Timing of thrips infestation pressure and cotton development interact to drive plant damage potential

A dataset collected by cooperators throughout the southeast was analyzed to detect factors contributing to thrips-induced injury of cotton.  Timing of cotton physiological development, and timing of thrips infestation pressure, were found to interact to affect potential for cotton damage.  Both of these factors were found to be meaningfully predicted using weather, and a damage-forecasting framework was derived based on weather inputs.