The Cotton Insect Hotline provides access to timely cotton insect situation reports, notification of field days and other in-season meetings.

Because of advances in electronic communication, only Alabama (by phone) and Arkansas (web site) used this service in 2003 and 2004 to disseminate collected insect data on budworm and budworm species composition and resistance information. Entomologists in Alabama relay information on moth flights and resistance monitoring, while those in Arkansas assemble information from surrounding states on moth monitoring to keep growers in that state informed on population levels and movement.

Annual cotton loss estimates to insects such as the whitefly help in formulating control strategies.

Annual estimates of cotton losses due to specific disease, insect and weed pests are made broadly available to public and private sectors. The Cotton Belt data, gathered at the Coordination Center at Mississippi State University, are useful for: 1) analyzing the market potential for new plant protection products, 2) establishing the importance of currently registered products that are threatened by cancellation or use restrictions and 3) setting research and educational priorities.

This loss data also is extremely important with regard to planning, funding and directing research by the public and private sectors. For example, the escalated use of Bt cotton raises concerns among entomologists and farmers about the bug complex becoming cotton’s most destructive insect pest, displacing the Heliothines.

The databases of 1978-2003 insect loss and weed loss data and the 1952-2003 disease loss data have been completed. This information was published on the 2004 Beltwide Cotton Conference Proceedings CD-ROM, placed on the NCC web site for downloading and made available to others requesting the database.

Analyses of samples collected in 2001, 2002 and 2003 have not identified the presence of either of the two Australian strains of Fusarium in SJV cotton in California cotton.  However, after the identification of the Race 4 strain of Fusarium oxysporum (FOV) in the state, a 50-entry variety evaluation was begun in a field where the initial 2003 cotton planting was widely damaged by a Fusarium infestation.

Results were presented to seed company representatives in October 2003 and discussed with select individuals with the California cotton industry and the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Research project staff has set up grower, consultant and company meetings and distributed newsletter articles to improve awareness of potential concerns of newly-recognized and identified strains of Fusarium.

In 2004, researchers continued to offer to collect samples and evaluate fields for existence of race 4 or other strains of FOV in any fields identified by growers or consultants; and initiated and tested a greenhouse method to screen cotton lines and varieties for relative resistance to Race 4.