Tarnished plant bug numbers appear to be low thus far in 2026 and clouded plant bugs are non-existent. Crop age and what’s neighboring your cotton play a large part of how intense plant bug pressure is over time. That being said, keeping an eye on square retention is the best gauge to determine how well your insecticides are performing. Most I’ve talked to haven’t applied Diamond yet or have it queued up for their next application. Diamond shines when you catch early plant bug hatches often after large adult migrations during late squaring and we see a good ROI with Diamond around that 1^st week of bloom timing. Continue reading →

Plant bug numbers are increasing across the landscape, and squaring applications are right around the corner. Silking corn, blooming soybeans, and flowering weeds all contribute to large increases in plant bug populations that eventually move into both ThryvOn and non-ThryvOn cotton. Continue reading →

ThryvOn: ThryvOn is Bayer’s Bt technology that has activity on thrips and plant bugs. ThryvOn cotton varieties are very effective against thrips and it is not anticipated that any fields will need foliar  treatments. ThryvOn will still have thrips present (adults and immatures) but insecticide applications should not be triggered on thrips numbers but damage level (Fig 1.). Applications should be initiated when plant damage is approaching 3 in figure 1. That being said, I’ve evaluated ThryvOn varieties for several years under excellent and terrible growing conditions and I as well as my colleagues across the cotton belt, have never recommended a foliar spray for thrips.

In-furrow: In-furrow liquid applications of imidacloprid are more effective than seed treatments; however, resistance development to neonicotinoids are diminishing the efficacy of imidacloprid in-furrow. Fields with in-furrow imidacloprid may still require a foliar spray under heavy thrips pressure. Granular AgLogic (aldicarb 15G) is highly effective against thrips populations and works like aldicarb should.

Insecticide Seed Treatments (ISTs): ISTs are the predominate control method for thrips in cotton. IST performance can be highly variable depending on weather conditions and thrips pressure. High thrips pressure and poor growing conditions will often necessitate the use of foliar sprays even with ISTs. Seed treatment packages typically come in a base (storage rate of imidacloprid + fungicide) and field rates of imidacloprid (these have several names) + fungicides, others may have nematicides, biologicals etc. Base treated seed may as well have no insecticide, the small stored product rate will offer almost no control of insects in the field. Standard options of imidacloprid (0.375 mg ai/seed) are the minimum needed for insect control in field cotton.

Foliar Spray Options: My recommendations are going to be limited for foliar sprays. Based on ongoing tobacco thrips resistance monitoring, to organophosphates (OPs), started by Scott Stewart several years ago, I am hesitant to recommend Orthene or Bidrin for thrips sprays. Resistance levels, in assayed populations from West TN, and the number of complaint calls I received last year are a good indication that OPs have limited use against our tobacco thrips populations. There may be areas where OP’s worked last year but it’s hard to say if they will work this year. That being said, Intrepid Edge at 3.0 fl oz/a is my go to for foliar thrips control. Although more expensive than the OPs, Intrepid Edge runs no risk of flaring mites or aphids and a surfactant has shown to increase efficacy (herbicide surfactants will work if you’re co-applying). Recolonization vs failure is another subject with foliar sprays. Presence of adults doesn’t mean the application didn’t work, adult thrips are always present on seedling cotton. Presence of immature thrips means adults are feeding and laying eggs and whatever control method you used is broken.

The Two-spotted cotton leafhopper or cotton jassid, has been making its way across the Southeastern cotton production areas with confirmed catches in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina. Cotton jassids are small, sap-sucking insects that feed on the underside of leaves, causing “hopperburn”—a rapid yellowing, reddening, and browning that can quickly weaken plants. Native to Asia and first reported in Puerto Rico in 2023, this pest was confirmed in Florida in 2024 and has NOT been found in Tennessee fields in 2025.  insecticide efficacy trials are underway, in affected states, to determine what insecticides are most efficacious and what the jassid’s impacts are on cotton yields.

The threshold at which treatment is recommended for the cotton jassid is one to two nymphs per leaf. To scout, we recommend looking on the underside of the main stem leaf on the third, fourth, or fifth node from the top of the plant. Again, the threshold is one to two nymphs per leaf with injury present anywhere in the field. This helps to confirm the correct insect ID, as other leaf hoppers will not cause these symptoms. Populations and symptoms usually begin on field edges before moving into the field.

For the 2025 Tennessee crop, I’m not overly concerned with cotton jassids. The vast majority of our fields have reached the finish line and are awaiting defoliation. We don’t need to add another insecticide expense to a crop that has struggled to be profitable since it was planted. That being said, if you suspect jassids are in your cotton please reach out to your county agent.