County Extension Agent Bowman says the pressure was not like that during his Monday scout last week. Boll weevil feeding punctures were also common in the Williams field in Crittenden county, but no weevils were found in white blooms. All of these irrigated fields were close to our termination date for insecticides when heat units were accumulated from date of actual cutout and were well over the limit if July 31 was used as the latest possible cutout date. Moth egg lay is somewhat lower now and survival of young worms is lessened where squares are gone or going rapidly. However, some fields are carrying too many young squares and worms could build up quickly if predators don t stay effective.
White flies seem to be somewhat lower in most fields, but can easily be found.
As fields are reaching the critical stage of open boll and with the heat the way it is, final irrigation needs must be closely monitored. In some cases furrow irrigations beyond the date of first open boll may be practical, while irrigation by pivot should be terminated quickly after bolls start opening, especially if iron is heavy in the irrigation water. We were not detecting open bolls under the pivots in the Williams or Baker fields last Thursday and Friday. Those fields were recommended for further irrigations until open bolls are detected. We have recommended termination of irrigation in the Sites field, as well as an early termination of irrigation in the Goodgame field after last week s watering due to heavily lodged plants.