Microscopic Wasp Knocks Out Boll Worms in Cotton Fields
Entomologists agree natural predators out perform insecticides..  By parasitizing moth eggs before a boll worm can emerge to damage or destroy cotton Trichogramma Wasp can help cotton growers obtain a much higher yield. USDA and University researchers have demonstrated in numerous tests the effectiveness of Trichogramma in controlling over 600 species of egg laying moths. North and South Carolina cotton
farmers have a golden opportunity to reduce bollworm damage and increase their yields by releases of an abundance of programmed pharate adult Trichogramma at predetermined times based on research data from Clemson and North Carolina State University entomologists.
This release program works, for it prevents worms from developing
. Early season insect control may be obtained with up to three cemmical sprays, depending upon early season pest pressure. After this, protection of the crop is turned over to the native beficial insects and to very large numbers of Trichogramma that are released every three to four days. Researchers on moth arrival dates have pinpointed the time to start releasing Trichogramma to provide protection against boll worms. When the
first flights start, a cotton producer should already have 50,000 Trichogramma per acre. When the second flight starts in July, sustained releases begin and 50,000 trichogramma are released every three to four days throughout the egg laying season. In South Carolina, ten releases should control boll worms. Field examinations will determine if
additional releases are necessary to obtain the highest possible yields. Where Trichogramma have been released on a sustained basis in correct numbers, they have, in every study, provided the best results in killing power, highest yields, and less cost than any other program, including pesticides. Dr. Dan Gonzales, University of California, Riverside divided an 80 acre field into five sections and compared Trichogramma, Lacewings, Wheast, a control and pesticides combination of Fundal/Methyl Parathion. After two years he stated, “Trichogramma was definitely established as being an effective and feasible control measure when used as a part of an
augmentation program. This was clearly established both in terms of killing power and in terms of economics. There were fewer boll worm eggs and surviving larvae in Trichogramma plots; and those plots also had higher yields than those treated with insecticides. | 
Hi folks...
Cecil Martinez, strawberry producer uses
combinations of Big-Eyed Bugs, Lacewings and Predatory Mites to control his strawberry pests just fine! Cecil believes in stewardship of resources in the field just as he believes in stewardship of the human spirit. He recently returned to Oxnard, California from Moldavia where he is involved in work teaching people to grow food for themselves, and he is also helping provide orphan children with their basic needs. Thank you ,Cecil, for your caring work! 
Chris Rawl, 
