Integration of the Heliothis Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus into a Biological Control Program on Cotton1

Abstract

A biological control program for Heliothis species on cotton consisting of the naturally occurring predator-parasite complex and the nuclear polyhedrosis virus was integrated into a cotton-insect-biological-control program. Heliothis control with biological agents was compared with a toxaphene-DDT-methyl parathion control program using 25–30 acre plots. The virus was applied at 1.2×10¹¹(20 I.U), 30×10¹¹(50 I.U), and 6.0×10¹¹(100 I.U) polyhedral inclusion bodics (PIBs) per acre. The initiation of virus applications was varied to evaluate the effectiveness of the virus against various ages of larvae, The Heliothis biological control program compared favorably with the insecticide program when virus application was initiated to coincide with hatch of high egg populations.