Is Chemigation Good Enough To Control Stink Bugs In Cotton?

By Clint Thompson

Cotton growers currently control stinkbugs, a key pest, through use of a ground rig or aerial application. At times, farmers struggle to make critical, timely applications. Pesticide application through center pivot irrigation systems, called chemigation, could allow Georgia cotton growers to treat multiple fields while lowering application cost.

Through chemigation, insecticide is combined with water, sent through the pivot and applied to the field, just as water is applied to the field through the irrigation system, says University of Georgia entomologist Michael Toews, who is studying the efficacy of this method.

“I’m interested in anything I can do to help growers, including reducing application costs,” Toews said. “I can give back by promoting ideas that provide good results and save money.”

Toews, a UGA Cooperative Extension scientist, researched this method in the field last year at UGA’s C.M. Stripling Irrigation Research Park in Camilla, Ga., and will continue his studies this year.