Tales of Cotton Insects – Thursday, August 20, 2026

The cotton jassid situation has continued to increase over the last week in Alabama and across the lower Southeast. We have received reports of infestations exceeding thresholds in 3 additional Alabama counties (Henry, Baldwin and Cherokee) to go along with Coffee and Dale counties last week. The biggest surprise was to hear of threshold populations in Cherokee county. Populations appear to be spotty, which highlights the importance of scouting. Cotton jassids are also going from undetectable to above threshold in as little as two weeks in some cases. Part of this may be due to our recommended scouting methods.

This week, we did a comparison of “flipping leaves” and using a sweep-net as a detection tool. What we found was pretty obvious: using the sweep-net is a much better way to detect low populations than just looking at leaves. In fact, we were 3.5x more likely to find a cotton jassid in a sweep-net than by flipping leaves. We also found ≈6x as many adult jassids in 10 sweeps than we found on 10 leaves. I know that most folks put their nets up long ago, but it may be time to get them back out. With the current weather pattern, we cannot afford to miss these low populations of jassids because the can blow up quick. 

Early hopperburn symptoms in cotton in Henry, Co. AL.

In conversations about this with people this week, a few folks wondered what the sweep-net threshold would be. I do not think we will ever be able to get to a sweep-net threshold. There would be too many to quantify and nymphs are difficult to see in the net. However, the sweep-net is excellent to rapidly detect these small numbers and let us know when to start flipping leaves to see how close populations are to threshold. To scout with a sweep-net, sing the net similarly to how you do in pre-square cotton for adult plant bugs. You do not need to swing too hard and knock bolls and a lot of leaves into the net. We have also found that cutting samples down to 10 sweeps at a time makes it easier to count jassids and the keep from smashing them up too much.

 As a reminder, threshold is one jassid (adult or nymph) per leaf. The presence of adults is critical to understanding if nymphs are jassids or some other type of leafhopper as nymphs are difficult to identify.

To date, most reports of cotton jassid exceeding thresholds in Alabama have been in early planted cotton and cotton that is starting to crack bolls. I suspect they will soon start moving into later planted cotton. Hopefully if we catch them in older cotton, we can knock them back with a well-timed insecticide application and reduce the populations moving into younger cotton. For now, our recommendation is to scout and treat cotton at 1 jassid per leaf until 2 weeks prior to defoliation.

To see an up-to-date map on cotton jassid detections across the Cotton Belt, you can check out the Stop two-Spot Cotton Leafhopper (Stop2SCL) website here (https://stop2scl.org/cotton/)

As always, if we can ever be of any help, or if you would like to provide input on the situation in your area, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your local Extension Agent or myself (Scott Graham: 662-809-3368) and Ron Smith (334-332-9501). For more information on thresholds and insecticide recommendations, visit the Alabama Cotton IPM Guide (IPM-0415). To stay up-to-date on the Alabama cotton insect situation, subscribe to the Alabama Cotton Shorts Newsletter, Alabama Crops Report Newsletter and Podcast, and the Syngenta Pest Patrol Hotline.

Tales of Cotton Insects – Thursday, August 13, 2026

It’s go time. It appears that there is some correlation between meet the teacher and cotton jassid outbreaks in Alabama. Last year, I received my first call on jassids in “the real world” on August 12, while I was in meet the teacher for my kids school. This year, the first call with reports of cotton jassids at economic levels came on August 11 (the day my kids also had meet the teacher).

Current reports are that spotty, but economic, populations of cotton jassid have been observed in Coffee and Dale counties. As a reminder, threshold (or economic levels) is an average of 1 cotton jassid per leaf. We currently recommend focusing on the 4^th node mainstem leaf below the terminal. However, if jassids are found on other leaves, do not ignore them. We are currently in a weather pattern that is favorable for cotton jassid development (hot, dry and somehow still humid) and populations can explode in a short amount of time. Our threshold counts adult and immature jassids the same, but the presence of adults is important to confirm the species of leafhopper in the field is cotton jassid. When the wing-pads are present, you can see two small black dots developing. This is one way to positively id cotton jassids nymphs.

Immature cotton jassid with black dots developing near wing pads

In addition to looking for cotton jassids, we also need to be scouting for early signs of hopperburn. Symptoms begin as a general yellowing of the leaf, followed by distinct yellowing, then reddening of the leaf margins. Following the signs on leaf margins, hopper burn moves throughout the leaf before leaves fall off the plant. Catching hopperburn early is critical, as when red is easily observed on leaf margins, damage cannot be stopped on those leaves.

Varying levels of hopperburn caused by cotton jassid.

In our observations and from reports, cotton jassids seem to be concentrated on the earliest planted cotton right now. This trend is similar to what we observed early last year. Reports are that cotton jassids tend to be on cotton with small bolls at the top. Hopefully, this means one well-timed application can knock them out and these fields will not require multiple applications.

Treatment options will likely depend on other pests in the field (stink bugs, plant bugs or spider mites) and the level of jassids present. For these fields that are close to the end, Bidrin is a good option to control jassids and the bug complex. If spider mites are a major concern, Vertento is an option to knockout all the pests. If high levels of jassids are present (multiple per leaf) and other pests are not as much of a concern, then we have several options that provide good control (Argyle, Carbine, Courier, Sefina, Sivanto and Venom) and others that provide moderate control (acephate, assail, Centric, imidacloprid and Transform). One key thing to keep in mind is that pyrethroids (bifenthrin and others) do not control cotton jassids and can make populations worse. I would not spray pyrethroids for stink bug control from this point forward in southeast Alabama.

To see an up-to-date map on cotton jassid detections across the Cotton Belt, you can check out the Stop two-Spot Cotton Leafhopper (Stop2SCL) website here (https://stop2scl.org/cotton/)

As always, if we can ever be of any help, or if you would like to provide input on the situation in your area, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your local Extension Agent or myself (Scott Graham: 662-809-3368) and Ron Smith (334-332-9501). For more information on thresholds and insecticide recommendations, visit the Alabama Cotton IPM Guide (IPM-0415). To stay up-to-date on the Alabama cotton insect situation, subscribe to the Alabama Cotton Shorts Newsletter, Alabama Crops Report Newsletter and Podcast, and the Syngenta Pest Patrol Hotline.

Tales of Insects: Friday, August 7, 2026

Starting with soybeans, calls have picked up over the past week or so. We are starting to get reports of soybeans loopers in southwest Alabama. Soybean loopers are ferocious foliage feeders that can do a lot of damage in a hurry. Luckily, natural mortality of small loopers is generally very high, and many of the “thread-like” loopers we see will not survive. For that reason, we don’t recommend counting soybean loopers that are less than 0.25-0.5 inches long. The goal of soybean looper (and other defoliator) management is to avoid excessive defoliation. From R1-R6 we want to prevent 20% defoliation, from R6 to R6 plus 7-10 days, we can tolerate up to 30% defoliation. Estimating percent defoliation can be tricky and many people overestimate how much damage has been done. The Crop Protection Network has an excellent tool that you can use to train your eye on defoliation estimates (link). As far as soybean looper counts, our threshold is to treat when 5 loopers are found per foot of row (25 per drop cloth if sampling two rows at a time) or 19 loopers per 25 sweeps. We have plenty of good options for looper control including diamides (Coragen eVo, Besiege, Vantacor) as well as Steward and Intrepid Edge. While pyrethroids provide good control of velvetbean caterpillar, they do not kill soybean looper. We have seen times where acephate can knock back populations for a week or so, but then the loopers comeback with a vengeance. This may be worth trying in very specific situations where loopers are stink bugs are at damaging levels in the late R6 stages.

Speaking of stink bugs, we have started getting reports of redbanded stink bugs (RBSB) infesting fields in central and south Alabama this week. RBSB is much more damaging and more difficult to control than our traditional stink bug complex. Threshold is 4 RBSB per 25 sweeps or 2 per 5 row feet (1 drop cloth sample with both rows). Treatment for RBSB can be terminated at R7 unless there are adverse environmental conditions that would promote poor seed quality. When the population is primarily made up of immature RBSB, tank-mixtures are often required. Bifenthrin + acephate is the standard for RBSB control, but Bifenthrin + imidacloprid is also an option that is more economical if populations are right at threshold. Vertento is another good option, although it carries a higher price tag.

Adult (left), freshly hatched (middle) and late instar immature (right) redbanded stink bugs.

Cotton update

Overall, the cotton situation has been light. We have received a few reports of stink bugs and plant bugs requiring attention, but pressure has been seemingly low. We also currently feel good about the cotton jassid situation. To date, cotton jassids have been hard to detect in fields in southeast Alabama. We currently have confirmed the pest in cotton in Autauga, Lee and Elmore counties in central Alabama and in Henry, Houston, Dale and Geneva counties in southeast Alabama. We have also scouted fields in Coffee, Pike, Barbour and Russell counties but no jassids were observed. While the distribution of jassids is a little more in Alabama than this time last year, the size of the populations seem to be lower. The first field treated in Georgia was also much later this year than last. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as needed. The biggest thing to consider for now in cotton in southeast Alabama is that pyrethroids (bifenthrin and others) do not control cotton jassids and in some cases can make flare them. I would be very hesitant to spray pyrethroids for stink bugs in the wiregrass due to this.

To see an up-to-date map on cotton jassid detections across the Cotton Belt, you can check out the Stop two-Spot Cotton Leafhopper (Stop2SCL) website here (https://stop2scl.org/cotton/)

As always, if we can ever be of any help, or if you would like to provide input on the situation in your area, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your local Extension Agent or myself (Scott Graham: 662-809-3368) and Ron Smith (334-332-9501). For more information on thresholds and insecticide recommendations, visit the Alabama Cotton IPM Guide (IPM-0415). To stay up-to-date on the Alabama cotton insect situation, subscribe to the Alabama Cotton Shorts Newsletter, Alabama Crops Report Newsletter and Podcast, and the Syngenta Pest Patrol Hotline.