COTTON PRODUCTION UNDER CONSERVATION TILLAGE IN SUBTROPICAL AREAS OF TEXAS:II. INSECT POPULATIONS

Authors: Smart, James; WOLFENBARGER, DAN - COOPERATOR; Bradford, Joe

Submitted to: International Cotton Pest Management Committee
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/22/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Boll weevil and tobacco budworm/bollworm damage to bolls and squares and silverleaf whitefly populations were measured biweekly throughout the growing season for cotton in conventional tillage, reduced tillage, and pre-plant no-tillage cropping systems over a three-year period. Grain sorghum and corn crop residue of up to 11,000 pounds per acre were present for the pre-plant no-tillage treatments. Damage of squares or bolls by boll weevil or tobacco budworm/bollworm were less than or equal to those of the conventional moldboard plow cropping system for each of the three years. Silverleaf whitefly populations were not different for any of the residue management systems for the three years of the study.

Technical Abstract: Conservation tillage cotton production systems are gaining popularity, and acres planted in south Texas are increasing because of several production advantages over conventional tillage systems. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of conventional tillage, reduced tillage, and pre-plant no-tillage on boll weevil, bollworm/tobacco budworm plant damage, and silverleaf whitefly populations in irrigated cotton during 1993, 1994, and 1995. Boll weevil and bollworm percent damage of squares and bolls and silverleaf whitefly populations in the pre-plant no-tillage systems were less than or equal to the conventional tillage for each of the three years of the study indicating that corn or grain sorghum crop residue on the soil surface does not increase boll weevil damage to squares or bolls or whitefly populations in irrigated cotton in south Texas.