The primary means of managing the cotton aphid is through application of insecticides based on treatment thresholds that fail to take into account the pest’s natural enemies. Currently, treatment thresholds rely only on the percentage of infested plants when aphid populations are increasing. This study incorporates the use of selected natural enemies and the entomopathogenic aphid fungus, Neozygites fresenii into the decision making process for applying insecticides.
Research results indicate that the inclusion of natural enemies of the cotton aphid into the treatment decision process would have the potential of helping the farmer by delaying the initial insecticide application and reducing the number of pesticide applications. There is a potential for maintaining yield and decreasing the chance of pesticide resistence in the cotton aphid with fewer applications of insecticides.
Species 1: Homoptera Aphididae Aphis gossypii (cotton aphid)
Species 2: Coleoptera Coccinellidae Hippodamia convergens (convergent lady beetle)
Keywords: Provado
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA