Cotton pests in South America

Abstract

Most cotton in Peru, which is of long or extra-long staple, is grown under an irrigation system using the flood waters of the Andean rivers. It is grown in coastal valleys which are virtually rainless, with little natural vegetation, and separated from each other by desert. Such ecological isolation has facilitated the development of a sophisticated integrated strategy for the control of cotton pests. Fortunately, neither boll weevil nor pink bollworm constitutes a problem.