What is insect risk management? Is it insurance like buying a fire policy on a farm shop or barn? There are similarities between insuring the farm shop but assuring a good crop of cotton takes a lot more planning. The objectives in both situations are to protect a financial investment from loss. In the case of a cotton crop the farmer also wants to realize a profit from the investment.

Fire insurance premiums are determined by the extent of the risk. The cost of a policy for a structure built of wood, with a flammable roof and surrounded by dry grass may be prohibitive and will certainly be greater than for a shop built of metal, well supplied with a fire detection and suppression system. In addition, the insurance agent will require that the operation be kept as free of flammable fuels and greasy rags as possible. Assuring a profitable cotton crop also requires a well managed operation with good agronomic practices and a plan for pest detection and management. To develop such a management plan requires a thorough understanding of how the plant responds to agronomic practices through its fruiting pattern, and how the various insects will impact fruiting. Simply purchasing and applying an insecticide as crop insurance may create a greater threat to the crop than no action at all.

Insect and spider mite risk management is knowing how and when each pest presents a threat and knowing what can be done to prevent or reduce each of those threats. Very often the threat is governed or greatly modified by the fruiting condition of the cotton plants in a particular field. The primary elements in developing a management program are understanding HOW THE COTTON PLANT GROWS AND FRUITS, and HOW PEST INFESTATIONS DEVELOP AND THREATEN THE CROP. This background knowledge will make establishing the crop and pest management options much more effective.