Skip to main content
ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #281350

Title: Verde plant bug (Hemiptera: Miridae) feeding injury to cotton bolls charcterized by boll age, size and damage ratings

Author
item Armstrong, John
item BREWER, MICHAEL - Texas A&M University
item PARKER, R.D. - Texas A&M University
item Adamczyk, John

Submitted to: Journal of Economic Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/26/2012
Publication Date: 1/1/2013
Citation: Armstrong, J.S., Brewer, M.J., Parker, R.D, Adamczyk Jr, J.J. 2013. Verde plant bug (Hemiptera: Miridae) feeding injury to cotton bolls charcterized by boll age, size and damage ratings. Journal of Economic Entomology. 106(1):189-195.

Interpretive Summary: The verde plant bug is a relatively new but native pest on cotton. We studied the cotton boll feeding damage caused by the verde plant bug for 2 years (2009 and 2010) and 2 locations (Weslaco and Corpus Christi, TX) to determine the impact of boll age and boll size on the resulting yield loss to lint and seed. Cotton boll age classes were defined by boll diameter and accumulated degree-days (anthesis to the time of infesting) for first-position cotton bolls infested (enclosed) with the plant bugs. The most detrimental damage (yield loss) to younger cotton bolls was boll abscission. Seed weights were significantly reduced in infested bolls when compared to the uninfested bolls. Lint weight per cotton boll for infested and non-infested bolls was significantly reduced in both years. The results of regressing the damage ratings for infested and non-infested cotton bolls against the seed-cotton weights showed that in every instance, the infested cotton bolls had a strong and significant relationship with damage ratings for all age classes of bolls. None of the non-infested controls across years or sites were significant for seed-cotton weights. Differences across study years also provides general information that following the initial feeding injury, the development of boll rot appeared dependent upon moisture conditions during boll formation. In wet years, under higher moisture conditions, boll protection should be more conservative to reduce the feeding injury and the subsequent probability of boll rot. Our results report that smaller younger cotton bolls should be protected from verde plant bug feeding.

Technical Abstract: Our studies over 2 years (2009 and 2010) and 2 locations (Weslaco and Corpus Christi, TX) investigated the relationship of feeding-injury of the verde plant bug, Creontiades signatus Distant, to a range of cotton boll age classes further defined by boll diameter and accumulated degree-days (anthesis to the time of infesting) for first-position cotton bolls infested (enclosed) with the plant bugs. The most detrimental damage (yield loss) to younger cotton bolls from verde plant bug feeding was boll abscission. Percentage boll abscission rates for smaller cotton bolls, <104 ACDD (boll diameter 1.3 cm, boll age 3 d), ranged from 60 to 70% compared, while the oldest boll age class that significantly abscised were <162 ACDD (boll diameter 2.0 cm, boll age 7 d). Seed weights were significantly reduced up to 179 ACDD (boll diameter 2.0, boll age 9 d) at Weslaco in 2009, and up to 317 ACDD (boll diameter 2.6 cm, boll age 14) for Weslaco in 2010 when compared to the uninfested bolls. Lint weight per cotton boll for infested and non-infested bolls was significantly reduced up to 262 ACDD (boll diameter 2.1 cm, boll age 10 d) for Corpus Christi in 2010 and up to 317 ACCD (boll diameter 2.6 cm, boll age 14 d) for Corpus Christi in 2011. The results of regressing the damage ratings for infested and non-infested cotton bolls against the seed-cotton weights showed that in every instance, the infested cotton bolls had a strong and significant relationship with damage ratings for all age classes of bolls. None of the non-infested controls across years or sites were significant for seed-cotton weights. Differences across study years also provides general information that following the initial feeding injury, the development of boll rot appeared dependent upon moisture conditions during boll formation. In wet years, under higher moisture conditions, boll protection should be more conservative to reduce the feeding injury and the subsequent probability of boll rot. Our results report that smaller younger cotton bolls up to 300 ACDD (boll diameter 2.5 cm, boll age 11- 14 d) should be protected from verde plant bug feeding.