In 2022, 98% of U.S. cotton hectares were infested with thrips, which amounts to more than 2.8 million hectares. In the Mid-South, most cotton hectares are treated with some type of preventative insecticide treatment, most commonly imidacloprid and acephate seed treatments are used on Mississippi cotton. In addition to insecticide seed treatment, approximately 40 to 45% of the planted area requires an additional foliar application to effectively control thrips. All cotton hectares in Mississippi are infested with tobacco thrips, Frankliniella fusca (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), and some areas might also be infested by reniform nematodes, Rotylenchulus reniformis (Tylenchida: Hoplolaimidae). Depending on the year and environmental conditions, nematodes cause varying levels of damage to cotton plants. Reniform nematodes and thrips have been controlled in the past using aldicarb, a granular insecticide and/or other soil-incorporated nematicides plus insecticide seed treatments. The overall impact of aldicarb and the new ThryvOn® technology on reniform nematodes and tobacco thrips in Mississippi cotton production systems has yet to be seen. In this study, ThryvOn and non-ThryvOn varieties were used along with different rates of at-planting insecticides to evaluate their effectiveness against early season thrips and nematode management.
