The purpose of this study was to assess the adoption response of cotton growers to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs, identify the extension strategies used to promote IPM, and provide descriptive comparison of IPM programs between the foremost eleven cotton-producing states in the United States. Integrated pest management is presented as an alternative agricultural production strategy referred to as sustainable agriculture. IPM programs for cotton were evaluated by use of a survey instrument and telephone interviews with the IPM coordinators for the eleven cotton-producing states. The most significant findings were that programs vary considerably between states; the most widely employed IPM techniques were selective use of chemicals, use of economic thresholds and sampling for pests; the Cooperative Extension Service worked closely with private consultants and grower associations; and adoption of a wide variety of IPM techniques has been extensive for cotton producers in the eleven foremost cotton-producing states.

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Field and laboratory investigations were conducted in Burkina Faso to diagnose the causes of severe outbreaks of Bemisia tabaci populations and gênerai failures of chemical control against this pest in cotton. / Field and laboratory investigations were conducted in Burkina Faso to diagnose the causes of severe outbreaks of Bemisia tabaci populations and general failures of chemical control against this pest in cotton. The research efforts were oriented in the following three areas: I) the susceptibility of B. tabaci populations and its parasitoids to cotton insecticides; I) the susceptibility of B. tabaci populations and its parasitoids to cotton insecticides, a) conventional insecticides, b) novel insecticides; II) the relative abundance of B. tabaci and its parasitoids in the field; III) the biological activities of some botanical extracts as alternative insecticides against the pest.

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M.Sc. (Zoology) / Paratrichodorus meyeri De Waele & Killian, 1992 is extremely sensitive to surface sterilization; therefore in vitro culture could not be utilized for the mass culture of this nematode and another method had to be developed. Hermetically sealed glass containers were employed successfully for the reproduction of Paratrichodorus meyeri. With this method an average 12 times increase was achieved on tomatoes over a period of 60 days. Certain crops were evaluated in the greenhouse to establish their status as hosts for Paratrichodorus meyeri. The aim of this experiment was to determine which plants could be used as hosts for the reproduction of the nematodes in the greenhouse. It was found that tomatoes (cultivar Roma VF) and wheat (cultivar Gamtoos) were excellent hosts, tobacco (cultivar K51E) and onions (cultivar Bon accord) good hosts, tobacco (cultivar TL 38) and lettuce (cultivar Great Lakes) average hosts and sweetcorn (cultivar Golden Bantam), beetroot (cultivar Formanova) and cabbage (cultivar Sugar Loaf) unsatisfactory hosts for this nematode species. The aim was also to determine the effect of this nematode species on tobacco and cotton. Various inoculation levels of Paratrichodorus meyeri were tested on tobacco cultivars K51E, TL33 and RK and the cotton cultivar Acala 1517170. It was established that an inoculation level as low as 50 - 100ft! Qsoil had a negative effect on cotton (cult. Acala 1517170). A damage threshold value of 100ft! Q soil on the tobacco . cultivar K51E was established. It is also possible for tobacco cultivar RK to support this nematode species without any adverse effects it can even be beneficial for this particular cultlvar. It was also determined that a negative correlation exits between the initial number of nematodes inoculated and the final population.

Ph.D. / A number of aspects which might influence the buildup of spider mites on cotton were investigated. In contrast to their numbers on cotton treated with some of the insecticides used to control Heliothis arrniaer (Hübner) in field trials, the numbers of spider mites remained very low in the unsprayed cotton. Predators such as especially the pirate bug, Onus thniroborus (Hesse) appear to play an important role in maintaining mites in untreated plots at low population levels. Predator numbers were significantly reduced by some of the insecticides used. It is, however, not yet clear how the predator complex as a whole affects mite numbers ...

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