Suhas Vyavhare and Blayne Reed
Texas
A&M AgriLife Extension
With the growing season
just around the corner, farmers are busy preparing fields and making tough decisions
for 2016. Cotton, the crop often known as “white gold,” looks to have some
difficulty bringing major economic incentives to the farmers this year. Commodity
prices have been below production costs for the
last couple of years and future market moves, or lack thereof, are suggesting
prices will be about the same this year. This means 2016 is going to be another
challenging economic year for cotton growers. Despite this, surveys indicate increased
cotton acreage in Texas in 2016. The increase in projected cotton acreage is
largely the result of similar and weaker market prices of most of the usual
alternative crops to cotton (corn, sorghum, wheat). The looming threat of sugarcane aphid is also
likely to prompt some sorghum producers to opt out of sorghum production. There are some improved expectations for weather
and water conditions that will be more favorable for cotton production as we
come into planting season but often in uncertain times we just return to what
we are best at.
With the current market
conditions, one common way to balance a crop production budget is to trim production
cost. This is where we think producers
are going to be faced with some hard decisions. From the insect pest management
viewpoint, a big chunk of money is spent in the form of tech fees well before
the crop comes out of the soil. Decisions about whether or not to plant varieties
with Bt traits and whether or not to have preventive seed treatment are tough to
make.
Bt cotton is
genetically altered to naturally control the bollworm and other caterpillar
pests as the insect feeds on the plant. The presence of Bt does not enhance
yield but it can be a hedge of protection from potential yield robbing insect
damage. While, in case of seed treatments, the seeds are treated with pesticides
prior to planting as a preventive measure against early-season pests such as
wireworms and thrips.
Deciding whether or not
to use Bt seeds and/or seed treatments is a bit like gambling. Some years the
gamble works, then in the next it may not. In the past few years we did not get
high caterpillar pressure in cotton on the Texas High Plains so many may feel
that non-Bt cotton may do just fine.
Many of those Lepidopteran pests in recent years have been lured away
from cotton toward late planted corn or sorghum and those are crops that might
not have very many acres in the region this year. It could also turn out to be a higher than
average year for caterpillar pressure. In either case a Bt trait could be just
the hedge of protection that protects a field’s economic margin.
Preventive seed
treatments play an immensely important role in protecting seedling cotton from
early season insect pests such as thrips and wireworms insuring a healthy start.
Without a quick and healthy start, High Plains cotton does not tend to do very
well. If you are opting not to have an
insecticidal seed treatment with decent residual properties, you will need to
take extra care in early season field scouting and be ready at a moment’s
notice to treat for any potential problems to save the crop and income. Remember,
with early season thrips control we need to be scouting for the pest and not
reacting to the damage. If too much
thrips damage has occurred, chemical treatment might pay some returns but a
huge loss in plant developmental time and likely yield has already occurred and
the treatment could actually hold more of a revenge factor than practical. Many
producers will schedule thrips treatments around over-the-top residual
herbicide applications and feel they might be achieving optimum control. However, the timing of these applications do
not always match and producers often need to make multiple thrips treatments in
heavy population situations and not just one all covering trip across the
field. Also, with the foliar insecticide
applications, we are likely delaying the early establishment of beneficials
into our fields and possibly opening a door for other secondary pests to
establish in our fields before the predators can lend their much needed
hand. Meanwhile, insecticidal seed
treatments go a long way in mitigating that early and rapidly occurring
damage.
When we discuss and think
through the pros and cons, using (and yes purchasing) these preventive tactics for
insect pest management might just be the wiser decision. The upfront investment
in preventive tools helps give us the helping hand and peace of mind that we
need that might have just helped divert from a very costly disaster. If those potential pest disasters do arise,
it is very likely that those who put these measures in place should get paid significant
dividend. When farmers opt for herbicide tolerant traits, addition of Bt trait
should not add that much additional cost. The additional tech fee for Bt and
proven insecticidal seed treatments will likely be less than multiple early foliar
applications may cost in the event of a heavy caterpillar infestation later in
the season.
Insect pressure will
vary with general location, between fields, and will be dependent upon weather
and cropping practices. Ultimately, it is important that farmers make decisions
based on local agronomic and environmental conditions and should be based on solid
field scouting and experience.
