THE BOLL WEEVIL — LOFTIN 281 



the main stem and vegetative branches. Fruiting of wild cotton nor- 

 mally continues during the rainy season and throughout the growing 

 season on cultivated cotton so that bolls are present in various stages 

 of development from those newly formed to those reaching maturity 

 in 45 to 60 days. Cotton is also very prolific in fruiting and normally 

 produces about three times as many squares as the plant can support. 

 If adverse conditions, such as boll-weevil damage, cause excessive 

 shedding and prevent the setting of a normal crop of bolls, plants 

 persist in their efforts to produce the seed-bearing bolls until killed by 

 frost and thus provide food for the boll weevil over a longer period. 

 Prior to the advent of the boll weevil there was sufficient time in the 

 southern part of the belt to permit the cotton plant to grow large in 

 size and mature bolls on the later branches. It soon became evident 

 that late bolls were totally ruined, and producing a crop became a race 

 against the boll weevil. The better varieties of medium- and long- 

 staple cotton grown at the time of the weevil invasion were large, 

 vigorous-growing productive plants but late in maturity, and these 

 were rapidly replaced by the short-staple varieties of inferior quality 

 grown in the shorter seasons in the northern part of the belt that 

 offered the one advantage of early maturity. Many of the famous old 

 varieties passed out of existence and many of the so-called varieties 

 that were brought in were sold under a multitude of names and added 

 to the confusion. 



The 131 cotton varieties listed as grown in the United States in 1896 

 (U. S. Dep. Agr., Office of Exp. Stat. Bull. 33) increased to 608 so- 

 called varieties in 1910 (U. S. Dep. Agr., Bur. Plant Ind. Bull. 163) 

 and in addition some 35 other varieties had come and gone in the 14 

 years. According to C. B. Doyle, of the Bureau of Plant Industry, 

 Soils, and Agricultural Engineering (unpublished manuscript), only 

 10 of the 608 varieties listed in 1910 were extensively cultivated in 

 1942, and many of the 700 newer varieties appearing since 1910 are 

 no longer being grown. 



A desirable variety of cotton for growing under boll-weevil condi- 

 tions should be early maturing, of determinate growth that sets and 

 matures its crop quickly with little or no late fruiting, productive, 

 and with high-quality, uniform lint. Combining these characteristics 

 is difficult, but geneticists have aided in evading weevil damage by 

 developing varieties that set a full crop and mature the bolls in a much 

 shorter period than those formerly grown. A fairly large number of 

 varieties will always be needed to produce the various types of lint 

 required for the numerous needs which cotton fulfills and that are 

 adapted to the diversified climatic and soil conditions of the 19 cotton- 

 producing States. Varieties are becoming better and fewer in num- 

 ber, and in 1942 over 6 million acres, or about one-third of the total 

 acreage, was planted to 64 varieties in one-variety communities. 



