The gene for the Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Berliner) insect toxic protein is a new advance in technology for pink bollworm (PBW), Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders), control. We conducted studies in 1999 to investigate grower concern for reduced efficacy of NuCOTN 33b (Bt cotton) (Monsanto Company, St Louis, MO) in late-season because of breakdown or non-expression of the toxic protein. We compared the susceptibility of Bt and Deltapine 5415 (Monsanto Company, St Louis, MO) (non-Bt) cotton bolls to PBW at periodic intervals during the first and second cotton fruiting cycles. We placed >200 PBW eggs per boll on the inside surface of bracts of susceptible immature cotton bolls. The artificially infested bolls were later harvested and examined for evidence of PBW infestation. High percentages of both Bt and non-Bt cotton bolls had numerous larval entrance holes in the carpel walls of the bolls. Less than 1% of the Bt cotton bolls and over 70% of the non-Bt cotton bolls were found with living PBW larvae. Bt cotton bolls of the late-season second fruiting cycle were as resistant to PBW infestation as Bt cotton bolls of the first fruiting cycle.

Sprays of commercially-procured sugars that are also found in silverleaf whitefly Bemisia argentifolii Bellows and Perring [= B. tabaci (Gennadius) Strain B] honeydew were applied to clean cotton lint to determine the relationship between the sugars and cotton lint stickiness. Increasing concentrations of the sugars resulted in increasing thermodetector counts.

In 1996, two Insect Growth Regulators (IGRs), pyriproxyfen (Knack®) and buprofezin (Applaud®) became available to Arizona cotton growers for control of whitefly, Bemisia argentifolii under a Section 18 EPA exemption. This study makes use of a section-level database to examine (a) factors explaining IGR adoption and (b) how adopters of IGRs altered their overall insecticide use to control whiteflies. IGR adoption can be explained to a large extent by location effects. Adoption was more likely on sections where an index of whitefly susceptibility to synergized pyrethroids was low and on sections with higher whitefly control costs in the previous year. Adoption was inversely related to local population density. On sections where growers adopted IGRs, expenditures on synergized pyrethroid and other whitefly-specific tank mix applications fell by $62.52 per acre. On sections with no IGR adoption, tank mix expenditures fell less, by $44.37 per acre. On adopting sections, net costs of controlling whiteflies fell by $29.62 per acre, or by over $11,000 per farm.

Changes in insecticide use, available pest control technologies, and local crop ecology together with severely depressed cotton prices place a renewed premium on Lygus control decision aids for Arizona cotton. As part of an on-going program to develop research-based Lygus management recommendations, we investigated the impact of various timings of chemical controls on Lygus population dynamics, number of sprays, costs of control, and net revenue as well as cotton heights, trash, lint turnouts, and yields. Once there were at least 15 total Lygus per 100 sweeps, sprays were made according to the number of nymphs in the sample (0, 1, 4, 8 or 16 per 100 sweeps). Up to 7 sprays were required (15/0 regime) to meet the needs of the target threshold. Lygus adult densities were largely unresponsive to the treatment regimes or individual sprays made. Three generations of nymphs, however, were affected by the treatments with the ‘15/4’ regime harboring the fewest nymphs through July. This ‘moderate’ regime required 4 sprays and had the shortest plants, cleanest harvest, and highest lint turnouts. In addition, this regime out-yielded all other treatment regimes including the 6- (15/ 1) and 7- (15/0) spray regimes. Regression analyses of the data suggest that adult Lygus are less related to yield loss than nymphs and that large nymphs are best correlated with yield loss. Thus, spraying based on adults only would appear illadvised. Returns were highest ($747/A) for the 15/4 regime with over $100 more than the more protective regimes. Thus, there is no economic advantage in advancing chemical control when nymph levels are low. Maximum economic gain was achieved by waiting for the 4 nymphs per 100 level (with 15 total Lygus/100; 15/4) before spraying. However, waiting too long (beyond the 8 nymphs / 100 level; 15/8) resulted in significant reductions in yield and revenue. Our recommendations, therefore, are to apply insecticides against Lygus when there are at least 15 total Lygus, including at least 4 nymphs, per 100 sweeps. These recommendations are stable over a wide variety of economic conditions (market prices & insecticide costs). Continued work is necessary to verify these findings over a wider range of cotton developmental stages, varieties, and other environmental conditions.

We studied silverleaf whitefly (SLW) and trichome density relationships on ten selected upland cotton cultivars: Deltapine #20B, 50B and 90B, NuCOTN 33B, Stoneville 474, Fibermax #819 and 832, Siokra L-23, and 89013-114 at Maricopa, in AZ, 1999. Whitefly and stellate trichome densities were counted on leaves on main stem leaf nodes #1, 3, 5 and 7 of each cultivar. Stoneville 474 had about 2-3 times more eggs, nymphs, and adults and also had 3-30 times more branched trichomes on abaxial leaf surfaces compared with the nine other cultivars. The top young leaves on node #1 had about 6 times more stellate trichomes compared with older leaves. However, the top young leaves also had reduced numbers of eggs and nymphs (23 and 1/cm2 of leaf disk, respectively) compared with older leaves. The results suggest that other factors, in addition to trichomes, at least for young terminal leaves, affect silverleaf whitefly population development.

Whiteflies are serious pests of cotton, melons, and winter vegetables in Arizona’s low deserts. Successful management of whiteflies requires an integrated approach, a critical element of which is routine pest monitoring. In this paper we report findings of our 1999 investigations of resistance of Arizona whiteflies to insect growth regulators (IGRs) and chloronicotinyl insecticides. Whiteflies collected from cotton fields, melon fields and greenhouses were tested for susceptibility to imidacloprid (Admire/Provado), and two other chloronicotinyl insecticides, acetamiprid and thiamethoxam, and to two insect growth regulators (IGRs), buprofezin (Applaud) and pyriproxyfen (Knack). Contrasts of 1999 and 1998 results indicated increased susceptibilities, on average, to both imidacloprid and buprofezin of whiteflies collected from cotton. A cropping system study showed that whiteflies collected from spring melons had significantly lower susceptibility to imidacloprid than those collected from cotton or fall melons. The opposite was found for pyriproxyfen, to which whiteflies from cotton and fall melons had lower susceptibility than those from spring melons. As in 1998, whiteflies with reduced susceptibility to imidacloprid continue to be found in certain locations, particularly in spring melon fields and greenhouses. Results of our laboratory bioassays on susceptibility of Arizona whiteflies to chloronicotinyl insecticides provided evidence of a low order cross-resistance between imidacloprid, acetamiprid and thiamethoxam. Monitoring in 1999 provided the first evidence of reduced susceptibility of Arizona whiteflies to pyriproxyfen.

A second year of field experiments was completed in 1999 at MAC that explored the potential of using a melon trap crop to reduce whitefly infestations in cotton. The experimental design was altered from 1998 to gain isolation among treatment blocks by using 4 separate fields that helped to avoid the influence of one treatment upon the other. A consistent response of significantly fewer whiteflies in cotton planted within a surrounding melon trap crop, relative to the same area of cotton without the trap crop, was observed throughout the July- September sampling period. Better chemical management of whiteflies in the melons during the second season helped to reduce the large differential in whitefly densities between melons and cotton observed the previous year, but preferentially contributed to a greater differential observed between melonprotected cotton and unprotected cotton. Although the infestation buildup was delayed and the season-long densities of whiteflies in the melon-protected cotton were reduced, the action thresholds for treatment with IGRs were ultimately attained and exceeded. In the present management environment of perhaps only 1 IGR treatment per season, it is unlikely that the melon trap crop approach would provide acceptable control unless a grower was willing to tolerate lateseason whitefly densities higher than the current IPM recommendations.

Pink bollworm (PBW), Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders), diapause larval exit from immature green bolls and larval and pupal mortality after exiting bolls, were studied at Phoenix, AZ in the insectary. Diapause larvae exited immature bolls sporadically during January, February, and early March. Thereafter, exit from the bolls was more consistent and highest numbers emerged in late April, May or early June. Larval and pupal mortality were high during January to early February and March, decreased in mid-March through early June, and increased again in mid-June to early August. Larvae remained in immature bolls as long as 319 days after harvest. Moth emergence was significantly correlated to accumulated heat units (12.8 and 30.6°C lower and upper developmental thresholds).

Fifteen lines from 3 different cotton families were compared. Each family had a conventional, non-transgenic standard, as well as 4 other transgenic lines. In some cases, near isogenic lines were available that theoretically only vary from their sibling lines in the presence or absence of one or more transgenes. Each Bt line was evaluated for this trait’s efficacy in controlling pink bollworm under high pressure, artificial infestations. Various agronomic properties were measured including yield, micronaire, ginning properties, and fiber quality. Heat tolerance, a key goal for Arizona adapted varieties, was also evaluated using a flower rating system. The Cry1Ac gene performed flawlessly in preventing PBW larval development when expressed alone (Bollgard®) or in combination with Cry2Ab (Bollgard II®) (i.e., 100% effective, 0 large larvae from 30185 PBW entry holes). In all cases where large larvae were found in Bollgard or Bollgard II plots, the plants bearing the infested bolls were not expressing the Cry1Ac toxin. Thus, those few times when larvae were found, it was due to contaminants in the seed supply. The novel Cry2Ab only expressing plants, produced for non-commercial testing purposes, were also very effective in controlling PBW large larval development; however, control was less than the Cry1Ac-expressing lines (99.622%, 3 large larvae from 4436 entry holes). The ramifications of this are discussed. In terms of agronomic performance, the transgenic lines performed similarly within families and usually not different from the conventional standards. In some cases, statistically different results were found; however, in all but a few cases, performance parameters were superior in the transgenic lines when compared to the conventional standard. Even so, there are instances where characteristics of the transgenic line were inferior to the conventional standard, especially in some fiber properties. Heat tolerance was again similar throughout 2 of the cotton families (SG125 and DP50). However, for the DP5415 family, 3 of the 4 transgenic lines outperformed the conventional standard. More testing under more environmental conditions is warranted before firm conclusions are drawn.

Evaluations of the non-target effects of transgenic cotton, modified to express the insecticidal proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), have been underway in Arizona since 1999. Here we provide a preliminary report of replicated field studies conducted from 1999 to 2001 to examine comparative affects of Bt cotton on natural enemy abundance, overall arthropod diversity, and natural enemy function. Analyses completed to date indicate that natural enemy abundance and overall arthropod diversity are affected by use of additional insecticides for other pests, but not directly by transgenic cottons in comparison with non-transgenic cottons. Further studies suggest that natural enemy function, measured as rates of predation and parasitism on two key pests (Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders) and Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius)) of cotton in the western U.S., is unaffected in Bt cotton. Our preliminary results suggest that use of transgenic cotton may not have any unintended effects and represents an extremely selective pest control method that could facilitate the broader use of biological control and IPM in an agricultural system long dominated by the use of broad-spectrum insecticides.