

THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



SEPTKMBiiK 21, 191S. 



IMSECT NOTES. 



.SPREAD OF TBE MEXICAN COTTON BOLL 

 WEEVIL IN THE UNITED STATES. 



The Mexican boll weevil a;- a posi ot cotloD has benn 

 the subject of notes in previous numbers of the . i^^riailhiral 

 .Xezcs. The most recent of these appeared in the issue for 

 January i'l, 1917 {\o\. XVI, p. -JS), giving a short account 

 of the spread of this insect during the year 1916. 



A circular entitled, "The Spread of the Cotion Boll Weevil 

 in 1917', by W. D. Hnnter and W. 1'. Pierce, issued by the 

 United State> l)epnrtiMent of Agriculture, has now been 

 received, which gives an account of the^ains and losses in 

 territory by the pest in the year 1917, summarizes the 

 present situation, and review.s the spread of the boll weevil 

 during past years. 



It appears that early frosts often kill out the boll weevil, 

 tspecially in newly iuvadfd territory, so that the gains in one 

 year are offset by losses in the previous winter. Thus in 

 1917, the total gains in area infested was 12.800 .<c|uare miles, 

 And the loss -"i.-jOO, leavini; a net gain of 7.30O square miles. 



The total area in the United States infested by the 

 boll weevil at the end of 1917 was 486,240 sijuare miles, and 

 there was an area of only 121,.'>00 square miles in the cotton 

 belt still to be infested. These figures do not take into 

 account the presence of a form of the boll weevil infesting 

 a wild cotton, T/iin'icriii tha^edioidts. in the mountains of 

 Arizona. 



The points of great interest to i:otton growers in the 

 West Indies are, that for a peiiod of twenty five years the 

 Mexican boll weevil has spread steadily through the cotton 

 belt of the Southern States at an average rate of more than 

 15,000 square miles each year, that the Sea Island cotton 

 ■ districts of Georgia and Florida were invaded, and that the 

 pest had reached South Carolina and threatened the Sea 

 Island cotton district of that State at the end of 1917. 



Half of Georgia was infested, and the whole of the 

 •lotton growing .^rea of Florida )iiay be considered to be per- 

 manently infested. The extension of tlie weevil in Florida is 

 beyond the limits of cotton growing in previous years. The 

 extension of cotton growing in Florida was due to the effort 

 to lind uninfested territory, but the weevil followed closely 

 upon this extension. 



The history of the boll weevil in those States growing 

 jSea Inland cotton is »hown by the following table: — 



, State. >'ear first Area infested Area infested 



infested. in 1916. in 1917. 



-Georgia 191.") 44,400 14,500 



Florida 19 1 1; lOfim 26,000 



South iJarolina 1917 — -500 



It, will be seen from this table that in I'loridi during 

 the tive ymis from its infestation to the end of the year 

 1916, 20,.'i00 sijuare miles of territory had been occupied by 

 the pest, and that :in additional *reJi of -"i 7i(') square miles 

 was invaded during 1917. In Geor(tia. 44,400 square miles 

 were infest'-d in the tirst year of the pests invasion into that 

 State, the additional 100 square miles recorded in 1917 being 

 the diffciemce between a gain of 1,900 tq":ip' miles, and 

 a lo»s of Iji^OO square miles in that year. 



The bi-aring of this information on the .Se.i Island cotton 

 jndii.stry in the West Indies is fiirly obvioiis. The output of 

 .Sea Island cotton from Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina 

 is bound to suffei reduction, and it is a qU'-stion whether, in 

 'he face of the high ost of (irf.)dnction, growers of this 



class of cotton will not turn to some more profitable crop to 

 tiike its nlace 



In the event of this happening, the West Indian cotton 

 growers will be in an increasingly strong position; the demand 

 for their product will be greater than formerly, and the price 

 is likely to be higher. It is therefore more than ever incum- 

 bent on 'he West Indian planters and all interested in the 

 welfare of the cotton industry in these islands to protect it by 

 every means. This is now u matter of national importance. 



Every precaution should be exercised to prevent the 

 introduction of insect pests not already known to occur in 

 the West Indies, of which the .Mexican boll weevil and the 

 pink bollworm aie the most important at the present time. 

 Strenuous efforts are netded to control the pests which do 

 occur and are well recognized. Most of these are now capable 

 of being dealt with, either by direct remedia! measure.s, or by 

 cultural measures regulating the time of planting, as in 

 the case of the flower bud maggot in Antigua; the early 

 removal and destruction of the old plants after the crop is otf, 

 and the strict enforcement of a close season, a.s in the case of 

 the leaf-blister mite and cotton .stainers; and the destruction 

 of the wild food-plants, as in the case of the cotton stainers. 



The cotton pests of the West Indies are at the present 

 lime well known, and the methods of controlling them are 

 understood by cotton planters and agricultural officers. For 

 the most part this control consists of the carrying out of reme- 

 dial measuies and the application of agricultural practices 

 which are generally understood and provided for. Additional 

 legislation is needed in certain instances, however, to facilitate 

 matters. 



It must be remembered that the boll weevil has within 

 a period of twenty-five years spread over an area of nearly 

 ■'')00,000 square miles, and in a few years more will occupy 

 the whole of the cotton belt, an area of .something like 

 600,000 S(|uare miles. 



This steady spread has been in the face of the most 

 careful study and strenuous exertion on the part of the 

 officials of the United States Department of Agriculture, the 

 Officers of the State Kxferinient Stations and .\§ricultur.i.l 

 Colleges, and of the planters as well, and no means have 

 been devised or discovered to prevent it. 



The pink bollworm which has made such extraordinary 

 progress in the past, few years is also a pest difficult of 

 control, and probably impossible of pradication|ucder any but 

 the most exceptional conditions in any district where it h-ts 

 become established. 



This insect now occurs, in addition to its .VsiatiL-, 

 Egyptian, and African distribution, in IJrazil and Mexico, an! 

 has even made its appearance in Texas. With regard to the 

 latter locality it cannot be sai<l to be established there, an;i 

 most energetic measures are in force to eradicate it: these 

 iHAV be successful. 



The importation of cotton seed into any of the.se islands 



fr North, South or Central America, or any other 



place in the West Indies should be con.sidered as da.i- 

 geroiis to the cotton industry, 1h cause of these two pest's, 

 and because there are perhaps other pests which are not 

 recognized at the present time .Such importation is pro- 

 hibited in most of the West Indian cotton-growing islands, 

 i'.veryone interested in the welfare of these islands 

 should aid every etl'ort to maintain the .Sea Island cotton 

 industry by helping to enlorce the regulations for com- 

 bating our known cotton pests. The Sea Island cotton 

 industry of the West Indies is now a national asset of vahie 

 even beyond its pecuniary interest to the cultivators. 



HA.M 



