Landscape and Climatic Factors Affecting Tarnished Plant Bug (Lygus lineolaris) Infestations in Mid-Atlantic Cotton Systems

Economically damaging populations of the tarnished plant bug (Lygus lineolaris) have been documented since 2013 in Virginia, the northernmost cotton-growing region in the country. To better understand the sudden increase in L. lineolaris infestations in Mid-Atlantic cotton, 56 representative commercial cotton fields in Virginia were scouted weekly in 2017 and 2018 for a nine-week sampling period throughout the growing season. Insect density was recorded for each field using sweep net and drop cloth sampling, targeting adult and nymphal populations respectively. The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) CropScape and Daymet weather raster datasets were used to measure the composition and proximity of land use and weather patterns within concentric rings surrounding focal cotton fields. Principle component analysis (PCA) and generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) were developed to investigate the potential significance of landscape composition and climatic factors increasing the risk of L. lineolaris infestations in cotton systems throughout Virginia.