LA FERIA – Agricultural experts said a small white insect could cause major problems to this year's Rio Grande Valley cotton crops.

As a farmer in La Feria for four decades, Steve Wolf said he knows about the ups and downs of farming in the Valley. 

He said this year is not one of the best for the cotton he is growing.

"I wouldn't call it a tremendous cotton year like it's been in the past, but it's going to be ok," he said.

Wolf explained he begins defoliating his cotton crops this week. Defoliating is when a cotton grower applies chemicals to encourage cotton leaves to drop from the crop in order to harvest the cotton later in the season.

But Wolf said he has to do this while he's seen white flies on parts of his land. He said the insect can have devastating effects.

"The White Fly has been around for about 15 to 20 years now. I'm not certain where they came from, but they cause a lot of problems and they're kind of expensive to get under control," he said.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS went to the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension for details. The agency’s spokesperson, Juan Anciso, said the White Fly is a juice sucking insect that feeds on plants.

He said the pest has damaged Valley fruit and vegetable crops this season.  

"We're in the cotton season. That's the primary crop that this white fly would go to. It’s there in the cotton. As the cotton season progresses with time close to harvest and defoliation, the white fly numbers will increase," he said. 

Anciso said he anticipates the flies causing even more damage before the year is through. He recommends gardeners and farmers to use pesticides, even detergent, to protect their crops from the pest.