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Title: TARNISHED PLANT BUG RESPONSE TO CROP VIGOR AND DETECTION OF VIGOR DIFFERENCES VIA REMOTE SENSING

Author
item HARRIS, F - MS STATE UNIVERSITY
item ENGLISH, P - MS STATE UNIVERSITY
item SUDBRINK, D - MS STATE UNIVERSITY
item Hanks, James
item WILLS, GENE - MS STATE UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/10/2005
Publication Date: 6/15/2005
Citation: Harris, F.A., English, P.J., Sudbrink, D.L., Hanks, J.E., Wills, G.D. 2005. Tarnished plant bug response to crop vigor and detection of vigor differences via remote sensing. National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference. CD-ROM, pg. 1386-1395.

Interpretive Summary: Tarnished plant bug (TPB), Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), has been reported to occur in abundance in vigorously growing portions of cotton fields - taller plants and greater canopy closure, a behavior that provides the basis for site-specific insecticide applications using prescriptions derived from remotely sensed imagery. Studies conducted at Stoneville, Mississippi between 2001 and 2003 were conducted to further show the functional relationship between imagery based vegetation indices, crop vigor, and TPB infestation density. Two fields located on Delta Branch Experiment Station were used in remote-sensing and site-specific insect control. Thirty-two sample sites in each field were used for TPB infestation data and for processing of representative imagery data. Insect observations and plant measurements (height and canopy width) were made at five to seven day intervals, during the months of June, July and August each year. Remotely sensed data were aerially acquired with a Duncan 2100 digital video-camera using three spectral bands - green (G) = 550 nm, red (R) = 600 nm and near infra-red (NIR) = 800 nm. Coefficients of determination (r2) showed a strong functional relationship of cotton and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and five other vegetation indices. Lower r2 values indicated a weaker functional relationship of TPB infestation and vegetation indices. Analysis of frequency distributions of above treatment threshold TPB infestations relative to partitioned vegetation indices (equal interval quartile classes) gave a better indication of the relationship between TPB infestation and crop vigor.

Technical Abstract: Three years of tarnished plant bug (TPB), Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), infestation data and vegetation index data (calculated from remotely sensed imagery data) from two research fields on Delta Branch Experiment Station, Stoneville, Mississippi were subjected to linear regression analysis. Coefficients of determination (r2) showed a strong functional relationship of cotton vigor (measured as plant height and canopy width) and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and five other vegetation indices. Lower r2 values indicated a weaker functional relationship of TPB infestation and vegetation indices. Analysis of frequency distributions of above treatment threshold TPB infestations relative to partitioned vegetation indices (equal interval quartile classes) gave a better indication of the relationship between TPB infestation and crop vigor.