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May 11, 2001
New phase to begin in eradication effort
A new component will be added to the eradication efforts in the El Paso area this growing season, Texas Boll Weevil Foundation officials say.
Populations of the boll weevil have been drastically reduced in the area, and the new effort will target the El Paso/Trans Pecos region’ most damaging pest, the pink bollworm, the caterpillar stage of one moth species, said Charles Allen, program director.
Foundation personnel will use many of the same techniques that have proven successful in the boll weevil eradication effort, he said.
Fields in the area are mapped using Global Positioning Satellite technology, and traps are deployed to determine the level of infestation of the pink bollworm in those fields.
The data gathered from these techniques also show foundation personnel how effective their control efforts are, Allen said.
Several methods will be used to control the pink bollworm.
First, cotton growers are urged to plant Bt cotton, a strain of cotton that kills the bollworm without affecting humans, animals, beneficial insects or other plants, Allen said.
Sex-attractant pheromone, which disrupts mating of the moths but has no effect on other organisms, will be applied by hand to fields near urban areas, such as housing developments, schools, hospitals and nursing homes, where aerial spraying would be considered a nuisance, he said. The rest of the fields will be treated with aerial applications of the sex-attractant pheromone.
In fields that have high pink bollworm infestations, insecticides will be applied. Only a small percentage of fields is expected to need insecticide treatments.
Eradication activities directed at the cotton boll weevil will continue until the pest has been eliminated in the El Paso/Trans Pecos zone, Allen said.
The cotton boll weevil and the pink bollworm cost cotton producers millions of dollars through lost yields and increased costs to control pests. Eliminating these pests increases cotton producers’ chance to produce a profitable crop.
But these efforts also benefit the environment by drastically reducing the amount of pesticides used to control cotton pests and aiding integrated pest management efforts that use optimized farming methods and limit damage from other cotton pests.
