Helicoverpa armigera Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) (African bollworm) is a typical noctuid with a very catholic taste in food plants and whose larvae feed on a wide range of cultivated and wild plants. It has been identified as the most polyphagous and injurious pest in South Africa. Helicoverpa armigera is also a key pest of cotton in many parts of the world. This key pest requires extensive control as it adversely effects yield and has built up resistance to synthetic pyrethroid insecticides. Cotton is an important crop produced by commercial and small-scale farmers in South Africa. The local demand for cotton has not been exceeded yet, but to satisfy a demanding market, pest control costs play an important role in cotton production. The threat of an insect pest that has already shown resistance prompted the present study to investigate the possibility of resistance to Bt-cotton. Genetically engineered or Bt-cotton was introduced commercially in 1996 in South Africa. All Bt-cotton plants contain one or more foreign genes derived from the soil-dwelling bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner), which produces protein crystals. These crystals were isolated and transferred into the genome of a cotton plant resulting in the plant producing it’s own protein insecticide. In 1998, Monsanto (Pty) Ltd requested research into the geographic susceptibility of H. armigera to the insecticidal proteins in Bt-cotton in SA. Laboratory reared and field sampled populations of H. armigera were exposed to a diet mixed with various baseline concentrations of the Bt-gene Cry1Ac freeze dried protein. This study also determined the performance of H. armigera and Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval) on different Bt-cotton field cultivars containing different Cry-protein genes. Results obtained indicated a significant difference in susceptibility in two field populations of H. armigera to the Bt-protein Cry1Ac, even though the LD50,s in the 2003 season did not indicate resistance. Bt-cotton cultivar 15985 BX controlled H. armigera and S. littoralis larvae, the best followed in descending order by cultivar 15985 X, 15985 B and DP50 B. Results on H. armigera also indicated that the Cry-proteins in the plant parts of the different cultivars did not diminish as the season progressed. The Bt-cotton cultivars induced retarded growth of larvae, due to either a repellent effect or lack of feeding by larvae. Widespread adoption of Bt-cotton by South African farmers led to regional declines in bollworm populations, reduced insecticide use, and increased yields. Genetically modified crops therefore contribute to a cost effective, sustainable, productive and efficient form of agriculture, with a resultant positive impact on the environment. As the market for commercial Bt-cotton in South Africa expands, it is recommended that a monitoring programme for potential resistant genes in H. armigera should be implemented at least every 2 - 3 years. This will ensure that effective resistance management strategies are utilised. Coupled with this are the Biosafety Risks regarding the effect of new proteins expressed in transgenic plants, which require further studies.

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Gossypium barbadense (Pima cotton) was planted in a naturally infested field containing 600 cfu/g of Thielaviopsis basicola on two planting dates in 1986 and in 1988 near Coolidge, AZ. Soil temperatures ranged from 18-20 C and 24-26 C at a depth of 15 cm on the first and second planting dates, respectively. During both seasons, disease incidence approached 100% with 75-100% cortical root decay 1 mo after the first planting. Two wk after the second planting, there was an 89% disease incidence in 1986 and 92% in 1988 with 50-75% cortical root decay in both instances. Plant stands were reduced by 28% in 1986 and 32% in 1988 in the first planting and 11% in 1986 and 8% in 1988 in the second planting. In October 1986, 32% and 5% of the plants in the first and second plantings, respectively, had darkened stelar root tissues near the crown that contained hyphae and aleuriospores of T. basicola. G. hirsutum was grown at 20 and 28 C in a growth chamber in soils containing 0, 90, and 600 cfu/g of T. basicola. Seedling stunting and cortical decay increased with inoculum density at both temperatures but were more severe at 20 C. SEM demonstrated that phialoconidia and aleuriospores germinated, produced appressoria, and penetrated within 12 and 48 hr, respectively. Five days after inoculation infected cells were filled with hyphae and aleuriospores. Populations of T. basicola in the test field, in 1986 after 4 yr of planting cotton, were 596, 481, and 142 cfu/g 1, 2, and 7 mo after planting. During 1987 the field was split into two plots. One was planted with wheat and the other was fallowed. In 1987 populations of T. basicola remained stable. In 1988 disease incidence and populations of T. basicola were monitored in the wheat and fallow plots currently planted with Pima cotton. In February 1988 soil populations of T. basicola dropped to 87 cfu/g and 13 cfu/g in the wheat and fallow treatments, respectively. However, in April 1988, 1 mo after planting, Pima cotton growing in the wheat rotation plot had a disease incidence of 71% with an average cortical decay of 47%. In contrast, cotton planted in the fallow treatment had a disease incidence of 43% with an average cortical decay of 23%. At this time populations of T. basicola were 50 and 10 cfu/g in the wheat and fallow treatments, respectively.

Lygus bug (Lygus Hahn) and predator (Chrysopa carnea Stephens, Geocoris, and Nabis) abundance and spatial distribution in production-managed, drop and furrow-irrigated cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in central Arizona were compared during the early seasons of 1980-1983. Sweep net and drop cloth samples revealed lygus bug populations were established and reached pest status in drip-irrigated cotton 2-3 weeks prior to those in furrow. Several factors combined to make drip cotton more favorable than furrow for Lygus: more dense plant populations, taller plants, lower vapor pressure deficits within the plant canopy, and earlier availability of squares. Within furrow-irrigated cotton, lygus bugs and the percent Lygus-damaged squares were greater in areas of tall, dense plantings, primarily in areas distant from the water source. In drip, damage was significantly greater than in furrow, and comparable in all field ares. Predator populations were not consistently greater under either irrigation system. Under furrow, Geocoris and Nabis populations were greatest in areas of Lygus abundance. Morisita's index and Taylor's power law indicated a higher degree of aggregation in the spatial patterns of Lygus and predator populations in furrow-irrigated cotton than in drip. The two indices agreed in magnitude and trend across the insects studied, but Morisita's index was more frequently significant for contagion. Sweep net samples revealed a higher degree of aggregation than drop cloth. Taylor's coefficients were used to determine optimum sweep net and drop cloth sample sizes to evaluate Lygus populations for pest management. The sweep net requires a greater sample size than the drop cloth to ensure a given level of precision, and more samples are required in furrow-irrigated cotton than in drip. Based on percent damage and the relative variability of damage estimates, the number of squares examined for lygus bug damage should be comparable in all drip field areas, but twice as many should be examined in the furrow head-water as in the middle and tailwater. Extrafloral nectar volumes are greatest in leaves of the middle and top plant regions, and in the blossom and young boll stages of fruiting bodies. Irrigation timing and method affect nectar production. The effects of extrafloral nectar production phenology on insect distribution are discussed.

Phymatotrichum root rot is a fungal disease with a host range that includes many economically important crops in the southwestern United States and Mexico. While it has been studied since the late nineteenth century, ecological relationships of the disease, particularly those related to its distribution and dispersal, are not understood. Combined ground radiance sampling and aerial photographic interpretation was employed to study the distribution of Phymatotrichum root rot in cotton. Radiometric ground sampling showed that diseased cotton has a characteristic spectral signature that is significantly different from healthy cotton at visible wavelengths. Micro-scale examination of distribution within fields utilized multitemporal photography, both within season (1983) and for four seasons (1979-1982), revealed that the disease spreads during a season, but is not recurrent in many cases between years. Meso-scale mapping employed multitemporal photography to map distribution during a four-year period. When compared to mapped soil units, these data revealed a significantly non-random relationship between the diseased areas of fields and fine-textured soil units that may be based on moisture-holding potential. A yield analysis was also preformed using Thematic Mapper Simulator data and computer analysis.

Temperature effects on the biology of Tetranychus cinnabarinus (Boisduval) and Typhlodromus occidentalis (Nesbitt) (Acarina: Phytoseiidae) were studied in the laboratory. Temperature had a definite effect on the developmental time, longevity and survival of adult females, and duration and rate of oviposition in both T. occidentalis and T. cinnabarinus. Increases in temperature significantly decrease developmental time, pre-oviposition periods, oviposition duration and rate, and the longevity and survival rates of both adult females. However, the daily consumption rate of T. occidentalis protonymph, deutonymph and adult gravid female increased significantly with an increase in temperature. Mean generation times decreased for both mites with an increase in temperature. The intrinsic rate of natural increase rose with each temperature increase. However, the r(m) of T. occidentalis was less than that for T. cinnabarinus at all temperature regimes, and it decreased from the 26.6° C regime to the 30.5° C regime. Of the three temperatures studied, 22.7°, 26.6°, and 3.5° C, 22.7° C proved to be the optimum for the predator to maintain control over the prey.

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No description available.