The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1922-08-10
Boil Weevil Abundance Demands
Early Poisoning.

CoIly VAcoAAh6s
From time to time this department
has disseminated boll-weevil control
information recommended by the
L aited States and State Departments
OF Agriculture.
If it is your intention to attempt
control of the weevil by use of cal
cinm arsenate we wish to bring to
ycur attention the following article
released by the United States De-
psrtment of Agriculture under date
of July 1st, 1922.
''The number of overwintered boil
weevils this year is far greater than
usual, according to records on the
.ersergence of the insect from nearly
all of the cotton states, accumulated
by the Delta Laboratory of the Bu-
feau of Entomology of the United
States Department of Agriculture, at
Tallulah, La. This situation was fore
cast some months ago. In many dis
tricts where accurate counts have been
made, there are now as many weevlls
in the fields as are ordinarily present
q month later, when the first sum-
mer-bred brood has started to appear.
With anything like normal weather
conditions this is going to mean q
tremendously rapid increase in the
weevil damage, and this will have an
important bearing on the program
to be followed by those using cal
cium arsenate for the control of the
weevil.
Ordinarily the department recon-
mends starting poisoning when from
10 to Is per cent. of the cotton
squares have been punctured by the
weevil. As a general rule this con-
,dition does not arise until after the
nevly-bred weevils have started to
emerge from the squares. This year
however, many fields have been found
wheue there are alrady suffcint wee
wills present to destroy practically
all squares as fast as formed. In
other words, such cotton will never
starr blooming unless the weevils are
controlled, and from the very outset
so per cent. or more of the squares
are punctured. 1t is necessary to
poison earlier than ever before.
There is no advantage in poisoning
the cotton before the squares form,
as the weevils are continuing to
emerge from Information during this
period and furthermore they are do
ing the crop no harm. Where heavy
infestation occurs it will be advisa-
BILE to make the first application just
as soon as the cotton starts squaring
freely, or about the time the plants
average from a to squares each.
The regular poisoning schedule should
be started at that time and continued
along the lines of the usual recon-
mendations for controlling this early
infestation of weevils.
Another very important effect OF
this heavy infestation will be felt
later in the season. When the wee
wills first emerge from Information
they move around very little as long
as they can find an ample supply OF
unpunctured squares for their use,
but Just as soon as the infestation
becomes sufficient heavy to puncture
practically all squares these weevils
start to move in search Of fresh
pastures. In an ordinary season this
means that farmer usually has on
-Iy the weevils bred in his own cot
ton to contend with until sometime
from the latter part Of July to the
end OF August, depending on the To-
.cality. Migration Of weevils will
probably start several weeks earlier
this year than usual; and, in addition
TO having to control his own infesta-
tion earlier by poisoning, the planter
can expect that before the fruit set
during the period Of protection has
had time to mature there will be an
immigration Of weevils from unpois-
soned cotton. Every day Q large crop
of new weevils will move into thess
poisoned fislds and It Is goinc to take
continuous, thorough poisoning to
protect to maturity the crop that has
been allowed to set BY the earlier
applications.
= Successful weevl control this year
q going to require more effort and
more poison per acre than has ever
been the case in the past. On the
other hand, wherever the land Is suf-
hciently fertile to justify the effort,
the increase in cost Per acre due to
the increased number Of applications
~ ro;son necessaYv will be more than