I
“The boll weevil am a little black
bug come from Mexico, they say.
Come all the way to Texas just
looking for a place to stay.”
And thus began the southern
farmers’ struggle with an insect
pest that has tormented cotton
crops since the turn of the century.
Perhaps no msect has attracted
more legend, and I can think of
only one or two others ever dex
cnbed in a song. But legend or not,
farmers and agricultural
researchers have tried all manner
and means of control during the
past three-quarters of a century
with little success.
The farmer take the boll
weevil, put him in the Pans Green.
He say I thank you Mr. Farmer.
This is so nice and clean. Then the
farmer take the boll weevil, put
him in the red hot sand. He say I
thank you Mr. Farmer, gonna take
it like a man.”
And take it he did, wiping our
crops and causing economic
devastation from his Texas border
crossing as far north as Virginia.
“The boll weevil got half the
cotton; the merchant got the rest.
Didn’t leave that poor old farmer’s
wife but one old cotton dress.”
And so through the years,
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FOR FEED AND FERTILIZER PROGRAMS THAT WORK, SEE FERTRELL
F&t&tett
EDWIN MARTIN
Rt. 2. Box 307
Quarryville, PA 17566
(717) 786-2815
HARRY M. BARNER LOUIS S. PEACHEY, SR. TRI OUR GANIC FERTRELL
Box 265 Rt. 1, Box 58C Rt. 2, Box 113
Lamar, PA 16848 Reedsville, PA 17084 McAllisterville, PA 17049
(717)726-3275 (717)667-3291 (717)463-2551
OR CONTACT THE FERTRELL COMPANY
Farm
Talk
Jerry Webb
Delaware Extension
southern farmers have learned to
live • with the boll weevil, con
trolbng as much as possible but
never eliminating him until now.
More than three-quarters of a
century after his invasion,
scientists are coming to grips with
an eradication plan for the boll
weevil. A Department of
Agriculture news release states
emphatically, “First year efforts
to push the boll weevil out of North
and South Carolina are on target.”
James Kearney, who carries the
auspicious title of 801 l Weevil
Eradication Program director,
says last fall’s treatments went
well considering a late start and
unfavorable weather. He’s waiting
for spring trapping results to
confirm the extent of the
program’s success.
The eradication program is
aimed at ridding the Carolines of
the boll weevil completely. It’s a
joint effort between the Depart
ment of Agriculture, a number of
state and federal agencies, and the
cotton growers themselves. It
involves carefully timed pesticide
applications and systematic
surveys to monitor the success of
the effort. Farmers themselves,
through the Southeastern 801 l
g»wyto!
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PAUL ZIMMERMAN
Rt. 4, Box 173
Lititz, PA 17543
(717) 733-7674
Foxtail control measures outlined
If you have
LANCASTER
been noticing more and more
foxtails in your cornfields lately,
your observations are un
derstandable. A recent survey
reveals that foxtails infest the
greatest acreage and cause the
most economic damage of any
weed in com. Partly because they
are so widespread, foxtails were
also rated the toughest weed to
Weevil Eradication Foundation,
are paying 70 percent of the cost.
The payoffs from such and effort,
if it’s successful, are threefold.
Reduced insecticide use, reduced
production costs, and increased
cotfon yields. Kearney believes
that once the boll weevil is
eradicated, farmers in the
Carolinas will begin to grow a lot
more cotton. He says cotton was
king before the weevil almost
wiped it out and it could be again.
Kearney speculates that last
fall’s efforts will have eradicated
most of the weevils, but some
probably managed to evade the
treatment. As a follow-up, bright
yellow plastic traps baited with an
attractant will be placed
throughout both states as a means
of monitoring the eradication’s
success. Plans call for complete
eradiction during the 1984 growing
season^
If such an eradication program
can be successful in the Carolinas,
no doubt it will work in some other
states. And perhaps this cotton
damaging insect will one day be
just a legend remembered in an old
folk song.
“The farmer say, boll weevil,
what make your head so red? He
say, I tell you Mr. Farmer it’s a
wonder I ain’t dead just looking for
a home, just looking for a home.”
We’re a results oriented company providing
sensible soil and livestock programs to farmers
who want to abandon unprofitable farming
practices. Fertrell specializes in NATURAL
and ORGANIC fertilizers that provide plants
with a vigorous start and then feed them
through the growing season. Fertrell feeding
programs help livestock to make the best use of
feed nutrients to provide more profit to the
farmer.
CHRIST B. MILLER
Box 164
Bird-In-Hand, PA 17505
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 7,1984—D5
control in com.
The survey, conducted by
Stauffer Chemical Company last
winter, asked county agents from
17 corn-producing states to list the
worst weed problems in their
areas. The results made foxtails an
easy winner in 3 out of 4 categories.
Rapid proliferation is what
makes foxtails such an especially
troublesome pest. A single foxtail
plant can produce as many as 20
panicles, each of which may hold
up to 1,000 seeds, or roughly 20,000
seeds per plant. Such large-scale
reproduction makes effective weed
control that much more difficult.
Moldboard plowing, now the
exception instead of the rule in
most of the Corabelt, used to help
keep foxtails in check. But many
farmers now lean toward reduced
tillage systems to control erosion
and save time, fuel and equipment
costs.
Replacing the moldboard plow
with a chisel plow or disk may
mean heavier foxtail pressure,
though, because weed seeds aren’t
buried as deeply in the soil.
Despite greater weed pressure,
however, com producers can
control foxtails in reduced tillage
by using incorporated herbicides.
PPI herbicides have given the
most dependable control year after
year, and both universities and
manufacturers have found ways to
adant these products to the
IT’S MAGIC ,- — PHONE
How quickly V 717-394-3047
You Get Results or 717-626-1164
V From Our ) i— — —t
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ROBERT ACKERMAN THOMAS J. BAIR
Rt. 9, Box 566 Rt. 2, Box 196
Meadville, PA 16335 Wrightsville, PA 17368
(814) 724-7419 (717) 252-3342
reduced tillage movement.
Several years ago, for example,
Sutan+ herbicide was often used
in programs involving at least four
tillage operations: moldboard
plowing, leveling, and two in
corporation passes.
Stauffer Chemical Company has
now developed guidelines for
thorough one-pass incorporation
under reduced tillage conditions.
The same recommendations apply
to Sutan+ tank mixes with
atrazine or Bladex, or three-way
mixes of Sutanx, atrazine and
Bladex.
To start, chisel plowing or
disking cornstalks should suf
ficiently reduce the level of trash
on the soil surface. Soybean
stubble needs no primary tillage.
Whether using a field cultivator,
tandem disk or combination tool,
run the apparatus at a 4 to 6 inch
depth, on relatively dry soil, and at
high speed 4 to 7 mph. Rolling
baskets or a good harrow should
follow the tool to smooth the sur
face and increase horizontal
distribution.
In adverse conditions, make a
second incorporation pass. With
heavy surface residues, im
pregnation on dry fertilizer or
granular formulations are advised
so that the herbicide can filter its
way down to the soil and control
foxtail where it germinates.
EDWIN R. OTT
2039 Dark Shade Dr.
Windbar, PA 15963
(814) 467-5909