Translations:AY Honors/Agriculture/Answer Key/42/en

Boll weevil

Anthonomus grandis (Boll weevil)

Where found: Thought to be native to Central America, it migrated into the US from Mexico in the late 19th century and had infested all US cotton-growing areas by the 1920s, devastating the industry and the people working there and traumatizing the people of the American south. During the late 20th century it became a serious pest in South America as well. Description: The boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis) is a beetle measuring an average length of six millimeters, which feeds on cotton buds and flowers. Affected crops: Cotton Control: The Boll Weevil Eradication Program is a program sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that has sought to eradicate the boll weevil in the cotton-growing areas of the United States. It is one of the world's most successful implementations of integrated pest management. Three main techniques are employed over a 3- to 5-year period: pheromone traps for detection, cultural practices to reduce the weevil’s food supply, and malathion treatments. During the first year, applications of malathion are made every five to seven days starting in late summer. The frequency is reduced to every 10 days during the later part of the growing season until the first frost. The cotton stalks are shredded and plowed into the ground to eliminate their use as a winter shelter. During years 2 through 5, the automatic spraying is supplemented by an intensive trapping program (one trap per 1-2 acres), and malathion applications are made only in those fields where weevils are detected. This phase begins in late spring and continues until the first killing frost. The final phase of the program involves monitoring and trapping at a density of one trap per 10 acres, with spot spraying as required. The program has become more high-tech in recent years, employing GPS mapping technology and bar code readers that transmit trap data electronically.