than others, depending mainly on vegetation around them. We’re beginning to see more aphids clumping up in fields. I’m not aware of any aphid treatments right now (6/29). The only spraying in cotton that I’m seeing is for weed control. We had isolated showers yesterday but, overall, we missed most of the front, and it’s been terribly hot and dry. I won’t be surprised to see some tobacco budworm egg activity along the Gulf Coast this week. This is about the normal time for that flight. With the heat units lately, I think it will develop a day or two early. Normally, it starts between July 4 and July 10. Growers plant a limited amount of Roundup Ready-only cotton on the coast, but we have more of the non-Bt cotton in central Alabama, and the flight usually doesn’t make it there until a week later."

Rome Ethredge, Seminole County, Georgia, Extension Coordinator: "We hadn’t had rain in almost 2 weeks, then this weekend (6/27-28) an inch fell in some areas in the county and today (6/29) we’re getting some more showers. But we’re not out of the woods yet. You can tell it’s been dry. The dryland cotton is short and already blooming. It’s been close to 100 most days lately. Some aphids are out there but aren’t very serious. We have a lot of weed problems in all our crops, primarily Palmer amaranth. Some is ALS resistant, some Roundup resistant, so it’s a real battle. I saw workers pulling it up by hand in one field the other day."

David Holshouser, Virginia Extension Agronomist, Suffolk, Va.: "Cotton looks pretty good. It’s squaring, from pin head to match head, and we’re past the thrips stage. We had some more rain in places. We haven’t noticed any plant bugs yet. But we’re at squaring, so it’s important to check closely. Temperatures are mostly in the upper 80s to lower 90s right now."

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Georgia Cotton Marketing News, 6-29, “Correction” due to uncertainty creeping into US and global economic recovery picture.

Georgia Seminole Crop E News, 6-26, Southern Corn Rust found and confirmed this week; lessers in peanuts; still need to water corn heavily; aphid infestations on cotton.

North Carolina Pest News, 6-28. Mites on cotton?; plant bugs up in 2009?; cotton aphids; big stink bug year ahead?; soy rust update.

South Carolina Cotton & Soybean Insect Report,  6-25, Its Quiet... What is next?

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