Welasco, Texas
October 4, 2005
The noose continues to tighten
around insects that harm the cotton crop of extreme South Texas.
A grower-funded eradication
program began a coordinated assault against boll weevils earlier
this year. Now a Texas
Cooperative Extension insect scouting program to supplement
these efforts is being planned for 2006.
Once implemented, the Lower Rio Grande Valley Scouting Project
will allow growers to access information about insect
populations - information that often can make or break a crop -
on the Internet.
Manda Cattaneo, a cotton integrated pest management entomologist
at the Texas A&M University System Agricultural Research and
Extension Center at Weslaco, said the program will provide
growers with important information at the click of a mouse.
"The proposal is to monitor 48 cotton fields owned by 48
different growers throughout the Valley on a weekly basis and
post the information we gather on a Web site," she said.
"Instead of having to rely on hearsay or word of mouth, growers
will be able to easily access reliable, up-to-date scientific
information on the status of insect populations and the crop in
their areas and beyond."
The information would also be available on Pest Cast, a weekly
newsletter Cattaneo produces throughout the cotton growing
season, February to September. Pest Cast is available free,
either by mail or e-mail.
With this information, growers could make better-informed crop
production decisions, Cattaneo said, especially in making timely
insecticide applications.
"Scouting information will include counts of both pest and
beneficial insects, as well as insect damage to plants and
squares, crop development stage and the overall condition of the
crop," she said.
The fields to be scouted will include three in each of the 16
work units of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Boll Weevil
Eradication Program, which cover all cotton production in the
area.
Growers who want to participate and will allow access to their
fields should contact Cattaneo.
"We're also looking for sponsors to fund this scouting effort,"
Cattaneo said. "We've had a lot of interest and positive
reactions from the agribusinesses we've contacted who would also
benefit from such a program. These include chemical companies,
implement dealers, banks, loan companies, seed companies and
others."
Similar programs in other cotton producing areas of the state
have proved successful, according to Charles Stichler, Extension
agronomist at the Texas A&M University System Agricultural
Research and Extension Center at Uvalde.
"The big benefit of a scouting program like this is that it
gives growers reliable information about trends of insect
activities and developing problems," he said. "With that
information, growers can scout and watch their own fields more
closely and try to prevent disasters by applying timely
insecticide applications."
Sam Simmons, a Harlingen farmer, likes the idea of having access
to information from the 16 work units throughout the Valley.
"The more information a grower has about field conditions, the
better," he said. "And the information is that much more
valuable to a farmer if it comes from his immediate area, rather
than generalized, broad-based information about the entire
area."
To become a cooperator grower, a sponsor of the scouting
program, or to receive Pest Cast, contact Cattaneo at (956)
968-5581, or e-mail
MGCattaneo@ag.tamu.edu .
by Rod Santa Ana III |