D3428: Are salt and fresh waterbodies indicators of early season risk to cotton? A tale of two mirid pests

Cotton fleahopper, Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Reuter), and verde plant bug, Creontiades signatus Distant (both Hemiptera: Miridae), feed on flower buds (squares) and young fruit (bolls) of cotton, respectively. Yearly, they move into cotton from weedy hosts that vary in water affiliation (salt tolerant to riparian zones) and abundance (water availability). This study spanned seven years across the coastal and inland water system of south Texas to consider whether proximity of water system features (e.g., rivers, lakes, bays, wetlands) to cotton may serve as indicators of early season cotton risk to these Mirid pests. Geo-referenced insect monitoring data were collected and placed in a GIS along with archived spatial data layers (agricultural land use and water system) matching each insect data location and year. The association of landscape and insect metrics were analyzed using multiple regression. Depending on the strength and year-to-year consistency of the association, the value of salt and fresh waterbodies as indicators of cotton risk to these Mirid pests was considered.