Reduction in Insecticide Use Associated with Cotton Resistant to Pink Bollworm

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) growers use significant quantities of insecticides to control pink bollworm (PBW), Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders). The germplasm line WC-12NL (nectariless, okra leaf, and early maturing) and «Deltapine 61» (nectaried, normal leaf, and later maturing) were grown at Maricopa, AZ, and Brawley, CA, for three seasons. Irrigation water was terminated and plots were defoliated earlier than normal, a practice that favored the early-maturing line. Insecticides were applied as needed, based on PBW egg infestations of cotton bolls. The major objective was to determine whether insecticide use can be reduced or eliminated by growing WC-12NL