Weevil-free cotton is more profitable because of the reduction in pesticide and control costs, and that's good for everyone. In the areas where growers have worked with their program personnel and eradicated the boll weevil, the use of pesticides is down by as much as 90 percent, and cotton acreage has increased more than 500 percent. The boll weevil eradication program record speaks for itself. Georgia is now second only to Texas in the amount of cotton produced. This increase is even more dramatic considering that nationwide yields dropped about 20 percent in 1995 as a result of generally poor growing conditions.
Growers can actually practice biologically based integrated pest management.