By Clint Thompson
The University of Georgia (UGA) Cotton and Peanut Research Field Day provided UGA Extension cotton entomologist Phillip Roberts another chance to update attendees about the cotton jassid.
The jassid had a significant impact on Georgia cotton in 2025, but its impact has been minimal so far this year. That could be changing, however, says Roberts.
“The main thing about jassid is we are seeing numbers pick up in the last couple weeks, but we’re in much better shape this year than we were a year ago, and that’s good,” Roberts said. “We are actively treating in some areas, and it’s somewhat scattered, but southeast Georgia, again, seems to be the hot area.
“We just want to encourage people to keep scouting for jassid. Just a reminder, our threshold is one per leaf. Look at the fourth leaf below the terminal. If you average one jassid adult or one jassid nymph, we need to treat in a timely manner.”
Insect’s Impact
The jassid feeds on the lower surface of cotton leaves, extracting the contents of cells. Symptoms include yellowing, reddening and then bronzing of leaves. The insect is also extremely small. It is likely that plant damage will be observed before the insects themselves.
“One of the things moving forward I anticipate we’re going to see, as we start defoliating some cotton, we’re going to see these jassids move out of that older cotton and they’re going to concentrate on some of our later planted cotton,” Roberts said. “We’re seeing that on the station here in Tifton, and I expect to see that across the state. We need to really keep looking and be prepared. You cannot miss a spray on this insect.”