The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1912-04-03

the ove--winter weeviIs that have
emerged feed upon the opening leaves
or bud of the little cotton. Early in
! the morning it is an easy matter to
find the weevils in the buds of the
little cotton. 1t is not at all difficult
to pick them off the buds of the little
cotton and destroy them.
The only reason why we cannot
eradicate the weevil by thoroughly
picking them off the little cotton is
that the majority Of the over-wintered
weevils do not emerge until after the
squares begin to form on the cotton.
AS soon as squares form on the cotton
the weevil gets on the inside of the
bracts and feeds only by inserting it's
/ beak deeply into the squares. After
the squares begin to form on the cot
ton it is hardly practicable to pick the
weeVils off the cotton.
The over-wintered weevils cannot
multiply until squares form on the
! cotton. The weevil passes the winter
in the adult stage and breeds only in
! squares and bolls. The most conspicu-
Gus indication of the presence of the
boil weeVil is the faring Of the
squares. When the weevil punctures
square it turns yellow and the
bracts flare" open. The punctured
square usually falls to the ground In
a few days
The over-wintered weevils live only
few weeks after they emerge from
| yviv,t IN,
little cotton is thoroughly picked two
or three times just few days before
the squares begin to form on the cot
ton and every punctured square de-
! stroyed for at least one month after
the first squares form practically all
Of the over-wintered weevils will be
dead and there will be no young wee
wills. If it were possible to destroy
every punctured square and boil and
/ thereby prevent the appearance of
new broods, the weevils could be ex-
terminated in one year While it is
not possible to destroy every pune
tured square and boil, we can by care
full and painstaking work get practi-
cally all Of the punctured squares
while the cotton is small.
The beneficial results obtained from
picking the punctured squares de-
ponds mainly upon the seasons. When
the punctured squares fall to dry
ground in July and August, and are
subjected to the unobstructed rays of
! the hot sun, practically all of the lar
vac and pupae are killed. Where the
soil is dry and the cotton small prac-
tically all Of the "grubs" in the pune
tured squares are killed during the
hot, fair weather, especially if there
is dust mulch on the ground II the
soil is moist, the rows narrow, the
| cotton rank and shades the ground,
or If it is cloudy practically all of the
grubs in the punctured squares will
come to maturity unless the squares
are picked and destroyed. The more
moisture in the ground, the more rank
ly the cotton grows and the more the
| ground is shaded, the greater the ne
| cessity for gathering and destroying
| the punctured squares. Under any
and all conditions it is certainly ad-
visable to collect all the punctured
squares for at least one month after
| the first squares form on the cotton.
The soil is cool at this season of the
year and the sun is seldom very hot.
1t is not advisable to burn the pune
| tured squares. The punctured squares
+ should be placed in wire cages for the
| reason that many weevil larvae in the
infested squares harbor parasites.
| These parasites prey upon the boil
weevil. There are about % species of
parasites which by means Of their owl
positors place eggs on the larvae and
pupae Of the weevil within the square.
The young of the parasites feeds upon
the immature boil weevil which it
kills. The bureau of entomology re-
| cords one instance in field near Rob-
son, La, where the parasites killed II
per cent. of the weevils. About the
same time 81 per cent. of the weevils
in a field near Victoria, Texas, were
killed by parasites.
The meshes of the wire cage to put
the punctured squares in should be at
least Is to the inch. The parasites
are very small and can easily escape
while the weevils will soon die for
lack of food. A timer will make the
cages at small cost.
The destruction Of myriads Of wee
wills can be accomplished during the
growing season by working in cooper
alton with the natural agencies that
destroy the weeviI. The temperature
at the surface of the ground is gen
orally about 40 per cent. higher thar
at two or three feet above the surface
1t is not surprising that the cottor
squares that fall on the hot ground il
July and August and are not shaded
are parched at once and the immature
weevils destroyed. If the immature
weevils are not killed at once by thu
heat, they will starve for lack Of fooC
because of the hardening Of tn,