Rye cover crop, surface tillage, crop rotation, and soil insecticide impact on thrips numbers in cotton in the southeastern coastal plain

摘要

Cover crops and conservation tillage are becoming increasingly important in cotton production in the southeastern United States. It is important to know the effects of changing cropping practices on pest populations. Thrips were collected from cotton seedlings rotated with corn or after a rye winter cover crop, either tilled or untilled, and either with or without aldicarb application. Insecticide application was effective in reducing thrips populations under nearly all cropping practices. No-till plots usually had fewer thrips than plots that were tilled. In 1 year, thrips populations were lower in rye/no-till plots than in no cover crop/no-till plots, but were higher in rye/tilled than in no cover crop/tilled.