During the period of square and boll production and continuing until harvest, parasitic wasps and coccinelid beetles may still be present, especially if aphids reach extremely high densities, but in most fields they are rare. Although these natural enemies do provide some control, they generally are not able to strongly suppress aphid populations, or cause strong suppression only after severe damage has occurred to the plant. Augmentative releases of predatory green lacewings generally are not effective. Natural densities of lacewing eggs are often quite high, making it prohibitively expensive to achieve meaningful increases in egg densities through releases. Furthermore, because of the impact of other predators on lacewing larvae, few lacewings appear to survive long enough to suppress aphids effectively.
Aphid populations prefer cotton plants that are well watered and highly fertilized.
Avoid excessive or poorly scheduled nitrogen applications that stimulate late-season growth. Cultivar selection also appears to influence aphid population growth. Pima cultivars appear to be more susceptible to aphid infestations and associated damage. Growers in these areas may need to adopt a more aggressive approach to monitoring early-season aphids. Because research has shown that cotton aphid populations are stimulated by the use of pyrethroids, be sure to carefully monitor for aphids following application of pyrethroid insecticides.