United States Department of Agriculture Sticky Cotton: Causes, Agricultural Research Effects, and Prevention Service Technical Bulletin Number 1915 June 2007 United States Department of Agriculture Sticky Cotton: Causes, Agricultural Research Effects, and Prevention Service Technical E. Hequet, T.J. Henneberry, and R.L. Nichols Bulletin Number 1915 June 2007 Hequet is Associate Director, International Textile Center, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX. Henneberry was Laboratory Director and Research Leader, Western Cotton Research Laboratory, USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Phoenix, AZ; he is currently Director, U.S. Arid Land Research Center, USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Maricopa, AZ. Nichols is Director, Agricultural Research, Cotton Incorporated, Cary, NC. Abstract Mention of trade names, commercial products, or companies in this publication is solely for the Hequet, E., T.J. Henneberry, and R.L. Nichols, eds. purpose of providing specific information and does 2007. Sticky Cotton: Causes, Effects, and Prevention. not imply recommendation or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research U.S. Department of Agriculture over others not Service. Technical Bulletin 1915. recommended. Adherence of contaminants and lint to cotton This publication reports research involving pesticides. It processing equipment is called “stickiness,” and the does not contain recommendations for their use nor does contaminated lint is “sticky cotton.” Sticky cotton is a it imply that uses discussed here have been registered. worldwide problem, increasing as cotton processing All uses of pesticides must be registered by appropriate machinery is refined because high-speed, large-volume State or Federal agencies or both before they can be processing of lint requires cleaner cotton. Honeydew, recommended. the sugar-containing excretions of certain insects, mainly whiteflies and aphids, are the most frequent While supplies last, single copies of this publication can cause of sticky cotton. These papers discuss the effects be obtained at no cost from Arid Land Agricultural of sticky cotton on the industry, identify sources of Research Center, USDA-ARS, 21881 North Cardon contaminants, and describe the major insect pests and Lane, Maricopa, AZ 85239, or by e-mail at their biology, population development, and interactions [email protected]. with the cotton plant. Preventing plant stress and reducing insect population development are important Copies of this publication may be purchased in various control tactics. Other approaches include planting formats (microfiche, photocopy, CD, print on demand) smooth-leaf varieties, limiting cotton production to from the National Technical Information Service, 5285 a single fruiting cycle, timely harvesting, and timely Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161, (800) 553- destruction of all crops that are hosts for honeydew- 6847, www.ntis.gov. producing insects. Selective insecticides can supress honeydew-producing insects, but insecticide resistance is a continuing threat. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and Keywords: Aphis gossypii, bandedwinged whitefly, activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, Bemisia tabaci, boll development, cotton, cotton age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital aphid, cotton boll, cotton history, cotton lint, cotton status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual quality, fiber processing, ginning, H2SD, honeydew, orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, insecticide resistance, minicard, physiological sugars, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s research, sampling, sticky cotton, sweetpotato whitefly, income is derived from any public assistance thermodetector, Trialeurodes. program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require ARS Mission alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) The Agricultural Research Service conducts research to should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) develop and transfer solutions to agricultural problems 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of high national priority and provides information of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office access and dissemination to: of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, or call (800) 795- • ensure high-quality, safe food and other agricultural 3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an products, equal opportunity provider and employer. • assess the nutritional needs of Americans, • sustain a competitive agricultural economy, • enhance the natural resource base and the environment, and provide economic opportunities for rural citizens, communities, and society as a whole. June 2007 Preface area, even when only certain producers within the area are the source of the contamination. Economic losses E.F. Hequet, T.J. Henneberry, and R.L. Nichols caused by sticky cotton are also incurred at the mill because of increased running time to produce the same Cotton (Gossypium spp.) lint stickiness is the number quantity of yarn, increased maintenance of processing one worldwide cotton quality problem. It was recorded machinery, and, in severe instances, mill downtime as early as 1942 (Husain and Trehan 1942) and because certain lots of cotton could not be run at all. accorded recognition as one of the most serious quality Refusal of spinning mills to process sticky cotton has problems in the cotton industry beginning in the early inflicted price differentials of more than 10 percent in 1970s, when Perkins (1971) and Khalifa and Gameel certain areas. (1982) suggested that stickiness was a limiting factor in cotton production in some cotton-growing countries. Thus the problem affects both the producing and The problem received additional attention when manufacturing segments of the industry, and frequently the International Textile Manufacturers Federation compromises the reputation of cotton merchants. Much established a special Honeydew Working Group of the cotton produced in the Western United States is charged with the objectives of finding appropriate exported, and loss of export markets is a serious threat tests to identify plant and insect sugars in cotton lint, to the U.S. economy. evaluate test reliability in determining lint stickiness, and finally to collect and assess available information Concern for domestic economic losses and potential on cotton stickiness. The excellent review of Hector loss of foreign export trade has stimulated research and Hodkinson (1989) served as a base of information resulting in identification of the major sugars found in on the subject. These authors also identified a number honeydews. The development of technologies to assess of large gaps in the available information base and cotton lint stickiness, the determination of relationships particularly identified the lack of field experimentation between sweetpotato whitefly population density and to determine the causes and main factors affecting the cotton stickiness, and research on the biology and extent of management of the stickiness problem. management of sweetpotato whiteflies and cotton aphids is still ongoing. During the last 10 to 15 years, In most cases, cotton lint stickiness is associated with intensive effort has been expended by the scientific lint contamination from insect honeydew produced community and the cotton industry to address some by whiteflies and aphids. Populations of sweetpotato of the issues associated with the cotton stickiness whiteflies, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) Biotype B (= problem. Many organizations have contributed to our Bemisia argentifolii Bellows and Perring), increased to current knowledge. epidemic proportions in cotton in California, Arizona, and Texas beginning in 1986. The cotton stickiness Most of the work has been accomplished by USDA- problem became apparent in Arizona in 1991 with ARS, University of California, University of Arizona, associated discounts of up to about 20 cents per pound Texas A&M University, the International Textile (454 grams) on cotton lint. Stickiness problems caused Center at Texas Tech University, and certain industry by cotton aphids, Aphis gossypii Glover, also have cooperators. Much of this research has been achieved occurred recently in West Texas, notably in 1995. in cooperation with Cotton Incorporated and the Sticky Aphids are a chronic management problem in the Mid Cotton Action Team, an ad-hoc industry working South, Texas, and California and have been associated group sponsored by Cotton Incorporated. Invaluable with reports of stickiness in cotton lint originating in assistance was also obtained from co-operative efforts the arid regions of Texas and the San Joaquin Valley of and information exchange with Centre de Coopération California. Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), the French government’s Sweetpotato whitefly and cotton aphid control costs and sponsored institute for agronomic research, and decreased gin efficiency are absorbed at the field level. with Israeli entomologists through the Binational Although difficult to estimate, lint price reductions Agricultural Research and Development agreement are imposed on certain areas because they have been and Pakistani entomologists through U.S. Agency for sources of sticky cotton. Thus the problem of stickiness International Development programs. tends to