Insect pests are irritatingly unpredictable about when, where and how bad infestations will be. But there are patterns that repeat themselves annually.

Infestations of tarnished plant bug, stink bugs, and bollworms often peak the last week of July and the first 2 weeks of August. And of course, this is the time when plants are very susceptible to fruit injury.

This means there is a need for intense scouting, and there is a high likelihood that insecticide applications will be needed.

Most calls I’m receiving are related to plant bugs and bollworm. Bollworm infestations in cotton are not especially high in most areas, but infestation levels appear to be increasing from the south and west. I suspect next week will be the big spray window for bollworm on Bollgard 2 and the original WideStrike technologies. Early cotton in the more drought-prone areas may out run the moth flight.

To continue with this update on the cotton and soybean insect situation in Tennessee, visit http://news.utcrops.com/