GENERAL SITUATION

Warmer temperatures and lack of rainfall characterize the weather across the Southern Blacklands over the previous 14 days. Although the underground moisture profile is great, some producers need a one inch rain to get their crop up to a stand, especially in the late planted cotton.

It is still to early to say how much of the crop has been planted, across the area. Most of the fields North of Hwy 79 have been planted in Williamson County. However, south of the highway, more acreage appears to be unplanted. There is a good amount of corn acreage in Milam and Bell Counties that will not be planted this season.

CORN AND SORGHUM SOIL

Overall, the grain crop looks good, expect in areas where some stand loss is occurring. Cotton ranges from just being planted to about the 1-2 leaf stage. Damage from soil insect pests has been very limited across the Southern Blacklands area this spring. For the past two weeks, many growers have noticed a reduction in stand in some fields. For the most part, this reduction in plants population, specifically corn, is a result of planting in wet soil where the opening on the disc planters created a hard sidewall in the seed furrow that dried out with all of the high winds that we have experienced. Most growers were pressed for timed because of all of the rain in February and March, were anxious to get the crop planted, and therefore probably "jumped the gun" on getting into the field a few days before they should have.

In addition to the stand reduction problem, isolated instances of chinch bugs have contributed to stand reduction in some cases. Also, cutworms have created a problem for a few growers. In some cases, fields that were planted with scattered weeds are the ones that have seen cutworm damage. However, at least one field that was relatively clean of weeds still had cutworm problems. In this case, the cutworms, acted more like armyworms and migrated into the field from an adjacent field of rye grass.

Finally, light populations of greenbugs are being seen in some fields of grain sorghum. Although it is to early to predict what these populations will do, it is clear that lady beetles are already out in these fields and will hopefully keep the greenbug numbers in check.

COTTON INSECTS

Cotton, most cotton currently ranges from still in the bag to the 1-2 true leaf stage with the majority at the cotyledon stage. There is a little cotton that is farther along, but that is only a small amount of acreas. There are fields which need a good 1 inch rain to help produce a full stand. Some producers who have recently cultivated their fields will need a rain following planting to before the cotton will germinate.

Insect pests, such as thrips and aphids, have not had time to locate the fields and begin reproduction in high numbers and at-plant soil insecticides/seed treatments have also prevented their buildup.

As many of the cool-season weeds begin to dry down, we should see more migration of thrips, aphids, and later on, fleahoppers moving over to cotton from alternate host plants.

Thrips are one of the early season pests of cotton. Thrips are narrow, straw-colored insects about 1/15 inch long. They often infest the small, folded leaves in and around the terminal of the cotton plant and may attack young leave, leaf buds, and very small squares. Thrips damage can cause a silvering of the lower leaf surface, deformed or blackened leaves, terminal loss, and square loss. Thrips damage often causes the leaves of cotton to curl up or cup. If cool, wet conditions persist in fields, heavy thrips pressure can result in delayed fruiting and crop maturity. Control for thrips may be justified when the average number of thrips counted per plant is equal to the number of true leaves present at the time of inspection. Insecticidal control is rarely justified once plants have reaced the 7 true leaf stage.

Another type of insect that normally infests young cotton is aphids. The two most common species of aphids that are commonly found in cotton across the Southern Blackland are cotton aphids and black cowpea aphids. Cotton aphids range from light yellow to dark green to almost black. The immature or nymphal stage looks like the adult stage, only smaller. Most adults do not have wings. Cowpea aphids are shiny black with white patches on the legs and are common on seedling plants. Aphids are usually found on the underside of leaves, on stems, and in the terminals of the cotton plant. Heavy and prolonged infestations can cause leaves to curl downward and the older leaves to turn yellow and shed. Natural control by weather, predators, parasites, and pathogens can be effective in holding populations below damaging levels. Aphid population abundance can rise and decline for no apparent reason. Insecticidal control shold be delayed until infestations exceed 50 aphids per leaf and have been sustained for at least a week.

Furadan Approved For Cotton Aphids

The Environmental Protectin Agency (EPA) has approved a Section 18 exemption as requested by the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) for the use of Furadan 4F to control cotton aphids in the state. The document may be obtained from the TDA website at: www.agr.state.tx.us/pesticide/18crops.htm. Copies of the Section 18 documents must be in the hands of the operator before Furadan can be applied to any cotton field for aphid control and all requirements followed. Requirements under item 4 in the document and references to item 4 under item 3 dealing with item 4 have been removed. Basically, if and when aphid numbers build to the threshold levels defined in the Section 18 document, Furadan may be used as the product of choice.

Denim for Beet Armyworm Control

EPA has approved a FIFRA Section 18 exemption request which allows for Denim use to control beet armyworm on cotton in Texas. All documents dealing with the Section 18 must be in possession of the applicator at the time of application. This means that all conditions as outlined in the document must be followed. Progress is being made by Syngenta Crop Protection toward full labeling of Denim.

Phone Lines

Many of you have expressed difficulty when trying to call our Extension Service office during the week of April 23-27. We did experience some problems with our phone lines, but we have been assured that the problem has been taken care of.