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Competitive Agricultural Systems in a Global Economy
Managing Lygus Bug in Cotton
Issue
Integrated pest management (IPM) plans must be flexible enough to accommodate
different insect pest pressures from year to year. After years of lesser
recognition as a cotton pest, Lygus bugs have become the number one
pest of cotton since 1998. Among growers, typical control measures for
Lygus have involved tank mixing combinations of broad-spectrum insecticides
in the unfounded hope that this practice will give more control over
the pest.
What has been done?
The UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has developed an integrated
pest management program (IPM) for Lygus in cotton aimed at reducing
insecticide use through adequate field sampling, adherence to threshold
guidelines, and using the right compound for the job. Above all, it
emphasizes avoiding pest pressures wherever possible. These measures
are being incorporated into the larger cotton pest management program,
and focus on reducing spray applications from mixed broad-spectrum insecticides
to more selective, targeted single insecticide applications. One key
to the success of the program has been the accurate identification of
single spray compounds that perform consistently against Lygus and knowing
precisely when to use them. The education component of this program
has assisted growers in implementing this strategy during the last five
seasons.
These efforts have helped stimulate the permanent development of a
Cross-Commodity Research and Outreach Program (CROP) that involves stakeholder
input into our efforts to research, develop and implement insect management
plans that span multiple crops and seasons.
Impact
In response to this IPM program, more than 50% of the region's cotton
growers have changed their chemical tactics against Lygus by switching
to single compounds used strategically and at appropriate rates as part
of an IPM system. In 1999, growers applied the fewest number of sprays
statewide against Lygus in cotton since 1993, thus reducing their costs
per acre while protecting the environment. Education efforts across
the border in Mexicali, Mexico have resulted in nearly 40% of
the cotton growers there adopting threshold and other IPM guidelines
for Lygus management. This has resulted in a two-thirds reduction in
the number of acres receiving spray mixtures for Lygus, while increasing
effective rates by about 20%.
Arizona extension cotton specialists have been able to teach and demonstrate
to growers that single compounds are as effective or even more effective
than broad-spectrum combination sprays, and that this practice helps
reduce the risk of resistance in Lygus and other insects while minimizing
negative impacts on beneficial insects. More growers are now aware of
the specific timing (thresholds) required for the control of Lygus and
for providing maximum economic return. The success of this program has
led for the first time to efforts to control Lygus across multiple crops
(Lygus are highly mobile and feed on several crops in addition to cotton).
Growers have begun meeting with extension personnel to develop cooperative
plans involving cropping sequences and cultural controls to reduce damage
from Lygus. Cooperative Extension has organized a cross-commodity research
and outreach program (crop) team dedicated to developing intercrop and
disciplinary solutions for growers.
Funding
Hatch Act
Smith-Lever 3(d) (e.g., EFNEP, CYFAR)
Local (Arizona Cotton Growers Association)
Other (Agrichemical companies)
Contact
Peter Ellsworth, area IPM specialist
Maricopa Agricultural Center
37860 W. Smith-Enke Road
Maricopa, AZ 85239-3010
Telephone: (520) 568-2273,
FAX: (520) 568-2556
peterell@ag.arizona.edu
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