Field studies were established in a cotton production system of the Mississippi Delta to examine the effects of various insecticides on cumulative insect feeding patterns and fruit initiation in cotton (Gossypium spp.). Cotton bollworm Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), tobacco budworm Heliothis virescens (Fabricus) and tarnished plant bug Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) damaged cotton plant terminals and subsequent primordial fruit with an increasing accumulation of feeding during early season. Effective insecticide control did decrease this duration of feeding and resulted in an acceptable fruit set.