Tobacco budworm and corn earworm infestations are a mixed bag, ranging from light to heavy pressure. There is also wide variation in species makeup of the bollworm complex. Threshold levels of stink bugs have been reported from several areas. Aphids are rebounding in some fields but we would generally expect populations to crash due to the naturally occurring fungus. Silverleaf whitefly has been observed on cotton in the Tift County vicinity and spider mites were reported in southwest Georgia.
Infestations range from light to heavy.
There is also much variability in the species makeup of these infestations. In some areas, it is predominantly TBW or CEW, and in other areas, there is a mixed population. This is not uncommon late in the season as we normally see overlapping generations of the two species. Species ratio of TBW and CEW is very important when selecting an insecticide, especially in areas where pyrethroid resistant TBW is a concern. We are seeing quite a bit of variation in species makeup from field to field at this time.