8 CIRCULAR NO. 130, BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 



This facilitates late cultivation and increases the chances of drying 

 out the fallen buds, or " squares," and thus killing the weevil larvae 

 that the squares contain. 



RELATION OF LOUISIANA CONDITIONS TO BOLL-WEEVIL INJURY. 



Conditions that induce excessive growth and late fruiting of the 

 cotton represent a maximum of exposure to weevil injuiy. The 

 early flower buds enable the weevils to begin breeding, and the large 

 bushy plants protect the larvae in the fallen squares from the heat 

 and dryness that might otherwise destroy many of them. By the 

 time that the large plants have reached the stage of heavy fruiting 

 the weevils are likely to have become so numerous that all of the 

 buds are destroyed and no more bolls can be set. 



That the boll weevil would be likely to drive the old late-maturing 

 varieties of long-staple cotton out of cultivation was foreseen before 

 Louisiana was invaded, and it was on this account that the develop- 

 ment of earlier long-staple varieties was undertaken by the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture about a decade ago. This interval of time has 

 proved sufficient for the development of improved types of long- 

 staple cotton and improved methods of long-staple production. 



Another reason why the weevil danger appears more serious in 

 Louisiana is because much of the country is wooded and thus affords 

 unusual facilities for the hibernation of the insects, especially in 

 timber overhung with Spanish moss. The prolonged periods of 

 drought that often decimate and sometimes almost exterminate the 

 weevil population over wide regions in Texas are less likely to give 

 respites from weevil danger in Louisiana.^ 



The conclusion to be drawn from these facts is not that cotton 

 culture has become impossible in Louisiana, for good crops are often 

 raised in the presence of the boll weevil, but that all the precautions 

 for avoiding w^eevil injury will need to be observed even more care- 

 fully and efficiently in Louisiana than in other parts of the cotton belt. 



MEASURES OF PROTECTION AGAINST THE BOLL WEEVIL. 



Many ways of avoiding boll-weevil injury have been suggested, 

 but to secure a maximum of protection several different measures 

 need to be combined. Communities should unite upon the same 

 variety of cotton, plant it at the same time in the spring, use im- 

 proved cultural methods to shorten the crop season, and clear the 

 fields early in order to deprive the weevils of food and breeding 

 places in the late fall and early spring months. 



In comuumities that could agree to begin the planting of their 

 cotton on the same date very early planting would not be necessary, 



1 Cook, O. F. Relation of drous^ht to woovi! resistance in cotton. U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture, lUireau of I'lant Industry, Bulletin 220, 30 p., I'Jll. 

 [Cir. 130] 



