42 Growing 5ea Island Cotton Under Florida Conditions 



age until bolls begin to form. Soon after bolls appear, how- 

 ever, egg-heavy females will be seen crawling about the 

 ground seeking suitable places for egg deposition. The eggs 

 are deposited in masses of 50 to 100 on the ground, usually 

 under the plants, and are covered with a little trash or sand. 

 In about a week the small nymphs emerge, and a few days 

 later begin crawling up the plants. During the first few 

 days, the small bright red nymphs tend to feed on tender 

 basal sprouts if these are available, but soon they will be 

 seen crawling about all parts of the plants, feeding on the 

 squares, blossoms, and tender bolls, as well as the vegetative 

 parts of the plants. 



During the summer, the nymphal stage lasts from 30 to 

 40 days. An entire generation, therefore, requires approxi- 

 mately 40 days for completion under summer weather con- 

 ditions. Cool weather will considerably lengthen this period. 



Control 



In the parts of the Sea Island Belt where stainers appear 

 in damaging numbers, active control measures are advisable. 

 In many instances cultural methods of control will suffice, 

 but in others cultural practices will have to be supplemented 

 with more positive control measures. Fortunately, most of 

 the cultural methods of stainer control will be found bene- 

 ficial in the control of the boll weevil and most other cotton 

 insects. 



Type of Soil to Plant 



In stainer-infested areas only those soils should be planted 

 extensively to Sea Island cotton that have been found to set 

 and mature a reasonably early crop. Heavy, damp acid 

 soils (pH 5.5 or less) so far have been found unsatisfactory 

 for Sea Island cotton. In an exceptionally dry year such 

 soils, if not too acid, might produce a good yield, but in gen- 

 eral Sea Island cotton planted on heavy acid soil produces 

 too much weed and the bolls remain soft too long. Not only 

 the stainer, but numerous other pests, damage the bolls on 

 rank succulent cotton much more severely than where the 

 bolls harden in a short while after they reach full size. Aim- 

 ing for early maturity of the bolls is the first and probably 

 most important consideration in planning a control program 

 for almost any of the many insect enemies of cotton, to say 

 nothing of boll rots which often cause more damage than 

 insects on rank, slow maturing cotton. 



