Thrips in cotton can be controlled with systemic insecticides, cotton variety choices, or foliar applications of insecticides. In the event of thrips outbreaks, foliar applications can be rapidly made with aerial applications. The use of aerial electrostatic application equipment on agricultural aircraft has shown that deposition of crop protection materials can be increased; therefore, studies were conducted to investigate the effectiveness of conventional and electrostatic aerial application of bifenthrin in controlling thrips.

Conventional and electrostatic aerial applications of the insecticide were effective in controlling thrips on seedling cotton. The electrostatic application increased the deposition by 23.8-206.1% over conventional application of the material tested. Although the electrostatic application significantly increased the deposition, there was no significant increase in control of thrips on seedling cotton over conventional aerial application in the three studies conducted.