Boll Weevil Eradication Commission
In 1992 the Boll Weevil Eradication Law (R.S. 3:1601-1617) was established, authorizing the creation of the Boll Weevil Eradication Commission and clearing the way for a grower referendum to fund the Boll Weevil Eradication Program. The Commission is charged with oversight of the Eradication Program. Grower assessments, State funding and Federal in-kind services provide the funding necessary to implement the Eradication Program which began in the Red River Valley and stretched into Northeast Louisiana two years later. The program utilizes electronic technology to the extent possible in the daily operations of the program. Fields are mapped using GPS units and overlaid onto a computerized mapping program. Aerial applicators are required to have DGPS systems with printout capabilities. Trappers record trap data with bar code readers and transmit electronically. Boll Weevil captures have gone from 4 to 5 weevils per acre in the beginning, to current numbers having to be measured in weevils per 1000 acres. In addition, large portions of the cotton growing areas of the state are currently weevil free. Cotton producers are seeing increases in yields along with a reduction in cost of insect control.
Boll Weevil Eradication Law RS 3:1601-1617 (Website)
Boll Weevil, Rules and Regulations, State Register, Title 7, Part XV, Chapter 3 (Website)
Boll Weevil Eradication Commission Meetings
Louisiana Boll Weevil Talk quarterly newsletter
June 2009
Oct. 2009