5-day rain-free window to spray.
7-24-2024 (edited 7-25
While the rain has been perfect for restoring soil moisture without a lot of leaching and adding to the yield potential, farmers are looking forward to a dry period that is supposed to start as early as Friday. Rain chances increase again by the middle of next week only it does not show anything as significant as what we have just been through. Cotton that has been blooming for more than 2 weeks is in that most important insect control period as it is the most sensitive to even a little bit of damage. I expect 25% of our cotton fields will be entering the 4th week of bloom this weekend and about half will be in the third week of bloom. The insect migration into cotton has been increasing significantly this week and includes moths, stinkbugs and plant bugs. Fields that have had acephate or transform in the last 7 days have a cushion, but anything that has been more than 10 days without a trip is completely vulnerable with the washing rains and increasing insects at the 3rd to the 5th week of bloom.
For Scouted fields be sure and monitor boll damage for stinkbugs, plantbug nymphs. Otherwise if you are on the typical schedule we use, we are basically pulling the trigger based on crop advancement and insects increasing.
HERE IS THE PLAN
This crop is advanced, and it is more like early August in terms of our spray timing. The main priority this weekend and early next week is getting cotton fields sprayed with a combination spray. Keep in mind that Bifenthrin alone will not take out the plant bugs that have become resistant to pyrethroids. In addition, acephate at 8 oz does not control worms that are escaping through the Bt genes. Moths are coming out of corn that has the same genes, so one of these years, our Bt technology is going to become less reliable. A pyrethroid like Bifenthrin, Baythroid or Karate is our best partner with acephate for insect sprays during the third week to the 5th week of bloom.
And add a high rate of pix. If you have a huge canopy with blooms down low, go even higher with Pix. You're not going to put too much at this point.
DP 1646 which only has 2 Bt genes needs a diamide worm product like Prevathon (choran), Elevest (Choran + Bifen.), or Besiege (Choran + Karate).
Once bollworm becomes resistant to the third gene we will be adding these premium worm sprays to all our varieties and some folks are beginning that now for really high moth flights. It will happen south of us before we have problems.
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