Evaluation of Insecticidal Seed Treatments for Control of Thrips in Cotton, 2017

This test was conducted in a commercial cotton field near Kress, TX. The field was planted on 18 May on 40-inch row spacing. The field was irrigated using a pivot irrigation system. The experiment was designed as an RCB with eight treatments and four replications. The plots were 4-rows wide × 40 ft in length. Plots were sampled at cotyledon stage (19DAP), first true-leaf stage (25DAP), and 4 true-leaf stage (33DAP). Ten randomly selected plants from each plot on each sampling date were taken to the laboratory in glass mason jars containing 75% ethyl alcohol. Samples were processed using a washing technique and the number of thrips adults and immatures in each sample were counted using a dissecting microscope. Data were analyzed by ANOVA and means were separated by Tukey’s mean separation test.

Thrips densities did not vary significantly across treatments at cotyledon stage (Table 1). At 1 true-leaf stage, plots treated with Aeris, Avicta Elite Cotton, or Gaucho 600 + Poncho VOTiVO had significantly fewer thrips immatures and total number of thrips compared with the untreated check. At 4 true-leaf stage, only the plots treated with Avicta Elite Cotton or Gaucho 600 + Poncho VOTiVO had significantly fewer thrips immatures and total thrips compared with untreated check.

This research was supported in part by industry gifts of pesticides and research funding.