The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1911-11-04
DESTRUCTION or
BOIL WEEvILS
Address Made by G. H. Afford, Special
Agent of the Farmers Cooperative
Demonstration Work, at Brookhaven,
Miss, October 9TH.

we musL Teuuce Inc HunocI VA "Sc-
wis to the minimum and grow an early
crol of cotton in the weevil territory.
call your attention to the destrtfe-
ton of weevils.
There are four methods of reducing
| the number of weevils to the minimum.
First, completely denude the cotton
stalks of foliage, the weevils' sole food,
pillow the stalks under good and deep,
or burn the stalks at the earliest pos
sible moment in the fall; second, at
some,s time during the winter, destroy
the rubbish in and about the fields which
might serve as alternating quarters for
weevils; third, when the weevils appear
on the little cotton early in the spring,
pick them off and destroy them; fourth,
pick up the punctured squares and de-
stroy them for at least one month after
the first squares form on the cotton.
The results obtained by the United
States Bureau of Entomology, the Farm
ers' Demonstration Work, the Louisiana
State Crop Pest Commission and thou
sands of successful farmers point to the
supreme Importance of the early fall
destruction of the boil weevil's sole food
supply, the squares, small bolls, and
foliage on the cotton stalks. The con-
clusion reached by thousands of expert
mentors justify me in making the state
ment that the most important step in
producing cotton in boil weevil territory
is the early fall destruction of the foli-
age, squares, and immature punctured
bolIs on the cotton stalks. In fact, l
feel almost justified in saying that the
early fall destruction of the cotton stalks
outbalances all other remedies that may
be employed to destroy the weevils.
In an experiment performed by the
Bureau of Entomology in Calhoun coun-
ty, Texas, the stalks growing on 410
acres of land were destroyed early in
October. Careful records kept during
the following season showed that the
destruction of stalks on this land in
creased the yield sf4.56 per acre. An
experiment was conducted on opposite
sides of the Guadalupe river near Vic
toria, Texas. The stalks were burned
on one farm the latter part of Septem-
Der, and on the other they were allowed
to stand until in the spring before plant
ing time. Forty acres on the farm on
which the stalks were destroyed made
fifteen bales. Forty acres on the other
farm made three and one-half bales.
Experiments conducted by the Louis
lana State Crop Pest Commission are
summed up in the following extracts
from Circular No. IS: Where the cotton
plants were destroyed before October Is,
only per cent of the weevils survived
the winter to infest the present years
crop. Where the stalks were destroyed
from October Is to October 81, an aver
age of about Is per cent of the weevils
passed through the winter successfully.
Where the stalks were destroyed be-
tween November list and 25th, an aver
age of approximately 90 per cent of the
weevils survived the winter. Postponing
fall destruction of cotton stalks until
the middle of December, or later, per-
mitted over 43 per cent of the weevils
to survive the winter and attack the
next crop. Where the stalks were de-
stroyed before October 18th only per
cent of the weevils passed the winter
Where the stalks remained in. the field
until December 18th over 43 per cent of
the weevils survived the winter. These
figures viii certainly silence all opposi-
ton to the early fall destruction of the
boil weevirs food supply.
The farmers in the wecvil infested
districts of South Mississippi have
picked millions of weeviIs off the little
cotton and have picked up tons of pune
tured squares this year. Millions of
weevils appeared on the little cotton be-
fore the squares began to form and the
expense and trouble of picking them was
very considerable item. And let us
not forget that the expense of picking
weevils this year has been compare
lively light, on account of the early
freeze last fall. The effectiveness of
the early freeze last fall was almost
equal to the complete early fall destruc-
ton of cotton stalks. However, one
lesson has, or should have, been thor
oughyl learned, and that is the urgent
need of so reducing the over-wintered
weevils as to reduce the cost and labor
of picking the weevils and squares to
the minimum.
The heat and dryness of the season
for the last few weeks have everywhere
caused the bolls to open SO that the
crop can be picked at an abnormally
early date. If the farmers viii accept
the opportunity that nature has pro-
vided and devote the same enthusiasm
and energy to picking out the crop early
that they have to picking up punctured
squares this year, the cotton stalks can
all be destroyed by October goth. The
farmers are urged to rush picking with
all available labor until the cotton is
all picked and then destroy the food
supply of the weevil at the earliest
date possible.
n a