The 1985 and 1986 Cotton Reports have the same publication and P-Series numbers. / Nodes to first square and number of fruit in early fruiting positions were evaluated in Pinal County early season insecticide trials. Acephate treatments increased the number of fruit in early fruiting positions at three of four locations. Two of these same locations also received sidedressed aldicarb applications, but no significant response to aldicarb was observed.

The 1985 and 1986 Cotton Reports have the same publication and P-Series numbers.

The 1985 and 1986 Cotton Reports have the same publication and P-Series numbers. / The sweet potato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) continues to be a serious pest of cotton and an important vector of several virus diseases of fall vegetables. In our search for germplasm resistant to the whitefly, we observed that okra-leaf selections of ST-8701N and ST-8737N had fewer adult whiteflies. La Okra 5-5 had fewer whiteflies than the normal-leaf Stoneville 213. Thus, okra-leaf selections appear to offer some resistance to the whitefly.

The 1985 and 1986 Cotton Reports have the same publication and P-Series numbers. / Development of this sweet potato whitefly parasite from egg to adult varied from 47.5 days at 17.5 °C to 14.0 days at 30.0 °C. Development of the parasite was faster than that of its whitefly host.

The 1985 and 1986 Cotton Reports have the same publication and P-Series numbers. / The pink bollworm resistant (nectariless) variety 'Deltapine NSL' yielded as much lint as the standard 'Deltapine-61' (nectaried) under treatments of conventional insecticides or gossyplure and yielded significantly more lint in untreated plots.

The 1985 and 1986 Cotton Reports have the same publication and P-Series numbers. / The number of three and four bract squares on several currently used Deltapine cultivars were observed during the early squaring period in plots untreated and treated for early season insect control. The percent of four bract healthy squares counted in June were higher in Deltapine 41 than several other varieties including Deltapine 90. The percent of four bracts between treated and untreated plots were significantly different in only two out of 5 locations. In another test where both DP 90 and DP 61 were compared for total healthy plus shed squares, DP 90 and DP 61 were equal on several dates in their proportion of three and four bract squares.

The 1985 and 1986 Cotton Reports have the same publication and P-Series numbers. / Management decisions for pink bollworm (PBW) control, based on larval infestation levels, are hindered by an inherent time lag between the period of increasing adult populations (primary target stage) and when treatments are actually applied (typically 6 to 10 days). It is suggested that this time lag is too long in many cases for optimal control; i.e., larval infestations may become well established between applications. An alternative approach based on monitoring PBW eggs laid on bolls is presented.

The 1985 and 1986 Cotton Reports have the same publication and P-Series numbers. / A new monitoring approach for the pink bollworm (PBW) was developed where only the presence or absence of one or more viable eggs/boll must be determined. Since individual eggs do not have to be counted, an experienced checker can examine a 25-boll sample in approximately 12 minutes. To use egg sampling for making treatment decisions, it is recommended that 3 to 4 25 -boll samples be taken per field.

The 1985 and 1986 Cotton Reports have the same publication and P-Series numbers. / Pink bollworm (PBW) moths, eggs, and larvae were monitored in three commercial cotton fields during 1985 to assess the potential for using PBW egg infestations to determine when to spray and for evaluating insecticide efficacy. Based on 1985 data, PBW oviposition patterns provided a more consistent estimate of insecticide efficacy than male moth trap catches. Egg/larval relationships indicated treatments based on egg infestations would have, in many cases, provided a 2 to 4 day advantage over actual treatment dates based on larval infestations.

The 1985 and 1986 Cotton Reports have the same publication and P-Series numbers. / The use of Shin-Etsu gossyplure dispensers at a rate of 400/acre (30 g AI/acre) in cotton fields in the Imperial Valley of California reduced the use of insecticides by approximately 40% compared to fields treated with insecticides only, a highly significant reduction.