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.

Databases of 1978-2005 insect loss and weed loss data and the 1952-2005 disease loss data has been published in the 2006 Beltwide Cotton Conference Proceedings, is available on CD-ROM and on the NCC web site for downloading.

In 2003, Fusarium Race 4 was identified as a highly virulent pathogen with potential for serious impact in many commercial Pima varieties. However, in 2004 University of California scientists also have revealed high infection rates in most Uplands grown in limited tests done in FOV race-4 infested fields or greenhouse soils.

University of California researchers are screening commercial varieties and a wider range of Pima and Upland/Acala germplasm for resistance/susceptibility to race 4 FOV, with evaluations conducted under both greenhouse conditions with inoculated soil, and in two field sites.

This work complements a broader range of work by the University and USDA Agricultural Research Service scientists in identifying germplasm for further evaluations that may help with heritability estimates and further analysis of resistance and susceptibility.

Cotton seedling diseases accounted for 27 percent of the total estimated losses in lint production from diseases (1991-2000), even with the almost universal use of fungicide seed treatments. Producers must decide whether or not to use additional fungicides either on the seed before planting (planter-box, hopper-box or custom seed treatments) or in the planting furrow (in-furrow treatments). Producers spend $10 or more per acre for the application of in-furrow fungicide products with the justification for these fungicides an insurance policy against greater cash inputs in replanting costs and/or yield reductions.

In this new project for 2006, a University of Arkansas investigator is developing a decision-aid from models developed for the response of cotton to in-furrow fungicides from data for the Mid-South. He also will develop and disseminate a user-friendly web site to assist producers in making in-furrow management decisions.

The Pink Bollworm Eradication Program has reached an important developmental juncture.

The Beltwide Cotton Nematode Committee is targeting late 2006 for having this best management web page online to assist producers in areas infested with the reniform nematode.

Because there are no commercially available varieties with resistance to this nematode, producers must rely on cultural practices, rotation with non-host crops and management with chemicals. Nematologists in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi are examining all existing management options and integrating them into a total nematode management package.

The Pink Bollworm Eradication Program has reached an important juncture in development and implementation. Additional technical support is needed to offset the loss of two USDA positions that cover management, rearing, field support and technical development.

This project will provide all the necessary technical support in 2006-07 for a program that is tripling. That includes assistance in sterile insect release rates and distribution; pheromone use/timing; use of sterile insects as refugia; and development of any new resistance management studies as needed or required by EPA in cooperation with the University of Arizona.

The Q biotype whitefly, which continues to be imported from offshore ornamentals’ nurseries in the Mediterranean, poses a new threat to U.S. cotton and vegetable producers. Until the degree of risk posed by the Q biotype to U.S. agriculture becomes clear, the pest needs to be studied and monitored.

In this new project, University of Arizona scientists will determine the life history traits of both whitefly biotypes Q and B, which displaced the A biotype in the late 1980s. They will conduct mating studies and competitiveness for the A, B and Q biotypes on cotton. They also will carry out “plant beacon” surveys in the urban-cotton-vegetable interface and retail outlets to monitor the distribution of Q and B biotypes in southern Arizona.

Plant bugs, in particular the tarnished plant bug, have emerged as key pests in the Mid-South. Insecticide applications specifically targeting plant bugs have increased dramatically in the last 5-10 years.

In this new project, a team of scientists from Mid-South universities are determining the extent and level of resistance by tarnished plant bugs in populations across a broader geographic area. In 2006, they will monitor resistance levels in populations to the primary classes of insecticides used for their control. Results will be made available to producers and crop advisors through Extension meetings, scientific conferences and newsletters.

In another new project out of the Louisiana State University AgCenter, an investigation will relate squares (flower bud) injury to cotton yield losses during discrete flowering periods. Current and new classes of insecticides will be evaluated for their effectiveness using square injury and insect density.

Research has shown cotton is extremely sensitive to Palmer amaranth interference.

This new project, under the direction of University of Georgia researchers, is aimed at developing weed management programs for managing glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth in conventional and conservation tillage cotton. Investigators also will determine the exact locations of biotypes in Georgia; determine the time line and distance that resistance will spread through pollen movement; and quantify the competitiveness of glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth in cotton in order to help define the cost-benefit relationships with glyphosate-alternative management systems.