How to Prosper in Boll Weevil TerritoryAlford, George Howard
Science
How to Prosper in Boll Weevil Territory
Alford, George Howard
Boll weevil; Cotton growing
=Destroy All Punctured Squares:= The weevils that survive the winter are
all in the adult stage. They breed only in the squares and bolls and
therefore cannot multiply until squares form. The most conspicuous
indication of the presence of the boll weevil is the flaring of the
square. When the weevil punctures a square, it turns yellow and the bracts
flare open. The punctured squares usually fall to the ground in a few
days.
The over-wintered weevils live only a few weeks after coming out of winter
quarters in the spring, as they die shortly after breeding in the squares
and bolls. Therefore, if the young cotton plants are thoroughly picked two
or three times just before the squares begin to form, and every punctured
square is destroyed for at least one month after the first squares form,
practically all of the over-wintered weevils will be dead and hence there
will be few young weevils later on. If it were possible to destroy every
punctured square and boll, and thereby prevent the appearance of new
broods, the weevil pest could be exterminated in one year. At any rate,
the results that can be accomplished behoove every farmer to work
carefully and painstakingly to destroy all the punctured squares possible
before the new broods of weevils are hatched.
During the growing season, many weevils can be destroyed by co-operating
with the natural agencies that tend to reduce their number. For instance,
the weevils in the punctured squares that fall on the hot ground in July
and August and are not shaded, are usually killed at once by the heat or
will starve for lack of food, because of the hardening of the square. By
using a brush on the cultivators to agitate the plants when cultivating
the crop, many punctured squares will be knocked off onto the hot ground
sooner than they would naturally fall off. At the same time, some of the
adult weevils will also be shaken off onto the hot ground. When an adult
weevil is thrown on a surface of finely pulverized, hot soil, it is killed
almost instantly.
=Attempts to Destroy Weevils with Poison:= In territory newly infested
with the boll weevil, attempts continue to be made to destroy the weevils
by poisoning. Of course the farmers soon learn better, but the experience
is very expensive. If advocates of poison would only remember that after
the squares begin to form on the cotton, the boll weevils feed only by
inserting their beaks deeply into the squares or bolls, they would realize
that it is impossible to place poison where the weevils will feed upon it.
In all the experiments performed in the field by the United States Bureau
of Entomology, very heavy applications throughout the season have failed
to show any advantage in the use of poison. Therefore, do not waste any
money on poisons.
=Not Attracted by Light:= The weevil seldom moves at night. It is inactive
after sundown. The weevil is never attracted to lights and hence the use
of a trap lantern has no effect on them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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