Pyrethroid resistance in Heliothis virescens: current US management programs

The increasing costs of insect control technology and crop production make it imperative that we clearly understand and attempt to manage insecticide resistance. The cost‐effectiveness of the synthetic pyrethroids for controlling Heliothis spp. and recent reports of resistance in major cotton producing regions around the world underscore this situation. Since 1983, a number of government, university and industry‐based programs have been initiated to monitor the spread of pyrethroid resistance in Heliothis spp. and to manage the use of the pyrethroids. In the US, four major efforts were conducted during 1987 and 1988. These were: (1) a Texas state‐wide management program, (2) a tri‐state management program in the mid‐south, (3) an adult monitoring program conducted by university personnel throughout the cotton belt and (4) an inter‐company monitoring program conducted by PEG‐US. These programs will be reviewed along with recommendations for refining future monitoring and management efforts.