Circular (Georgia. State Board of Entomology) [Jan. 1916]

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Georgia

State Board of Entomology

E. LEE WORSHAM, State Entomologist

Circular No. 18

January. 1916

THE MEXICAN COT1'ON BOLL WEEVIL

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The Transportation of Articles Liable to Introduce Weevil Into Un-

infested Territory

and

Suggestions in Regard to Varieties of Cotton for Boll Weevil Conditions

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GEORGIA STATE BOARD OF ENTOMOLOGY.

ORGANIZ TIO

J. D. PRI E,
hairman, Commi ion r of Agriculture, Ex-Offi io 1ember.

tlanta.

R. . BER JnLA
Pre ident, State Horticultural ociety, uru tao Ex-Officio :Member.

JNO. A. OBB,
Pre iderit, tate Agricultural ociety, Americu . Ex-Officio Member.

E. LEE WOR HA"JI, State Entomologi t and Qecretary of the Board, Atlanta.

. LEWI, A i tant 'tate Entomolo!ri t, Atlanta.

". Y'". REED, i tant Entomoloo-i t, tlanta.
w. W. HA~E,
vi tant Entomoloo-i t, Atlanta.

. POO R " i tant Entomoloo-i t.

IRA W. WILLIA 1S, i tant in otton Br edino' Atlanta.

J. HE TER BRADLE pecial i tant Entomolooi t.

'QUARA TI E REGULATIO SAD RECOMME DATIO S
Th boll w evil 'nt l' d Georgia in 1915 for th fir t tim. On .rl.uO'u t 25th, the fir t p cimen wa tak n at Thoma ville, and a careful examination how d that the boll weevil had made a d cided advanc in G or!!'ia, Florida and labama. In G orgia it wa found a far ea t a Brook ount, and a far north a Haral on county. Bef l' the first 'killinO' fro t whi h occurred Nov mb l' 16th, 1915 it appeaTed in about forty countie , and in mo t of them it was quite abundant. The w vils weI' 0 plentiful, in fact, that, with normal winter teml eratur , ] 916 will b equivalent to about a third year infe tation.
The unu ual advance wa due un loubtedly to the lligh wind' of the tropical torm which occurI' d a few day before the fir t weevil wa taken at Thoma ville. It occur in the following countie : Polk, PauldinO',' Haral on, Carroll, Dougla, obb, Fulton, ampbell, Hard Coweta, Troup, :JIeriwether, Pik , Harri, p~on, Talbot, :JIu coO' ,~Iarion, hattahooche, Taylor, chle:- t wart, W b<:ter, umter, Lee, Ten 11 Randolph, Clay, alhoun, Dough-
rty, Worth, Turn 1', Tift, Berrien olquitt, Mitchell, Bak 1', Early :JIiller, D catur, Grady, Thomas, BTook., Lownde , Echol, linch, which i about on -fourth of th(!
otton growing ar a of the tate. It i impo ible to make any prediction a to how much time will be required for th we viI to cov l' tbe entiTe tate. The bance are rather in favor of a rapid advance over Geonria and outh
arolina, but it i impo ible for anyone to make a definite e timate a to how rapidly it will trav 1. Th re is no doubt, however, of the fact that it i<: but a que tion of time when it will cover the whole State and l' main with us ju.. t a lono' as we continue to grow otton. The we viI nter d Texa in 1892, and the record show that it did a much damag in 1915 a in any year inc it first appearance.
The new t rritory cover d by the w evil in 1915 amounts to about ei 'hty- ix thou and mile" accordiuO' to e timate of the United , tat ." Bureau of EntomoloO'y. Ther was
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con iderable advanc in orthwest Texa a well a in Georgia. :Map Fio-. 1, hoW" the territory covered by the weevil in G orgia. The econd line i the 20-mile afety zone.
REGULATIONS.
Regulation 20 (a). The hipment into the tate of Georgia of cotton eed, seed cotton, hull, eed cotton and cotton picker 'sack (which have been u ed within iO'ht month. ) or corn in the huck, hall not at any time b brouo-ht into uninfe ted territory in the tate of Georgia from infe t d territory or from any point ituated within twenty mile of th area known to be infe ted by the boll weevil, provided that between January 1 t, and August 1 t, of any )- ar hipment of re tricted article a Ii ted in parao-raph (h) orio-inating within the ar a of weevil infestation may be made under proper certificat s to point not mol' than forty mile out ide of the known line of infe tation a la t officially determined and announced.
(b). That b tween October 1 t and June 30th, inclusive, shipment of panish mov , baled or unbaled, originatin in infe t d territory hall be prohibit d from ent rinoor pa ing through th uninfe t d part of the tate of Georgia.
( ). That. all tran portation of hou eholcl o-ood, whether by publi or private onveyanc. from infe te 1. to uninfe ted area hall be prohibited uul v accompanied by an affidavit, which with railroad or boat hipment hall be attached to the way-bill, tating pe ifically that th hipment contain no cotton eed, ed cotton, hull, ed cotton and cotton e d ack, otton picker ' ack, corn in the shu k, or 100 e pani h mos , either a pa kin O' or in any way contrary to the e reoulation. In hipments made durino- the month of July, uo-u t and eptember, corn huck or pani h mov may be u ed for pa kino-. All uch hipment may, however, be subject to in pe tion at th di cretion of the ~tate Entomoloo-i t or other authorized deputy of the Board.
(dL lut l' tate hipmeut of quarantined article pa. in!!," through uninfe ted territory in the Stat of Georcia, hall be made in tio'htly-clo ed hox car, and the arri 1" hall e'\ rei ev ry rea onable precaution durino- tran. it
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and in making tran fer to avoid the liability of di eminating weevils thereby.
(e) . No per on except the State Entomoloo'i t, or hi authorized deputy, may lawfully have or keep in hi po eion out ide of the weevil infe ted territory any living stage or tages (egg, larva, pupa, adult) or any cotton quare or boll containing uch tage of the fexican cotton boll wee,iI. 0 per on except said tate EntomoloO'ist or hi authorized deputy, may give, ell or tran port such living taO'e or staO'es of the Mexican cotton boll weevil from any point within the territory wherein th boll weevil i known or uppo ed to exi t, to any point out ide of ",uch territory xcept that pecimens u pected of beinO' or of containing any taO'e or work of the Mexi an cotton boll weevil may e given, mailed or hipped in TRO G TIGHTLY WRAPPED A1\TD EALED PA KAGE NOT BJE T TO BREAKAGE, to the tate Entomolooi t, tlanta, Ga., for examination and identification.
(f). All railroad, teamboat and expres companie. or other common carri r"" an 1 all private partie operating vehicle boat, etc. in. the tate of Geonna are e peci ally njoined to comply with requirement of thi order and of the law of tbe tate of Georgia o'overninO' the ame. In ca e of violation of the e rule and rerulation , con tituting a mi demeanor, tbe fact in the ca hall be reported to tbe State Entomologi t, and be ball proce d to act in l'lccordance with section 2135 and 2136 of tbe riminal Co le of Georgia a amended in 1913.
(0'). Tbat these rule and reg-ulations hall apply to the entire area of any county in G ora or otb r tate a oon a th bo11 w viI i r ported by tbe Entomologi t of that ~tate a havinO' been found at any point within ucll connty. Thi. reg;ulation hall not at any time nullify the rrovi lon for a twenty-mile afety-zone a provided for in rule 20, narag;raph (a).
(h). He tricted article":
1. eed cotton. 2. Ootton ed. 3. eed cotton ack, cotton e d sack and otton pick-
er' ack any of which ha been u ed within eiO'ht months for any purpose indicated.
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MAP SHOWING
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THE BOLL wEEVI L QUAR!\NTINE AREA

FOR 1915

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-:1:. otton eed hull' between Augu t I t and December 3Lt.
5. pani h mo and corn in huck between October 1 t and June 30th.
6. Living we viI or weevil tage or we viI work in po session of any p rson out id of the inf sted territory except a qualifi d entomologi't.
7. I ou ehold O"ood containin o' any of the for o'oino' durinO" the I eriod of quarantine applyino' to ach. Where no time limit iu pecified, the re tri tion i continuou . rticle not re tricted:
1. Baled cotton, fiat or compr ed. 2. Linter and 100 e cotton lint. 3. otton eed meal, cake and oil. 4. om helled or in the ear with huck removed, oat
or any other eed except cotton eed. 5. otton eed hown by affidavit to have be n acked
continuou ly for nine months or more. 6. otton wed for plantinO" purpo e after fumiO"ation
with carbon bi ulphide by a ompetent entomoloo'i t. 7. Hay.
Empty freiO"ht car.
Amendment to 20 (a):
Oil mills out of infe ted territory, but located within 20 mile of the boll 'weevilline will be permitted to draw eed for crushing purpo e from all point, including territory infe ted by the weevil in Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Tenne ee, but th e mill will not be p rmitted to hip cotton eed hulL to any point more than _0 mile north or ea t of the a tual boll weevil line, except between J anUal)' 1 t and Augu tIt.
RECOMMENDATIONS.
Every farmer in the county where the boll weevil wa found to be abundant before the end. of the sea on, hould proceed with the idea that the boll weevil will be a eriou problem in 1916, and arrange hi farming operation accordingly. Reduce acreaO"e in cotton to eight, ten or tweh"e a l' to the plow.
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Prepare the land arly and g t it in good condition for planting.
Fertilize ju t a you would if the boll weevil were not Ire ent but u of acid phosphate ha a tendency to make cotton fruit early.
... ele t the v ry be t seed that can be found that i adapt d to th particular e tion where it is to be planted. Avoid fancy varietie unl you kno\ th m to be adapted to your section. Our xperience hows that it i unwise for planter to go to a ection far removed from their own for planting eed, becauue condition are entirely different. If you have a o-ood variety, or your neighbor ha a good vari ty, improv it by car ful ele tion. Thi Department will a it you in thi work.
In el cting eed for boll w evil condition, remember there i no such thing a'" a variety that i "boll weevil proof." Boll weevil i no re~pe t I' of otton. There are ev ral point that mu t b tak n into con ideration.
1. You mu t hay a vari ty that will fruit early. It should put on a large number of boll as quickly a posible.
If'your land i inf ct d by wilt or bla k root, the vari ty hould b re i tant to till di ea e.
3. The variety hould be prolific and yield a high percentage of good lint. It hould have a few veo' tative and unproductive bran he a'" po ible, and hould begin to pu.t out fruit branche clo e to the ground.
-:1:. The variety hould not only fruit early, but it 'hould continu to put on qual' throughout the growing aon. As a rul the weevil i not ufficiently abundant in the field until Augu t I t to 15th, to compl tely d troy all the qual' that al pear. The favorit food of the young w viI i'" the young qual' , and a lono- a the ounoquare are available the' will not de troy the boll that are mol' or Ie s mature, but in the absence of a ufficien y of young qual' h will attack more or Ie matured boll . con equently it i ne e "'ary to have a variety that will continu to fruit until late in the eason. uch varietie a, Kino-', iml kin. , Triumph, and orne other, too oft n have a tendency to di ontinue growth arly in the ea on, and con equently will not be a valuable a varietie", that
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"ill fruit early and continu o-rowth throughout th entil' ea on. Our te t how that om of the be t varieti for outh .Georo-ia are u h types a Lewi 63, a variet propagated by thi Department. It is wilt re i tant, early fruiting, prolific and fairly resi tant to drought. Another i Dix- fifi, a hybrid betw en the Dixi and the Egyptian }Iit-Afifi. It i wilt re i tant, prolific, early fruiting and ha a uperior taple. It i worth ev ral cent per pound mol' than or linary hort cotton. Another good variety i
ovino-ton-Toole which ha been elected 0 a to make 'it re i tant to wilt. For orth Georgia, u h varietie as Improved Ie land Bio- Boll, ook' Improved, Toole and Expre ,,,ill be well adapted to mo t ection.
5. Plant earlY, but not 0 early that the young plant will be injured by late fro ts or cold night",.
6. Anange row and di tance in drill just as you would under ordinary condition.
7. Practi e uhallow but fr quent ultivation. ultivate if po ible a t lea t once a week until the cotton iu ready to pick.
. The weevil will begin to emerge early in the pring and will feed on the tend I' bud of otton plants until the quare develop. You can detect their presence by black leaf or bud. Watch for this and pick weevil off. Later the weevils will attack the young squares, and you will oberve that they will turn yellow and fall to the ground. Tbe yellow quare", and tho e on the o-round hould be picked and burn d, and tbi bould be kept up until about July 10th.
9. Praeti ~ div I' ification. Gro" mol' food crop, more live tock, but do not undertake any new propo ition on a laro-e c2le unl you are ure of a market. Make the farm. elf- u taining.
You will b able to grow cotton at a profit if you take advantage of the other man' experi nee, but there mu t be a reduction in acreage. It i out of the que tion to undertake a much per plow a you could under ordinary conditions. Tbe other man ha not b en able to do thi and consequently it "ill be impo ible for you to do o.
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