Cotton Growers Celebrate End of Pest in Many States
After 20 years of a federal eradication program and more than 100 years after its introduction to the United States, many southern states are claiming a victory over the boll weevil. The program has virtually eliminated the cotton pest from Virginia, both Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama, and other states are making similar progress. The USDA estimates that yield losses from the pest and practices to control it total $14 billion.
Texas, where the pest has cost millions annually in total losses, has also had a huge success with the program. In mid-March, it was announced that boll weevil populations in seven Texas cotton-growing zones (approximately four million acres) were suppressed, which affords these areas certain protections, such as harvest equipment and seed inspections, to safeguard against the reintroduction of the boll weevil. In 2000 and 2002, two other zones with nearly a million acres received the even higher status of being functionally eradicated of the pest. Texas cotton farmers in four other zones may soon want to participate once they have seen the results.
Malathion has been the insecticide of choice for the program. By coordinating applications, nearly half the amount of material has been used compared to the combined usage of individual farmers. With proper application of about 10 ounces of malathion per acre, the eradication program in most areas has been able to eliminate the boll weevil in three seasons. In the first growing season, all cotton fields are sprayed by ground or air to eliminate as many of the weevils as possible before winter. In subsequent years, spraying is limited to those fields in which boll weevils are reported in monitoring traps. A USDA spokesperson stated that the program is on target for complete eradication of the boll weevil by 2007. (Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, 3/22/04).
