The key to controlling pests in your cotton crop effectively, is detecting them early and introducing beneficials at the right moment.

• Aphids. Cotton/Melon Aphid is the most common aphid pest in cotton crops and transmits the Cotton Bunchy Top Virus. Green Peach Aphid is less common, but causes significantly more damage when present at high levels. Affected plants are stunted with downward cupping of leaves. Leaves turn red and sooty mould develops on leaves and fruit.
• Heliothis caterpillars cause chewing damage to all stages of the crop.
• Solenopsis Mealybug deform leaves and growing tips, reduce plant vigour, and cause eventual plant death. Honeydew and the resulting sooty mould make the final cotton product unusable.
• Two-Spotted Mite is the primary spider mite pest in cotton. Damage to foliage appears as brown to red spots. At high levels, mites don't cause webbing as in other crops but will cause the plant leaves to turn completely red and fall off.
• Thrips. Onion Thrip, Tomato Thrip and the Western Flower Thrip cause intermittent problems in cotton crops. Affected seedlings have leaf silvering and damage to the growth tips. Later in the season, thrips may cause significant damage to the foliage but by then, control is usually not warranted.
• Silverleaf Whitefly is a major pest of cotton in Australia. They secrete honeydew when feeding on the leaves, which leads to sooty mould developing on the affected leaves and fruit.