Cotton can look “quiet” in early June, but the decisions you make right now decide how well the crop holds onto fruit later. We walk through a boots-on-the-ground Georgia cotton update from the UGA Cotton Team, starting with where planting and squaring stand, then moving straight into the practical pest management choices that protect retention and keep you from creating problems with the sprayer.

We dig into cotton aphids the way scouts actually see them: present in every field, sometimes melting down a plant or a small spot, and often tempting people into a spray that does not pay. The key is understanding how broad-spectrum applications for other pests can wipe out beneficial insects and accidentally flare aphids. We also talk jassids and the identification reality check: immature lookalikes show up on multiple hosts, you need adults to confirm the two black spots on the wings, and hopperburn clues can help you decide when suspicion is justified.

Then we pivot to real-world farm management issues that matter just as much as insects: uneven growth across fields, how planting date and early stress change growth potential, and when PGR applications make sense without overdoing it. We also cover deer damage, permit headaches, and why repellents are complicated, plus how tank mixes and timing research may make those tools more efficient.

We close with breaking news from June 10: jassids are detected on okra in Tifton, and we lay out exactly how we want growers and scouts to look, document, and report through their county agents so we can track movement by county. Subscribe on your favorite podcast app, share this with a scouting crew, and leave a review so more growers can find these updates. What are you seeing in your cotton fields this week?