Author
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Coppedge, James |
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Submitted to: Entomology International Congress Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 6/5/1996 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: The ongoing boll weevil eradication program was initiated in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia in 1977; and in Arizona, California, and contiguous cotton producing areas of Northwest Mexico in 1985. The regional boll weevil eradication programs are cooperative federal-state- cotton producer efforts with a large percentage of the funding coming from the cotton producers within the region. The control measures used in thes programs include pheromone trapping to delimit populations, judicious use of chemical treatments and cultural measures such as early stalk destruction and uniform planting. The key elements of these programs are early season treatments of malathion to limit the number of overwintered boll weevils which can colonize cotton, and multiple late season application of malathion to reduce the number of boll weevils available to enter overwintering. Since program inception, the boll weevil has been eradicated in Arizona, Southern California, and Northwest Mexico, as well as in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Eradication is almost completed in Florida, Georgia, and Southern Alabama. In some states (Virginia and North Carolina), the eradication of the boll weevil has resulted in up to a ten-fold increase in cotton acreage, and a 40 to 80 percent reduction in pesticide use. The program currently covers Northern Alabama, Northeast Mississippi, Middle Tennessee, and two areas in Texas. Texas has experienced some secondary pest outbreaks concurrent with the eradication program that are of serious concern to program officials and producers. |
