Manipulative experiments were conducted to establish the relationship between early-season aphid populations and cotton production. Naturally occurring early-season populations were extremely large, and were further augmented by chemical and manual removal of aphid predators. Cotton seedlings bearing large aphid populations were severely affected: leaves did not expand normally and overall plant growth was retarded when compared with plants supporting few aphids. However, the cotton plants were able to compensate completely for the earlyseason damage after naturally occurring predators and parasitoids exerted control of the aphid populations. There was no significant effect of early-season aphids on final yield, the timing of crop maturation, or a large number of parameters that define cotton lint quality.