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Title: Seasonal, sampler and time to sample variablity in sampling strategies for cotton fleahopper and a green plant bug creontiades signatus

Author
item ANDERSON, DARWIN - Texas Agrilife
item BREWER, MIKE - Texas Agrilife
item BLOEMER, MEGAN - Texas Agrilife
item Armstrong, John
item VILLANUEVA, RAUL - Texas Agrilife

Submitted to: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/1/2011
Publication Date: 2/12/2011
Citation: Anderson, D., Brewer, M., Bloemer, M., Armstrong, J.S., Villanueva, R. 2011. Seasonal, sampler and time to sample variablity in sampling strategies for cotton fleahopper and a green plant bug creontiades signatus. National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference. 2011 Beltwide Cotton Conference Proceedings, pgs 793-798.

Interpretive Summary: We evaluated and compared the efficient and accurate method for sampling cotton flea hopper and the green plant bug in cotton from squaring to late bloom. Methods evaluated were KISS, visual, beat cloth, beat bucket, and sweep net. We were working with good population levels, often exceeding the current south Texas economic threshold of 1.5 cotton f1eahoppers per 10 plants.The beat bucket is an efficient and effective alternative to the more laborious visual method, as long as experienced (or well trained and supervised) samplers do the work (see Results). The beat bucket method is flexible. It is also effective in sampling cotton natural enemies (Knutson et al. 2008) and is used for sampling headworms in sorghum(a rotational crop with cotton in south Texas). Future work should include 1) training procedures for nexperiencedsamplers, 2) testing a 2x conversion of the cotton flea hopper thresholds based on visual inspection for use with thebeat bucket, 3) determination of minimal sample sizes for decision-making, and 4) assessing the association of boll rot to green plant bug feeding (Medrano et al. 2007, 2009) to determine the threshold level needed to prevent economic loss.

Technical Abstract: This study attempts to identify the most efficient and accurate method for sampling cotton flea hopper and the green plant bug in cotton from squaring to late bloom. Methods evaluated were KISS, visual, beat cloth, beat bucket, and sweep net. We were working with good population levels, often exceeding the current south Texas economic threshold of 1.5 cotton flea hoppers per 10 plants. The green plant bug occurred during late bloom, with populations especially high in fields near the coast. The beat bucket is an efficient and effective alternative to the more laborious visual method, as long as experienced (or well trained and supervised) samplers do the work (see Results). The beat bucket method is flexible: it is also effective in sampling cotton natural enemies and is used for sampling headworms in sorghum (a rotational crop with cotton in south Texas).