46 



in producing increasingly prolitalilc crops of cotton in 

 spite of the J)oll weevil. Alabama Press Bulletin No. 

 77 deals with this question of insecticides. 



Pick Cotton Promptly. — It should need no argument 

 to prove that cotton should he j)ickcd out promptly 

 after it opens. There is nothing to gain and much to 

 lose by allowing it to hang and weather and beat -out 

 onto the ground even where there arc no weevils. But 

 where weevils occur, prompt harvesting cannot be too 

 strongly urged. This is to clear the way for the early 

 destruction of all green cotton. We cannot even afford 

 to wait for the last few bolls or "scrappings," as this 

 waiting delays the work of destroying stalks and the 

 resultant increased injury to the next crop of cotton 

 from the larger number of weevils that will survive 

 is likely to amount to many times the value oi the 

 "scrappings" saved in the fall. 



Select Seed For Weevil Resistance. — One of the most 

 important and best paying steps in making larger 

 yields and earlier maturing crops is the careful selec- 

 tion of seed. You cannot afford to continue to plant 

 "gin-run" seed. You may pay fancy prices for high- 

 grade seed to start with, but after a few years without 

 selection and with careless ginning, it will be badly 

 mixed and give much poorer yields. Use your own 

 brain and keep the money in your pocket instead of 

 paying for the use of some other man's intelligence 

 and industry. Get good seed to start with, then select 

 carefully for next year's planting taking the best and 

 earliest bolls from plants of the most desirable type. 

 Remember that this "type" under boll weevil condi- 

 tions must produce the maximum possible crop of bolls 

 in the shortest possible time after squaring begins, 

 with a foliage that will not shade the ground too heav- 

 ily. Such ])lants will usually he of medium size, with 

 numerous fruiting branches and few, if any, vegata- 

 live branches. Boll;, will l»e set closely together on the 

 b.ranch and will lie "bunched" in closely around the 

 basal and inner two-thirds of the mature plant. These 

 bolls may have thick hulls but in any case should be- 

 come immune to weevil attack within the shortest 

 possible time after they arc set. Hairy stems are also 

 desiiable as this character hinders the weevils decid- 

 edly in their movements over the plant and therefore 

 delays their working. A desirable type of plant is 

 shown in Plate V. 



