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Jeff Davis County Extension

Tarnished Plant Bug

In case you missed it in the June Cotton News here is some good info from Dr. Phillip Roberts:

Tarnished plant bug is an occasional insect pest of cotton in Georgia. Primary damage caused by plant bugs is feeding on small squares in plant terminals. However, plant bugs may also feed on large squares, small bolls, and terminals. Plant bugs insert their needle like piercing sucking mouthparts into fruiting forms and feed on the plant juices. After a pinhead square has been damaged, it turns yellow to brown or black and easily falls from the plant when touched. Healthy undamaged squares will be firmly attached to the plant. When the square is shed by the plant, an elliptical scar where the square was attached remains. No visible damage is apparent on the outer surface of squares damaged by plant bugs. Plant bug feeding in the terminal may alter the physiology and result in a malformed plant. Large squares which are damaged will often remain on the plant and appear healthy and normal, however when the square blooms the flower will have warty growths on the petals and darkened anthers. This type of flower damage is referred to as a “dirty bloom”. Plant bugs may also feed on small bolls. Excessive feeding may cause boll shed, but most often localized lint and seed damage is the result. Callous warty growths on the inner surface of the boll wall will often form near the feeding site (appears very similar to stink bug damage).

It is important that we scout all fields and use thresholds. Insecticide should only be used if thresholds are exceeded since beneficial insect populations will be disrupted with plant bug applications. During 2021 we estimated that 30 percent of the cotton in Georgia was treated for plant bugs. Our goal with a plant bug management program is to retain at least 80 percent of first positions when we enter bloom. Adult tarnished plant bugs are about ¼ inch long with a general brown color mottled by patches of white, yellow, reddish-brown or black. A light-colored “V” on the scutellum (behind the head) and two light- colored patches further back on the wings are characteristic. Eggs are about 1 mm long and are almost always embedded into plant tissue, and thus not easily found. Immature tarnished plant bugs typically vary from yellowish-green to dark green or brownish. Early instars can look like an aphid, but tarnished plant bug nymphs run quickly whereas aphids are docile and move very slowly. Later nymphal instars have four dark-colored spots on their thorax and one spot in the middle of the abdomen. Plant bugs have a large host range and survive the winter as adults on wild host plants. Females lay 50-150 eggs which hatch in 7-12 days and nymphs develop into adults in 15-25 days.

Scouting plant bugs can be accomplished by monitoring square retention and being observant for plant bugs, using a sweep net (pre-bloom), using a drop cloth (after bloom), or preferably a combination of monitoring square retention and sampling for plant bugs. Square retention counts should be made once cotton begins fruiting and continuing into the 2nd week of bloom. As we get further into bloom, square retention is a less reliable indicator of possible plant bug feeding due to natural square loss for various reasons. To make a square retention count gently pull the top two main stem leaves apart and look for the presence or absence of a small square. Typically, we teach scouts to monitor a single fruiting site per plant. The threshold is when plants are retaining less than 80% of small squares and plant bugs are observed. It is also a good idea to randomly pull plants in the field to monitor overall square retention. Again, our goal is to maintain 80 percent of all first positions when we enter bloom. Plants with 80 percent first position square retention at first bloom still have maximum yield potential.

Sweep nets (15-inch diameter) are a good tool for monitoring plant bug adults on squaring cotton. Adult plant bugs are elusive, so walk quickly when sweeping. Drop cloths are the preferred sampling tool in blooming cotton and are much more effective in detecting plant bug nymphs.

Plant Bug Thresholds:

First two weeks of squaring:

Sweep Net:     8 plant bugs per 100 sweeps Drop Cloth:       1 plant bug per 6 row feet

Third week of squaring through bloom:

Sweep Net:     15 plant bugs per 100 sweeps Drop Cloth:     3 plant bugs per 6 row feet

Insecticides recommended for plant bugs include Orthene, Bidrin, Admire Pro, Diamond, Vydate, Transform, and Centric. A few comments on each: Orthene and Bidrin are organophosphates. Orthene is very active on plant bugs, however it is also is hard on beneficial insects and tends to flare spider mites. Orthene does not have activity on aphids and would likely exacerbate aphid populations if present. Bidrin is also very active on plant bugs and hard on beneficial insects. The Bidrin label only allows higher use rates such as 4-8 ounces per acre from first bloom to 30 days prior to harvest. Bidrin will provide some control of aphids. Delaying use of Orthene and Bidrin until later in the season (after bloom) is advisable. Transform is very active on plant bugs and provides good control of aphids and is not as hard on beneficials as the OPs. Centric provides good control of plant bugs and decent but sometimes erratic control of aphids. Both of these products would be good choices when targeting plant bugs on squaring cotton. Admire Pro (imidacloprid) has some activity on plant bugs and some activity on aphids and would not be the treatment of choice if plant bug populations were high. Vydate provides fair control of plant bugs and has little to no activity on aphids. Diamond is an insect growth regulator and is only active on immature plant bugs. Diamond will not control adults. Diamond is used on many acres in the Mid-South where plant bugs are an annual problem. Diamond performs best when applied before the situation is out of control. If you have fields where high adult populations have been observed and nymphs are starting to be found, Diamond would be a good option. In situations where adults are also being found, a knock down insecticide for adults will also be needed. It can be difficult to obtain control of plant bugs once nymphs are embedded in a field. Be sure to obtain good coverage and potentially make more than one application if populations are high.

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