Abstract
A total population suppression program was directed against the boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis Boheman, in an 8-county area of the High and Rolling Plains of Texas during 1964-66. During the fall of 1964, technical malathion (95%) was applied by the low volume technique at the rates of 12 - 16 fl. oz/acre in an area-wide diapause boll weevil control program. The spray program was modified into a 2-phase program in 1965 and 1966. The first phase was designed to destroy the last reproductive generation of boll weevils, while the second phase was designed to destroy diapausing broods. The 2-phase, or reproductive-diapause method, was found to be much more effective than the diapause control program conducted in 1964. The reproductive-diapause control technique proved to be highly effective for suppression of boll weevil populations. The boll weevil population within the suppression zone was reduced as much as 99% over the population in untreated areas outside the control zone. Boll weevil infestations on the High Plains were reduced to very low levels by 1966. Boll weevil populations of low density within the suppression zone were found to be distributed in a nonrandom, clumped pattern following the 1965 suppression program. The distribution of cotton fields infested with weevils appeared to be influenced primarily by the abundance of favorable weevil overwintering sites within the cotton growing area, and also by the distance of these sites from the cotton fields. The majority of infested fields were adjacent to favorable overwintering habitats. Only a small percentage of the fields which were located more than 1/2 mile from overwintering sites were infested..
Rummel, Donald Roy (1970). Population suppression of the boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis Boheman, in the high and rolling plains of Texas. Texas A&M University. Texas A&M University. Libraries. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /DISSERTATIONS -179599.