Deer Herbivory Respons to Aldicarb and Yield Losses Due to Simulated Deer Defoliation

Damage to cotton from deer herbivory browsing has increased in recent years in East Georgia. Browsing damage from deer impacts cotton by reducing yields, delaying maturity, and impacting stand counts to the point where replanting is often necessary. The objectives of these trials were to first, evaluate the effect of simulated deer herbivory browsing on cotton yields and second, determine the deer herbivory response to aldicarb applied at planting to seedling cotton. Significant differences were noticed on cotton yields among different levels of defoliation with cotton yields decreasing as the level of defoliation was increased. No significant differences were observed across two locations for deer damaged plants at either of two locations among plots treated with aldicarb and untreated plots.