COTTON PEST-MANAGEMENT IN CHINA - I - THE COTTON PESTS

Since 1983, China holds the first position of cotton owing countries a nd accounts for 23-27 % of worldwide production on 16 % of the worldwi de cotton-growing area. The cotton production entered in a critical ph ase with the occurrence of mass outbreaks of Helicoverpa armigera (Hub ner) (Lep., Noctuidae) after 1992. Damage caused by other arthropod ke y pests, namely Aphis gossypii Glov. (Hem., Aphididae), Pectinophora g ossypiella (Saunders) (Lep., Gelechiidae) and Tetranychus spp. (Acari, Tetranychidae), became also serious within the last years in some gro wing areas in China. The changing importance of H. armigera and other key pests throughout the past 70 years is given in this paper, emphasi zing the characteristics and the responsible factors of the mass outbr eaks of H. armigera. The pest status of 35 other phytophageous arthrop ods and their importance in the different cotton-growing areas in Chin a are also reported.