TNLA Green Report Podcast, Season 5, Episode 2: Two Spotted Leaf Hopper, Dr. Rafia Khan, Texas A&M University

Regularly monitor your plants for suspicious insect sightings, especially small green leaf hoppers, and report them to local authorities like Texas A&M AgriLife Extension to aid in early detection and rapid response.

Learn to identify the two-spotted cotton leaf hopper by looking for two black spots on its forewings and potentially on its head, as early identification is crucial for effective management.

Implement cultural control practices such as maintaining healthy plants, ensuring balanced fertilization (avoiding excess nitrogen), and practicing good sanitation (weed control) to reduce the pest's appeal and spread.

Consider crop rotation or host management strategies, particularly if you're growing susceptible plants like cotton, okra, or hibiscus, to disrupt the pest's life cycle and reduce infestation risk.

Use yellow sticky cards for monitoring adult leaf hopper populations in your nursery or landscape, but be aware that they are less effective for nymphs.

Be vigilant about plant movement and adhere to any quarantine measures; inspect incoming nursery stock and avoid moving potentially infested plants to new areas to prevent further spread of this invasive pest.

Understand that this pest can reproduce year-round and has a wide host range, making continuous vigilance and integrated pest management (IPM) strategies essential for long-term control.