Goodbye boll weevil?

By Vershal Hogan (Contact) | The Natchez Democrat

Published Monday, November 9, 2009

FERRIDAY — The State of Louisiana could be within a year of eradicating the boll weevil.

That was the message Boll Weevil Eradication Director Marc Bordelon brought the Ferriday Rotary Club when he was the featured guest Thursday.

In 2007, the program trapped 94,000 weevils, and by 2008 that number had been reduced to 14,000.

This year, the program has captured 293 weevils.

“The majority of those are isolated to 10 specific fields,” Bordelon said.

Some cotton acreage in southern Concordia and Catahoula parishes have been weevil-free for nearly four years, and the Jonesville office of the weevil eradication program — which covers both parishes —  went from capturing 6,000 weevils last year to only 65 this year.

“The last one the Jonesville office caught was Aug. 17,” Bordelon said. “It’s been 12 weeks since we caught a weevil (in this area).”

In some areas of the state, the weevil has effectively been eradicated.

In the Red River zone, the last time the program caught any substantial number of weevils was in 2005, when 31 were trapped.

The following year, only one weevil was found in the area, and Bordelon said he believes that weevil was transported to the area by hurricane winds.

When weevils are discovered in an area, the program begins an aggressive campaign of twice weekly weevil-killing chemical applications for four weeks. If any weevils are found following that the applications begin for another four weeks.

Though it hasn’t been good for the cotton economy, the reduced amount of cotton acreage this year has helped the program isolate weevil populations, Bordelon said.

District 21 Rep. Andy Anders, who is chairman of the state legislative agriculture committee and also a farmer, said he could remember a time when people crossing state lines were asked if they had any cotton in their vehicle because of fears of spreading the pest.

“When I started growing cotton, you could go out there and (weevils) were all over your plant,” he said.

Neither Arkansas or Mississippi has trapped a weevil this year, and last year Mississippi only trapped four, Bordelon said.