Source: UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA submitted to NRP
COTTON INSECT MANAGEMENT AND QUALITY
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
SPECIAL GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0213905
Grant No.
2008-34566-18998
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
2008-03179
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jul 1, 2008
Project End Date
Jun 30, 2011
Grant Year
2008
Program Code
[XY]- Cotton Insect Management and Fiber Quality, GA
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
200 D.W. BROOKS DR
ATHENS,GA 30602-5016
Performing Department
ENTOMOLOGY
Non Technical Summary
Georgia is among the top three cotton producing states in the US and annually ranks second in production acreage behind Texas. In 2006, Georgia cotton production generated more than 538 million dollars in cash receipts. Cotton insect pest management has undergone dramatic changes in the past two decades that have transformed the production system. Successful eradication of the cotton boll weevil and deployment of Bt-transgenic cotton grew Georgia's cotton acreage from less than 125,000 acres in 1996 to greater than 1 million acres planted in 2007. Pest management advancements contributed to reductions in insecticide use from 15.8 applications per year in 1986 to approximately 3 applications per year in recent years. However, the insect pest complex has also dramatically changed with new agronomic practices. Stink bugs now rank among the most serious of southeastern cotton pests. These insects significantly reduce fiber quality and pose a serious management challenge because of limited information on basic ecology, sampling, and management tactics in Georgia cotton. We propose to address five specific objectives: (1) fiber quality maintenance, (2) elucidate biology and ecology of emerging pests, (3) improve sampling of emerging pests and establishment of management thresholds, (4) improve management tactics for emerging insect pests, and (5) continue surveillance of the farmscape for pest shifts. We will combine lab, greenhouse, plot, and commercial field studies to develop this critical information. Following this project we expect that Georgia cotton growers will have cost-effective technologies to continue producing high quality fiber for the textile industry. Expected outcomes include scientific publications, popular press newspaper articles, Extension newsletters, County Agent training, and grower awareness of new management options.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
40%
Applied
50%
Developmental
10%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
2111710107020%
2111710113020%
2151710107010%
2151710113010%
2161710107020%
2161710113020%
Knowledge Area
211 - Insects, Mites, and Other Arthropods Affecting Plants; 215 - Biological Control of Pests Affecting Plants; 216 - Integrated Pest Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
1710 - Upland cotton;

Field Of Science
1130 - Entomology and acarology; 1070 - Ecology;
Goals / Objectives
There are critical needs in five areas relative to the management of insect pests in Georgia cotton; these objectives include: 1) maintaining fiber quality, 2) understanding biology and ecology of emerging pests, 3)sampling of emerging pests and establishment of management thresholds, 4) improved management tactics for emerging insect pests, 5) continued surveillance of the farmscape for pest shifts. Research supporting each of these five objectives will be completed during the 7/1/08 to 6/30/09 time period covered by the grant. Expected outputs include conducting and analyzing experiments on boll preference, life history studies, ionome studies, farmscape movement, surveys of natural enemies, in-field distribution of stink bugs, comparisons of existing sampling methods, development of new sampling methods, efficacy studies, and sampling for new invasive species to Georgia cotton. Extension related events include newsletters, county meetings, a cotton production workshop, and cotton research field days.
Project Methods
This project will be implemented at four distinctive levels. Laboratory studies of stink bug biology and composition will be used to show how these insects interact and behave on cotton plants. Analyses of trace element profiles in cuticle using ICP-MS will allow better knowledge of host utilization and movement patterns across the farmscape. Finally, lab studies will document the selectivity of novel insecticides toward non-target organisms. Greenhouse studies will include studying boll preference of stink bugs by caging individuals on single plants using visual observation and time lapse videography. Plot scale studies will include testing new sampling methodologies, proper timing of insecticide application to preserve fiber quality, surveys of natural enemies, development or new sampling methods, testing dynamic thresholds, and efficacy of new insecticides. Field scale studies will include comparing existing sampling methods, movement of stink bugs across the farmscape, and surveys of new pests. Treatments in all cases will be arranged in an appropriate experimental design, replicated, and response variables will be analyzed using parametric statistics such as ANOVA, MANOVA, and regression. Efforts to deliver new knowledge resulting from the research include newsletters, county meetings, a cotton production workshop, and cotton research field days. The project will be evaluated based on production of peer reviewed publications and adoption of findings by State Extension Leaders, County Agents, consultants, and Georgia growers.

Progress 07/01/08 to 06/30/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: In the fall of 2010, the UGA microgin processed 2847 experimental samples of seed cotton. Results from those trials help scientists directly assess the role of stink bug feeding on fiber quality, the lint turnout of modern cotton varieties, and how fiber processing on the microgin gave different results than using a table top gin stand. Cotton variety trials included 9 core treatments replicated over 23 locations. Stink bug natural enemies were studied by placing stink bug egg masses in the field and then photographing the egg masses at regular intervals after placement. Life history studies were collected on the reproductive diapause of southern green and brown stink bugs. Data were collected on the microscopic symptoms of stink bug feeding; bolls were examined after feeding by laboratory reared stink bugs as well as bolls from commercial fields. Data were collected on the movement of stink bugs on individual cotton plants with different sized bolls. Economics of strip tillage and conventional tillage were compared. Insecticide efficacy studies were conducted for stink bugs and whiteflies. Three graduate students and one visiting graduate student were mentored and educated while working on grant funded research projects. Outputs were disseminated to growers at county Extension meetings, the 2011 Beltwide Cotton Conferences, International Symposium on Insect Pest Management, 85th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Branch of the Entomological Society of America, 75th Annual Meeting of the Georgia Entomological Society, Georgia Association of Professional Agricultural Consultants, 58th Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America, UGA Cotton & Peanut Research Field Day, Georgia Cotton Commission Field Day, UGA-Tifton Campus Ag Awareness Day, UGA Cotton Production Workshop, and the Georgia Farm Bureau Commodity Conference. PARTICIPANTS: new collaborator: Gino Medrano, Research Plant Pathologist, Cotton Pathology Research, USDA-ARS, College Station, TX. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Data analyses show that the parasitoid complex active on stink bugs are primarily active on adults, and had little impact on immatures. Parasitism was greater on southern green stink bugs than green stink bugs or brown stink bugs. The red banded stink bug, a serious pest of soybean, experienced no parasitism at all. Fire ants are one of, if not the most important, predators of stink bug egg masses. Less important predators of egg masses included long-horned grasshoppers, the big eyed bug, snowy tree cricket, and spined soldier bug nymphs. Analyses of reproductive diapause in brown stink bugs show that this insect does not produce eggs when reared at 10 or 12 hours of light per day. Conversely, individuals reared with14 or 16 hours of light per day were fecund with egg survival increasing with longer day length. Unmated females also produced eggs, but none were viable. Salivary flanges on the exterior surface of bolls and external puncture wounds characterized bolls damaged by feeding stink bugs. Callus growths on the interior boll wall were present in some, but not all bolls. Both brown and southern green stink bugs preferred bolls with a 2.1 to 2.5 cm diameter indicating that scouting quarter sized bolls is appropriate. Cover crops including crimson clover, wheat, and rye decomposed at a greater rate in conventional tillage compared to strip tillage. There was more cotton vegetation produced under strip till management, but no yield differences were observed. A new insecticide, Leverage 360, was found to be suitable for controlling stink bugs in cotton.

Publications

  • Chen, Y., DM Olson, and JR Ruberson. 2010. Effects of nitrogen fertilization on tritrophic interactions. Arthropod-Plant Interactions 4:81-94.
  • Medrano, E.G., J.F. Esquivel, A.A. Bell, J.K. Greene, P.M. Roberts, J.S. Marois, D.L. Wright, and R. L. Nichols. 2011. Analysis of microscopic cotton boll feeding injuries caused by southern green stink bug Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). Southwestern Entomologist 36: 233-245.
  • Tubbs, R.S., M.D. Toews, W.D. Shurley, A. R. Smith, G. H. Harris, and R.D. Lee. 2010. Nutrient cycling and cover crop decomposition in strip-till and conventional cotton tillage systems. Pp. 83-90. In G. Ritchie, A. Smith & G. Collins (eds.) 2009 Georgia Cotton Research and Extension Report. UGA/CPES Research Extension Publication No. 7. Georgia Cooperative Extension, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Athens.
  • Roberts, P. M., J. R. Ruberson, and M. D. Toews. 2011. Cotton insect control. Pp. 64-68, In 2010 Georgia Pest Management Handbook, University of Georgia, Athens. Available online at http://www.ent.uga.edu/pmh.
  • Barros, EM, JB Torres, JR Ruberson, MD Oliveira. 2010. Development of Spodoptera frugiperda on different hosts and damage to reproductive structures in cotton. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 137: 237-245.


Progress 07/01/09 to 06/30/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Continued progress was made to meet and exceed grant objectives and projects. Boll size feeding preferences of late instar southern green stink bugs and brown stink bugs were evaluated in growth chambers. Cotton was continuously grown in the greenhouse to meet laboratory and greenhouse objectives. Southern green stink bug and brown stink bug immatures were monitored feeding on cotton plants using time lapse videography. Photoperiod and temperature requirements for continuous rearing of brown stink bugs were studied. Movement of stink bugs among cotton, soybeans, corn, and peanuts was investigated and characterized in the field. Volatiles produced by cotton bolls as a result of stink bug feeding were characterized and analyzed. A study on the timing of insecticide applications for management stink bugs was completed. A full economic analysis of the dynamic approach to stink bug sampling (varying treatment threshold with plant phenology or week of bloom) was characterized. A new stink bug, Megacopta cribraria, was reported as a nuisance pest in north Georgia; there is evidence in the literature that this pest may spread to peanuts and other legume crops. Outputs were disseminated to growers at county Extension meetings, 2010 Beltwide Cotton Conferences, 84th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Branch of the Entomological Society of America, Annual Meeting of the Georgia/Alabama Crop Consultants Association, 2010 Southern Cotton, Corn and Soybean Pest Management Seminar, Georgia Crop Production Alliance, radio programs, TV programs, news releases, country agent trainings, statewide producer workshops, UGA cotton scout school, local county production meetings, industry sponsored workshops, Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition Field Day, Georgia Farm Bureau Commodity Field Day, UGA Research and Education Field Days, Georgia Crop Production Alliance Annual Meeting, Southern States GrowMaster Training Program, Georgia Plant Food Educational Society, Georgia Certified Crop Advisor Training, Georgia/Florida Soybean and Small Grain Expo, Tri State Pecan Convention & Trade Show, 103rd Annual Convention of the Southeastern Pecan Growers Association, and the 57th Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences for dissemination of results from these projects include cotton producers, scouts, consultants, academics, industry, and international pest managers. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Data analyses showed a number of consistent trends when monitoring and treating stink bugs. First, stink bugs appear to be searching for flowering plants, regardless of agronomic or nonagronomic, to use as hosts throughout the year. Neither cotton nor peanut were particularly good reproductive stink bug hosts compared to soybean. Corn is a good host apparently because of the production of pollen and silks early in the year before other reproductive plants tissues are available in the farmscape. Timing of stink bug reproductive states was similar across years suggesting that the populations and generations mature in a constant and predictable way. In reverse plant phenology trails, stink bugs were often significantly decreased in non-sprayed plots when the adjacent plots were sprayed, thereby suggesting that spring alternate strips in commercial field should be investigated. Regardless of stink bug pressure (categorized in separate trials as low, low to moderate, or moderate to high), the dynamic threshold returned better economic returns than alternative thresholds including unsprayed, weekly, and 10%, 20%, and 30% boll internal damage. These results were key to producing a decision aid for stink bug thresholds in the southeast that was distributed in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. A new sampling plan showed that the sweep net was the most cost reliable method for sampling stink bugs at low densities, but the beat cloth was more reliable at densities of 1 stink bug per 3.7 m of row and greater. Sequential sampling plans were determined for thresholds of 20, 30, and 50% internal boll injury. Sample sizes for sequential sampling plans were reduced compared to fixed sampling plans. Adjacent habitats to cotton fields including peanut and soybean generally resulted in increased internal boll injury and stink bug captures compared to woodlands, corn, and cotton. The total time that immature stink bugs spent on 1.1 to 1.5 cm bolls was significantly less than time spent on bolls from 1.6 to 2.5 cm. Brown stink bug immatures preferred bolls in the 2.1 to 2.5 cm size class.

Publications

  • Adamczyk, J., G. Lorenz, J. Gore, A. Cachot, S. Stewart, P. Roberts, and R. Parker. 2010. Summary of the insect research and control conference producer roundtable. Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf., pp. 39-42.
  • Herbert, A., E. Blinka, J. Bacheler, J. Van Duyn, J. Greene, M. Toews, P. Roberts, and R. Smith. 2009. Managing stink bugs in cotton: research in the southeast region. Publication 444-390, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
  • Roberts, Phillip, and Robert M. McPherson. 2010. Cotton insect control. pp. 125-129, In: 2010 Georgia Pest Control Handbook Commercial Edition, (P. Guillebeau, Ed.). The Univ. of Georgia Coop. Ext. Ser. Special Bull. 28, 848 pp.
  • Ruberson, J.R., D.M. Olson, M.D. Thompson, R.J. Ottens, M.D. Toews, S. Jones, and W.A. Mills. 2010. Importance of natural enemies for stink bug control. Pp. 126-1135. In G. Ritchie, A. Smith & G. Collins (eds.) 2009 Georgia Cotton Research and Extension Report. UGA/CPES Research Extension Publication No. 7. Georgia Cooperative Extension, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Athens.
  • Bacheler, J., J. Van Duyn, D. Mott, A. Herbert, E. Blinka, J. Greene, P. Roberts, M. Toews, and R. Smith. 2010. Managing stink bugs in cotton: research in the southeast region. pp. 991-993. In Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conferences, January 4-7, New Orleans, LA. National Cotton Council of America, Memphis, TN.
  • Griffin, J. David, M.D. Toews, R.S. Tubbs, D.Q. Wann, and D. Sullivan. 2010. Reduction of thrips populations with tillage and winter cover crops. pp. 905. In Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conferences, January 4-7, New Orleans, LA. National Cotton Council of America, Memphis, TN.
  • Reeves, R. B. J. K. Greene, F.P.F. Reay-Jones, M. D. Toews, and P. D. Gerard. 2010. Effects of adjacent habitat on populations of stink bugs (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) in cotton as part of a variable agricultural landscape in South Carolina. Environ. Entomol. 39:1420-1427.
  • Reay-Jones, F.P.F., M. D. Toews, J. K. Greene, and R. B. Reeves. 2010. Spatial dynamics of stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) and associated boll injury in southeastern cotton fields. Environ. Entomol. 39:956-969.
  • Reay-Jones, F.P.F., M. D. Toews, J. K. Greene, and R. B. Reeves. 2010. Development of sampling plans for cotton bolls injured by stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). J. Econ. Entomol. 103: 252-532.
  • Reay-Jones, F.P.F., J. K. Greene, M. D. Toews, and R. B. Reeves. 2009. Sampling stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) for population estimation and pest management in southeastern cotton production. J. Econ. Entomol. 102:2360-2370.
  • Bacheler, J., A. Herbert, P. Roberts, J. Greene, and M. Toews. 2010. Decision aid for stink bug thresholds in southeast cotton. Field template and instruction guide. North Carolina State Cooperative Extension, publication E10-52856.
  • Collins, G. (Ed.), S. Culpepper, D. Day, G. Harris, B. Kemerait, P. Roberts, D. Shurley, A. Smith, and J. Whitaker. 2010 Georgia Cotton Production Guide. The Univ. of Georgia Coop. Ext. Ser., CSS-10-01.
  • Medrano, E., A. Bell, J. Greene, P. Roberts, J. Bacheler, J. Marois, and R. Nichols. 2010. Investigations of boll damage caused by piercing/sucking pests and disease agent transmission. Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf., p. 249.
  • Toews, M., P. Roberts, and E. Medrano. 2010. Interrelationships among stink bug management, cotton fiber quality and boll rot. Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf., pp. 245-247.
  • Bacheler, J., J. Van Duyn, A. Herbert, E. Blinka, J. Greene, P. Roberts, M. Toews, and R. Smith. 2010. Managing stink bugs in cotton: research in the southeast region. Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf., pp. 991-993.
  • Herbert, J. and M.D. Toews. 2010. Stink bug distribution and reproductive capacity in Georgia cotton farmscapes. pp. 1233-1237. In Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conferences, January 4-7, New Orleans, LA. National Cotton Council of America, Memphis, TN.


Progress 07/01/08 to 06/30/09

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Continued progress was made in the last year to meet the grant objectives. Cotton was grown in the greenhouse and bolls of known ages were exposed to southern green stink bug adults and nymphs. The effect of stink bug infestation during each week of the growing season was evaluated in field plots. Promising developments were shown pertaining to the laboratory rearing of the brown stink bug. Stink bug movement was monitored among cotton, peanut, soybean, and corn farmscapes. A detailed study of stink bug natural enemies was conducted including and examination of spatial patterns of parasitism. The in-field distribution of stink bugs in cotton fields was investigated. Scientists closely examined changes in plant produced volatiles in response to stink bug feeding on bolls. Novel pesticides for cotton insect management including Bt technologies, flubendiamide, spinetoram, and rynaxypry were evaluated. The stink bug damage threshold was further refined in preparation for a novel dynamic approach. Cotton was ginned at the UGA Microgin from variety trials, chemical treatments, irrigation studies, insect interaction studies, ginning comparison studies, and county agent field trials. In addition to Georgia samples, additional seedcotton was ginned from cooperating trials in Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Data from these numerous trials were widely disseminated through international, national, regional, state, and local venues. These research conferences included the International Congress of Entomology (Durban, South Africa), Sixth International IPM Symposium (Portland, OR), Cotton Pest Seminar (Puerto Vallarta, Nayarit, Mexico), Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America (Reno, NV), Beltwide Cotton Conferences (San Antonio, TX), Southeastern Branch of the Entomological Society of America (Montgomery, AL), and the Georgia Entomological Society (Hiawassee, GA). Academic seminars using these data were presented at the Institute for Plant Physiology and Ecology (Shanghai, China), Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University (Yangling, China), and the Albany Rotary Club (Albany, GA). Grower attended forums for information dissemination included the Georgia Cotton Conference (Tifton, GA), Cotton Scout Schools (Tifton and Midville, GA), Cotton and Peanut Research Field Day (Tifton, GA), Agronomic Crops Field Day for County Agents (Tifton, GA), and the Southeast Research and Education Center Field Day (Midville, GA). Growers were reached through specific county meetings sponsored by our extension network. Primary grant recipients include two faculty members directly involved in the UGA teaching program, three faculty members who are advising graduate students, one faculty member mentoring a post doctoral graduate scholar, and two faculty members mentoring high school teachers during the summer term. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals: Noblet, R. Department Head and Research Entomologist at the University of Georgia. rnoblet@uga.edu (project director). Toews, M. D. Research Entomologist at the University of Georgia. mtoews@uga.edu (principal investigator). Roberts, P.M. Extension Entomologist at the University of Georgia. proberts@uga.edu (principal investigator). Ruberson, J.R. Research Entomologist at the University of Georgia. ruberson@uga.edu (principal investigator). Knowlton, A. Research Engineer/Ginner at the University of Georgia. andyk@uga.edu (research ginner). Li, C. Research Engineer at the University of Georgia. cyli@uga.edu (research engineer). Partner Organizations: North Carolina State University, Clemson University, and Virginia Tech University. Collaborators and Contacts: Bacheler, J.S., Blinka, E.L., Bradley, J.R., Greene, J.K., Herbert, A., Reay-Jones, F.P.F, Reeves, R.B., and Van Duyn, J.W. TARGET AUDIENCES: Stakeholders for outputs, outcomes, impacts, and publications developed during this project include cotton growers, Cooperative Extension Service (CES) county agents, pest management consultants, crop scouts, Extension state specialists, academic researchers, industry representatives, agribusiness professionals, and state and regional farm press media. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Data analyzed from trials in the past year showed that sampling stink bug damage using external lesions was useful when damage was low or particularly high, but was not accurate enough for making treatment decisions when the damage was between ten and forty percent. Pheromone traps can be useful for predicting when stink bugs may begin damaging cotton fields. Stink bug damage on young cotton bolls was not evident because the bolls are simply shed from the plant. Similarly, stink bug damaged cotton bolls that are excised from the plant do not produce a signature volatile that indicates damage. Whole plant volatiles in response to stink bug damage are present at very low levels. Stink bug damage in commercial corn and cotton fields was shown to start in the edges of the field and move toward the center. Stink bugs tend to distribute from corn in the spring to cotton, soybeans, and peanuts. However, cotton had to be actively producing bolls before it was attractive to stink bugs. A newly discovered stink bug natural enemy, Aridelus rufotestaceus, was successfully reared in the laboratory and the host range was determined. Fiber quality and economic analyses showed that the dynamic threshold was more cost effective than more aggressive and static thresholds for treatment of stink bugs. Analyses also show that it pays to be more aggressive with stink bug control during weeks 3-5 of bloom. A number of county agents are recommending that growers treat borders of cotton fields that are adjacent to peanuts or soybeans to mitigate the movement into the cotton fields. Progressive growers are testing the new treatment methodology on their farms. Early season thrips populations were successfully mitigated using in furrow applications of aldicarb, or seed treatments in combination with reduced tillage and cover crops such as wheat, crimson clover, and rye. Alternatively, cotton strip tilled into either fall killed or spring killed Bahia grass was adequately protected from early season thrips. Results from trials described here solidified a collaboration with researchers at Clemson University and the initiation of a three year extramurally funded investigation of the farmscape distribution of stink bugs.

Publications

  • Toews, M. D., E. L. Blinka, J. W. Van Duyn, D. A. Herbert Jr., J. S. Bacheler, P. M. Roberts and J. K. Greene. 2009. Fidelity of external boll feeding lesions to internal damage for assessing stink bug damage in cotton. J. Econ. Entomol. 102:1344-1351.
  • Chen, Y, E Schmelz, F Wackers, JR Ruberson. 2008. Cotton plant, Gossypium hirsutum L., defense in response to nitrogen fertilization. Journal of Chemical Ecology 34: 1553-1564.
  • Roberts, P. M., J. R. Ruberson, and M. D. Toews. 2009. Cotton insect control. Pp. 47-51, In 2008 Georgia Pest Management Handbook, University of Georgia, Athens. Available online at http://www.ent.uga.edu/pmh.
  • Roberts, P., M. Toews, B. Freeman, T. Reed. R. Smith, J. Bacheler, A. Herbert, and J. Greene. 2009. Spider mite-pest status, southeastern region, pp.1531. In Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conferences, January 5-8, San Antonio, TX. National Cotton Council of America, Memphis, TN.
  • Blinka, E. L. D. A. Herbert, M. D. Toews, J. S. Bacheler, S. Malone, and J. W. Van Duyn. 2009. Comparison of two stink bug scouting techniques in cotton under field conditions, pp1102-1109. In Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conferences, January 5-8, San Antonio, TX. National Cotton Council of America, Memphis, TN.
  • Li, C. and M. Toews. 2009. GC-FID and E-Nose for detection of stink bug infestation on cotton bolls, pp1117-1121. In Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conferences, January 5-8, San Antonio, TX. National Cotton Council of America, Memphis, TN.
  • Reeves, R. B., J. K. Greene, F.P.F. Reay-Jones, A. Khalilian, M. D. Toews, and P. D. Gerard. 2009. Spatial-temporal analysis of stink bug populations in cotton, pp. 860-863. In Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conferences, January 5-8, San Antonio, TX. National Cotton Council of America, Memphis, TN.
  • Greene, J. K., P. M. Roberts, J. S. Bacheler, M. D. Toews, J. R. Ruberson, F.P.F. Reay-Jones, D. Robinson, D. W. Mott, T. Walker, C. Davis, and D. E. Morrison, T. Pegram, and R. Reeves. 2009. Continued evaluation of internal boll-injury thresholds for stink bugs in the southeast, pp. 1092-1101. In Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conferences, January 5-8, San Antonio, TX. National Cotton Council of America, Memphis, TN.
  • Roberts, P. M., M. Toews, and B. Kemerait. 2009. Impact of early season thrips control on root development and nematode management, pp.1140. In Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conferences, January 5-8, San Antonio, TX. National Cotton Council of America, Memphis, TN.
  • Toews, M. D., E. Blinka, A. Herbert, J. Bacheler, S. Malone, J. Van Duyn, P. M. Roberts, J. K. Greene, and W. D. Shurley. 2009. Balancing sample size, accuracy, and time when monitoring stink bug damage, pp. 1110. In Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conferences, January 5-8, San Antonio, TX. National Cotton Council of America, Memphis, TN.
  • Bacheler, J., P. Roberts, J. Greene, D. Mott, J. Van Duyn, A. Herbert, M. Toews, J. Ruberson, D. Robinson, T. Walker, E. Blinka, D. Morrison, and T. Pegram. 2009. Use of the dynamic threshold for stink bug management in the southeast, pp. 1081-1091. In Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conferences, January 5-8, San Antonio, TX. National Cotton Council of America, Memphis, TN.
  • Li, C. and M. D. Toews. 2009. Preliminary study of using a GC-FID for volatile detection on stink bug infested cotton bolls. Pp. 144-148. In M. Toews, G. Ritchie & A. Smith (eds.) 2008 Georgia Cotton Research and Extension Report. UGA/CPES Research Extension Publication No. 6. Georgia Cooperative Extension, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Athens.
  • Ottens, R. J., J. R. Ruberson, R. M. McPherson, P. M. Roberts, and M. D. Toews. 2009. Insecticide resistance monitoring in lepidopteran cotton pests. Pp. 133-144. In M. Toews, G. Ritchie & A. Smith (eds.) 2008 Georgia Cotton Research and Extension Report. UGA/CPES Research Extension Publication No. 6. Georgia Cooperative Extension, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Athens.
  • Ruberson, J. R., M. D. Thompson, R. J. Ottens, P. M. Roberts, S. R Shaw, and M. D. Toews. 2009. Importance of natural enemies for stink bug control in Georgia. Pp. 114-122. In M. Toews, G. Ritchie & A. Smith (eds.) 2008 Georgia Cotton Research and Extension Report. UGA/CPES Research Extension Publication No. 6. Georgia Cooperative Extension, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Athens.
  • Roberts, P. and M. D. Toews. 2009. Evaluation of selected thrips management programs and the effect of thrips damage on early season root growth. Pp. 108-113. In M. Toews, G. Ritchie & A. Smith (eds.) 2008 Georgia Cotton Research and Extension Report. UGA/CPES Research Extension Publication No. 6. Georgia Cooperative Extension, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Athens.
  • Toews, M. D. 2009. Spatial mapping of stink bugs in cotton fields using three scouting techniques. Pp. 154-158. In M. Toews, G. Ritchie & A. Smith (eds.) 2008 Georgia Cotton Research and Extension Report. UGA/CPES Research Extension Publication No. 6. Georgia Cooperative Extension, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Athens.
  • Toews, M. D. and D. Shurley. 2009. Influence of adjacent crops on cotton fiber quality with respect to stink bug movement. Pp. 123-128. In M. Toews, G. Ritchie & A. Smith (eds.) 2008 Georgia Cotton Research and Extension Report. UGA/CPES Research Extension Publication No. 6. Georgia Cooperative Extension, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Athens.