MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, EGYPT 



Bulletin No. 16. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL SECTION. 



THE PRESENT SITUATION WITH REGARD 

 TO THE CONTROL OF THE PINK BOLL WORM IN EGYPT. 



The measures taken by the Ministry of Agriculture to combat 

 the Pink Boll Worm (Gelechia. gossypiella Saund.), have in the past 

 raised such a storm of criticism from the general public that a 

 statement of what has been done up to date and of the results obtained 

 will not come amiss at the present time when a new law for the control 

 of this pest is under consideration. 



In 1916, owing to the dissatisfaction that had already been 

 expressed with the Ministry's treatment of the pink boll worm question, 

 the most highly qualified entomologist available, namely H. A. 

 Ballou, Imperial Entomologist to the Department of Agriculture of 

 the British West Indies, was asked to come and give his advice on 

 the subject. After studying the problem for fifteen months he 

 submitted a long and careful report in which he showed that he was 

 in general agreement with the previously established policy of the 

 Ministry. His recommendations, with which all the entomologists of 

 the Ministry are in perfect agreement, may be summarized as follows: 



(a) Earliness in ripening the crop and dealing with the old cotton 



plants after the last picking. 



(b) Removing and burning all green or dead bolls left on the plants 



after the last picking. 



(c) Treating all cotton 'seed immediately after ginning either by 



fumigation or by heat. 



In the following pages the carrying out of these three recommenda- 

 tions is briefly discussed, their order being changed for the sake of 

 convenience to (b), (a), (c). 



CLEANING OF COTTON STICKS. 



The removal and destruction of the dead bolls containing hi- 

 bernating boll worms after the crop has been harvested is without 

 doubt the most obvious of all methods of dealing with this pest. So 



