COTTON 



123 



ro- 



A cotton boll showing injury by 

 larvae of the boll-weevil. (U.S. Dept. 

 of Agriculture.) 



struct! ve when continuous cropping is followed. The 



tation of crops is the most effective means of control. 

 The cotton boil-weevil 



is by far the most serious 



insect pest. Its range has 



gradually spread until it 



now includes most of the 



Cotton Belt. This insect 



may produce as many as 



five generations in one 



season. The first genera- 

 tion attacks the bolls when 



just forming. 

 The adult boll-weevil 



spends the winter as an 



adult, hiding in parts of the cotton plant or in other plant 



refuse left in the field. Fall plowing, the cleaning of fence 

 rows and adjacent fields, and early plant- 

 ing of quick-maturing varieties of cotton 

 seem to be the best means now employed 

 in controlling this insect. 



The boll- worm, the same insect known 

 in other places as the corn-ear worm, does 

 considerable damage to the cotton crop. 

 It is controlled in the same way as the boll- 

 weevil. 



Harvesting. Picking is done by hand. 

 Beginning late 'in August, picking may 

 extend over a period of three months. After 

 the cotton is picked, it is taken to a gin 

 which removes the seed from the lint. The lint is pressed into 

 large bales which are made secure by straps of baling iron. 



Boll-weevil an 

 adult bisect. (U.S. 

 Dept. of Agricul- 

 ture.) 



