TIFTON, GEORGIA (RFD NEWS) — A big threat to the Georgia cotton crop is making a return this year. The cotton jassid is a leafhopper able to crush yields and have damaging impacts on crops.
Dr. Philip Roberts, a University of Georgia extension entomologist, spoke with The Farm Monitor to discuss what cotton producers are up against.
“It’s a small leaf hopper, so it has sucking mouthparts and feeds on multiple species of plants, but cotton is a preferred host,” Roberts explained, “When the jassid feeds on the cotton, it injects a toxin during the feeding process, and the injury we see on the cotton is the yellowing of the leaves, the hopper burn and the reddening of the leaves. That is a plant response to the toxin that was injected into the plant.”
According to Roberts, when the leaves are damaged, the plants are unable to perform their natural functions, which ultimately leads to plant loss.
“The capacity of the leaf, in terms of photosynthesis, goes down.” Roberts continued, “So we see limited production in terms of yield. The plant is not functioning at its fullest capacity due to the injury from the jassid.”
Taylor Sills, the executive director of the Georgia Cotton Commission, is concerned that many producers already struggling with pest management costs will go through an even harder growing season.
“We are concerned about this pest on multiple levels. We don’t want to build resistance. We don’t want to add cost. We don’t want to add trips to the field or any of that. It’s a very concerning situation,” Sills says.
Extension pros estimate that last year, farmers spent an estimated 12 million dollars to help control the cotton jassid, with some states reporting an extra 40 to 100 dollars an acre needed to combat the pest.
