ABSTRACT
Coker 315 cotton was planted in three fields on or near the Pee Dee Research and Education Center, Florence, SC. Twelve 0.1-acre plots were planted in each field, randomly selected for treatment and maintained with standard farming practices. Plots selected fox full treatment were sprayed weekly or as often as needed for complete protection with recommended insecticides from true-leaf Stage to fruit maturity, while the other plots were treated as needed based upon scouting reports, or left untreated with foliar insecticides. There were some minor differences between locations, but major differences occurred between the treatments at all locations. Seasonal averages of bollworm-damaged squares at all three locations were not significantly different between full season and as-needed plots, but both were significantly lower than the untreated plots. The number of bollworm larvae per plot and percent damaged bolls followed the same pattern as damaged squares. Cotton flea hopper populations were significantly different among all treatments at two locations and between untreated and both insecticide treatments at the other location, which were not statistically different from each other. Seed cotton yields ranged from 1,133-1558 lbs/acre in the untreated plots to 1,798-2,967 lbs/acre in the as-needed plots and 2,063-3,428 lbs/acre in the full season treatment plots.
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