Cotton Fleahopper Injury to Commercial Cottons Differing in Leaf Pubescence

Cotton fleahopper abundance, boll load, and resulting yield were evaluated on commercial cottons differing in leaf pubescence. Field experiments were conducted from 2017 to 2019 in Corpus Christi and Port Lavaca using relatively smooth and hairy leaf cottons (3 to 4 cultivars of each type every year), and an insecticide to maintain an insect-free control in a split plot design. Selected hairy leaf cottons harbored the most cotton fleahoppers, but these differences were not consistent across all cultivars. High cotton fleahopper pressure during early squaring did not translate into an expected decline in boll load and yield among these commercial cultivars. Overall, there were few differences in yield when cotton fleahoppers were present during early squaring and exceeded economic thresholds used in this growing region. Plant mapping aided in understanding the relationship of feeding pressure and plant injury. Additional study may benefit from a focus on the potential for these and other modern commercial cottons to withstand cotton fleahopper feeding and/or compensate for square injury.