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Good plant moisture status is critical in the first 20 days after flowering to allow potential fibre elongation rates.
Green mirids Creontiades dilutus are the most important sap sucking pest of cotton, and are also pests on several other crop species. The importance of green mirids as cotton pests has increased in recent years as the toxins in Bt cotton have no effect on sap sucking bugs. Understanding the dispersal ecology of a pest species is vital to the development of effective management strategies. There is currently some debate regarding the source of green mirids that invade agricultural systems, specifically whether they are derived locally or via long distance migration. There is also evidence that cryptic species may be present in the taxon. This is important from an applied point of view as well as in understanding processes that may be involved in the speciation of herbivorous insects. Molecular techniques including microsatellites and sequence data are being used to tackle these problems.
