Evaluating Efficacy and Chemical Concentrations of Commonly Used Insecticides Targeting Tarnished Plant Bug in Mid-South Cotton

Studies were conducted from 2017 to 2021 at nine locations across Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee to evaluate efficacy, residual control, and effective chemical concentrations of commonly used insecticides targeting tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot Foliar applications of imidacloprid, flonicamid, thiamethoxam, oxamyl, dicrotophos, acephate, novaluron, and sulfoxaflor were applied at locally recommended rates. Plots were sampled for nymphs at 4, 7, and 10 d after treatments (DAT), and leaves were analyzed for concentration of active ingredients from plots located in one site in 2021 at 4, 7, 10, and 14 DAT. Across all sampling dates, insecticide treatments reduced nymph infestations compared to untreated control, except for imidacloprid at 10 DAT. All insecticide treatments resulted in higher lint yields compared to untreated control. Overall, sulfoxaflor, novaluron, and acephate offered the best control of nymphs and provided the greatest yield protection among treatments. Moderate control was achieved with thiamethoxam,