The Arkansas Boll Weevil Eradication Program (ABWEP) was initiated in 1997 to rid the state of the boll weevil Anthonomus grandis Boheman.

The Arkansas program was first initiated in the Southwest zone in 1997 with the diapause phase, followed by season-long phases in 1998, 1999, and 2000. The seasonal mean number of boll weevils captured per trap per week in 2000 was significantly less than in 1998. The mean in 2000 was
.67, and in 1998 was 3.96, a reduction rate of 83%. Insecticide applications in 2000 for boll weevils were reduced by 72.7%, compared to 1998.

Eradication was initiated in the Southeast zone in 1999 with the diapause phase of the program followed by a season-long phase in 2000. The overall mean number of boll weevils captured per trap per week was reduced in 2000 as compared to 1999. The mean in 2000 was 3.3.

The Central zone began eradication with the diapause phase in August of 2000, and is scheduled to implement the first season-long phase in 2001.

The overall percent boll weevil damaged squares and bolls during the month of September were significantly lower in active eradication zones as compared with regions outside eradication. The percent damage in the Southeast Zone was 6.1%, in the Central Zone it was 17.3%, and in the non-active eradication zones it was 71.7%.

The results of the ABWEP effort, demonstrated to this point, indicate that progress toward eradication is being made, especially when a sound approach to eradication is implemented. The use of pheromone traps for detection, along with sound cultural, mechanical, and chemical control in an area wide approach is an effective and proven program for boll weevil eradication.