Most the action is still centered around plant bugs with some stink bugs in the mix.
You will see higher moth catches in our corn earworm (bollworm) moth traps when the data get posted later this week. The last week of July and the first week of August is often the time we start seeing a few bollworm in the mix, particularly on WideStrike cotton. Let’s talk a little strategy for the next 2-3 weeks.

• First, let me encourage people to stop using neonicotinoid insecticides such as imidacloprid and Centric at this point of the season.  These products are not top choices for controlling immature plant bugs, which is typically the majority of the population from this point forward. We also need to give this class of chemistry a rest for resistance management reasons.
• For the next week, many fields could get by with single-product applications of Acephate, Bidrin, or Transform for treatments primarily targeting plant bugs. Mixing in some Diamond also makes some sense and provides another mode of action.
• In late July and early August, I like to start mixing pyrethroid insecticides with these same products to pick up any worm escapes. With Transform, adding a pyrethroid insecticide will shore up it’s weakness on stink bugs.
• Use top tier products and recommended rates, but don’t try to do too much with one spray. For example, tank mixing Transform (1.5 oz/acre) and Orthene (1 lb/acre) will somewhat improve control of plant bugs, but it will not come close to beating an application of Transform followed by Orthene. You can almost never tank-mix your way out of making a follow-up application when battling high populations of plant bugs. I think you are better to save some dollars for any follow-up applications.