Evaluation of Insecticide Treatments Against Tarnished Plant Bug on Cotton, 1996

Insecticide efficacy was evaluated at the Macon Ridge Location of the Northeast Research Station near Winnsboro, LA by caging TPB adults on treated plants. Cotton was planted on 20 May in a Gigger Gilbert silt loam (pH = 6.0, 1.1% organic matter). Treatments were arranged in a RCB with 4 replications. Plots consisted of 4 rows (40-inch centers) by 50 ft. long. Applications were made on 11 Jun using a tractor-mounted 4 row boom, and compressed air system, calibrated to deliver 10 gpa at 40 psi with 8001 flat-fan nozzles (1/row). TPB adults were collected from flowering Coreopsis spp, with a 15-inch-diameter sweep net, held in the laboratory in a 1.5-ft3 wire mesh cage, and fed green bean, Phaseolus vulgaris. After 24 h, TPB were placed in 20-ml glass vials (5/vial), transported to the field, and caged in 3 X 4-inch mesh bags over a plant terminal. Five plants randomly chosen from the 2 center rows of each plot were infested with TPB adults. The bags were removed and TPB mortality was determined at 24 h after infestation. Rainfall did not influence the results of this test. TPB mortality was analyzed with ANOVA and means separated with DMRT.