The procedures followed by a scout.
Scouting: Knowing pest insect population levels at any given time in the growing season is the key to achieving the dual goals of avoiding excessive yield loss to insects and avoiding excessive control costs. Having accurate estimates of pest insect populations allows growers to make informed insect management decisions. Cotton insect scouting methods vary considerably depending on stage of crop development. Cotton insect management is both information intensive and time sensitive. Because of the high egg laying capacity and rapid development rate of most insects, fields must be scouted every 3 to 4 days. Because of the low treatment thresholds for many cotton pests, sampling procedures are quite time consuming.
Because of the time involved in making these insect counts, most Cotton producers contract the services of a professional crop consultant, usually for a per acre scouting fee, to monitor insect populations and make treatment recommendations. Most consultants employ several summer scouts to help make insect counts. From a grower's perspective, this use of summer scouts is highly desirable as it allows for more intensive, more efficient scouting. More importantly, it is desirable to have more than one individual making counts in a given field, because a single individual, no matter how experienced, may occasionally overlook a developing pest problem.
Insect Scouting in Bt Transgenic Cotton
Multi-State Evaluation of Bug Sampling Methods in Blooming Cotton
