Agriculture

Boll Weevil Kill Rates by Gin Processing and Bale Compression

The spread of agricultural insect pests from infested to non-infested areas by natural causes and the movement of infested equipment or products has always been a concern to the U.S. farming industry. Although the boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman) has been eradicated over much of the U.S. cotton production area, there are still cotton production areas that are infested. This article reports on research conducted at the USDA-ARS, Southwestern Cotton Ginning Research Laboratory, Mesilla Park, New Mexico during the 2000-2001 harvest season. The research objective was 1) to determine the probability of a known number of live boll weevils surviving the gin stand, lint cleaner, and bale press portions of the cotton ginning system, and 2) to determine the risk of weevil survival in UD bales of differing density for both short- and long-term periods of time.

In summary, the probability of a live boll weevil making it through the ginning system in the United States and into a cotton bale is extremely small. Furthermore, the chance of a live weevil surviving long term in a standard UD bale of 448-kg/m 3 (28-lb/ft 3) densities is extremely unlikely. There is a risk of boll weevils surviving if introduced in underweight U.S. bales even if tied in a UD press or in bale packages such as flat or modified flat whose normal densities are approximately 224 kg/m 3 (14 lb/ft 3 ). This test, as well as the companion tests performed demonstrates there is very little probability that a live boll weevil could be transported and released to infest another area or country from a normal full weight UD cotton bale There are no modified flat bales currently produced in the United States, but this type of bale package is still produced overseas.