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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stoneville, Mississippi » Southern Insect Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #405369
Research Project: Insect Control and Resistance Management in Corn, Cotton, Sorghum, Soybean, and Sweet Potato, and Alternative Approaches to Tarnished Plant Bug Control in the Southern United States

Location: Southern Insect Management Research

Title: A dynamic threshold approach for tarnished plant bug (Hemiptera: miridae) management in the midsouthern U.S. cotton

Author
item MANN, RYAN - Mississippi State University
item CROW, WHITNEY - Mississippi State University
item CATCHOT, ANGUS - Mississippi State University
item GORE, JEFF - Mississippi State University
item COOK, DON - Mississippi State University
item TOWLES, TYLER - LSU Agcenter

Submitted to: Journal of Economic Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/20/2022
Publication Date: 5/26/2022
Citation: Mann, R., Crow, W., Catchot, A., Gore, J., Cook, D., Towles, T. 2022. A dynamic threshold approach for tarnished plant bug (Hemiptera: miridae) management in the midsouthern U.S. cotton. Journal of Economic Entomology. 115(4):1164-1169. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toac062.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toac062

Interpretive Summary: One of the most economically important pests of cotton in the midsouth region of the United States is the tarnished plant bug. Tarnished plant bug populations across the region have exhibited widespread resistance to numerous insecticide classes. To minimize late season resistance development, reducing unwarranted applications during the late flowering period can aid in resistance management and potentially reduce input costs. Trials were conducted during 2019 and 2020 to evaluate the impacts of tarnished plant bug populations in the later flowering period of cotton by modifying or terminating current management guidelines during the later weeks of bloom. Results showed that dynamic thresholds altered at the fourth week of bloom or later can reduce the number of late season applications made with no penalty to yield. Additionally, when utilizing a week of bloom termination approach, no significant yield losses were seen when terminating applications after the fourth week of bloom. These data may offer an alternative method to managing tarnished plant bug populations during the later flowering period of midsouth cotton.

Technical Abstract: One of the most economically important pests of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., in the midsouth region of the United States is the tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois, Hemiptera: Miridae). Tarnished plant bug populations across the region have exhibited widespread resistance to numerous insecticide classes. To minimize late season resistance development, reducing unwarranted applications during the late flowering period can aid in resistance management and potentially reduce input costs. Trials were conducted during 2019 and 2020 to evaluate the impacts of tarnished plant bug populations in the later flowering period of cotton by modifying or terminating threshold regimes during the later weeks of bloom. Results showed that dynamic thresholds altered at the fourth week of bloom or later can reduce the number of late season applications made with no penalty to yield. Additionally, when utilizing a week of bloom termination approach, no significant yield losses were seen when terminating applications after the fourth week of bloom. These data may offer an alternative method to managing tarnished plant bug populations during the later flowering period of midsouth cotton.