Modeling Thrips-Induced Injury to Cotton to Predict Injury Based on Abiotic Inputs

Cotton seedling growth and thrips dispersal are both driven by abiotic factors. Injury to cotton seedlings results when thrips dispersal is high during the time that cotton seedlings are susceptible to damage. We studied the relationship between weather and seedling growth in order to predict seedling susceptibility through time. We then combined seedling growth and thrips dispersal projections into one framework that predicts seedling injury based on several abiotic factors. The framework, the factors and their roles, and the predictive performance of derivative models will be discussed.