Cotton Farmers Prepare for Return of Leafhoppers in 2026
Cotton entomologists will spend this winter trying to figure out how the cotton leafhopper survives and are wondering when this new invasive pest will reappear in farmers' fields.
The leafhopper, also known as the two-spotted cotton leafhopper, was found last summer in the Southeast and throughout the Cotton Belt as far west as South Texas, causing significant damage for some farmers in the Southeast.
“There’s a lot we don’t know,” said University of Georgia Extension entomologist Phillip Roberts.
“We had some damage, but farmers did a good job of mitigating the damage,” Roberts said. “We had some yield loss, but we were still picking good cotton into mid-November. If it comes back at the same time in ’26, we can manage it.”
The leafhopper was detected in the Mid-South in mid-September, and by mid-November, it had spread to seven cotton-growing counties.
“We probably have more than that now (mid-November),” said Mississippi State entomologist Whitney Crow, who is based in Starkville. “We still have a lot of unknowns, including how the leafhopper will handle the cold weather compared to other insects.”
“We found the leafhoppers in late August and early September,” said Texas A&M AgriLife entomologist Tyler Mays, who is based in Hillsboro. “It came in on hibiscus plants from a big box store. We worked with the Texas Department of Agriculture and USDA APHIS to get the host plants removed in a timely manner.”
“I feel a little better about it,” he added. “But we still have a lot of questions. We started from zero this year; we had some cotton loss but not a complete wipeout.”
Timing was a factor.
“It came in ’25 in the middle or end of the season, when we’re typically spraying for stink bugs,” he said. “Controlling the leafhoppers is a little more expensive with an extra product, but it doesn’t require an extra trip. An extra trip adds a lot to the cost. If it comes at the same time in ’26, we can manage it.”
The cold weather helped.
One reason Roberts felt a little better, although he acknowledges the ups and downs, is that South Georgia experienced a hard freeze before Thanksgiving, with temperatures dropping to 27 degrees, which was quite cold for that time of year.
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