2011 Program Year End Summary
The Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation (TBWEF) completed a
successful year in 2011. Boll weevil eradication activities were
carried out in all Texas and eastern New Mexico cotton fields,
on a total of approximately 7.7 million certified land cotton acres.
For the year, 15 of 16 zones reported either no weevil captures or
reductions in boll weevil captures compared to 2010.
West Texas
In the West Texas zones, 2011 proved to be another banner year for
boll weevil eradication. Weevil numbers in these zones were reduced
by 100 percent as compared to 2010. In the 6.7 million land acres
that made up the 11 West Texas zones in 2011, there were no boll
weevils captured compared to only 15 captured in 2010 and 206 in
2009, and no treatments were made. All 11 West Texas zones have
been declared functionally eradicated.
South and East Texas
Overall, boll weevil captures in 2011 were significantly reduced in
the South and East Texas zones. Only three of the five zones captured
weevils in 2011. The Upper Coastal Bend and Northern Blacklands zones
did not capture a weevil in 2011. The number of acres treated in the
five South and East Texas zones decreased from 2.4 million acres in
2010 to 884,521 acres in 2011 – a 63.3 percent reduction.
In the STWG zone, 173 weevils were captured in 2011 compared to 54,540
weevils captured in 2010 – a 99.68 percent reduction. Most of the weevils
captured in STWG were captured in the Uvalde area. In the SBL zone,
28 weevils were captured in 2011 compared with 8,021 in 2010 – a 99.65
percent reduction in boll weevil numbers. The 28 weevils were captured
in the Brazos Bottom area with the last capture occurring in early August.
In the LRGV, planted cotton acreage increased 118 percent in 2011 from 2010.
Likewise, boll weevil numbers increased from 163,399 weevils in 2010 to
209,092 in 2011. This 28 percent increase in weevil numbers during the
2011 season can be attributed to an increase in weevil populations late
in 2010. Tropical weather during the 2010 growing season limited the
ability of Foundation personnel to trap and treat fields in a timely manner.
Most weevil captures during 2011 occurred in the border area along the Rio
Grande River. Progress was made in the northern areas of LRGV with over
1,900 fields not capturing a weevil in 2011. Acreage treated for boll
weevils also increased from 610,439 acres in 2010 to 780,027 in 2011.
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