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ARS Home » Plains Area » Kerrville, Texas » Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #149537
Title: PRECISION APPLICATION OF ALDICARB TO ENHANCE EFFICIENCY OF THRIPS (THYSANOPTERA: THRIPIDAE) MANAGEMENT IN COTTON

Author
item Lohmeyer, Kimberly - Kim
item ALL, J - UNIV OF GEORGIA
item ROBERTS, P - UNIV OF GEORGIA
item BUSH, P - UNIV OF GEORGIA

Submitted to: Journal of Economic Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/2003
Publication Date: 6/1/2003
Citation: LOHMEYER, K.H., ALL, J.N., ROBERTS, P.M., BUSH, P. PRECISION APPLICATION OF ALDICARB TO ENHANCE EFFICIENCY OF THRIPS (THYSANOPTERA: THRIPIDAE) MANAGEMENT IN COTTON. JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 2003. v. 96(3). p. 748-754.

Interpretive Summary: Tobacco thrips, Frankliniella fusca (Hinds), are early season pests of cotton in the southeastern United States. Each year almost three million ha of cotton are treated to control thrips at a cost of over $81 million. Current management approaches for thrips in cotton include the use of aldicarb (Temikâ15G) applied to the field in-furrow at planting. Aldicarb effectively controls thrips in cotton, but is expensive and hazardous to use. Field studies were conducted during 1999-2001 in two regions of Georgia to determine if precision placement of aldicarb at specific intervals with the cotton seed could decrease the amount of aldicarb needed for thrips control. Precision-placed aldicarb treatments were found to effectively control thrips during cotton seedling stages at per hectare rates that were one-half or less than the standard in-furrow application rates with no significant decreases in yield. Laboratory analysis of aldicarb residue within the cotton plants showed that plants treated with precision placement had as much or more aldicarb present as plants treated with in-furrow application rates. Thus, more of the aldicarb was actually reaching the growing cotton seedlings. Higher precision-placed rates did cause some plant "burning" early in the growing season but no significant effect on yield was observed.

Technical Abstract: Field studies were conducted during 1999-2001 in two climatic/edaphic areas of Georgia (Southern Piedmont and East Gulf Coastal Plain) to test the hypothesis that precision placement of aldicarb with cotton seed in hill planting at spatially specific intervals could decrease insecticide use for management of tobacco thrips, Frankliniella fusca (Hinds). Precision-placed aldicarb controlled thrips during cotton seedling stages using per ha amounts of one-half or less than of standard in-furrow application rates with no significant differences in yield. Residual analysis of cotton plants showed that plants in precision placement plots had as much or more aldicarb and aldicarb metabolites present as compared with cotton treated with conventional in-furrow treatments. Higher rates of precision-placed aldicarb did cause phytotoxic burning early in the growing season, but no significant impact on yield was observed.