A native of Mexico, the boll weevil migrated into the cotton fields of the southern US in the late 19th century.
Since its introduction, boll weevils have cost cotton producers an estimated 15 billion dollars.
In 1983 USDA / APHIS initiated the Boll Weevil Eradication Program on a regional basis. This program featured an early detection (through the monitoring of traps, made possible by the discovery of a boll weevil sex pheromone in the mid-1960s) and treatment (through alterations of cultivation practices and application of pesticides). Producers agreed to a ⅔ majority to participate and then States provide regulatory authority, and, in some cases, additional financial contributions to reduce the burden of the program on private producers. In most cases funds were disbursed through state-chartered foundations.
The program has been successful in containing and controlling boll weevils, one of the most costly agricultural pests in the United States, while sharply reducing pesticide applications, and methyl bromide treatments to cotton for export. By 2006 all cotton-production acreage in the US was included in the eradication program, and in 2009, the program expects the entire US cotton belt to be weevil-free, making this EDRR program one of the most successful pest eradication programs in US agricultural history.
The boll weevil eradication program is an excellent example of a public / private partnership, with funds from the US Department of Agriculture being matched by contributions from states and from the private sector. This model may well be worth emulating in addressing biosecurity risks from international trade.
