A request for a blanket extension of the stalk destruction deadline for the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation, Inc., Zone 3, Area 1 and Area 2 be extended to October 29, for the 2009 crop year only, has been granted.

The request was based on weather factors that include heavier than normal rainfall that prevented fields from being workable, said Robert L. Crocker, Coordinator for Pest Management, Citrus & Biotech Programs, The Texas Department of Agriculture.

Section 20.22 of the Texas Administrative Code provides that the department may grant a blanket extension of the destruction deadline covering an entire cotton stalk destruction zone or a portion of an entire zone under certain circumstances.

The standard deadline for cotton stalk destruction in Zone 3, Area 1 is October 1. The standard deadline for cotton stalk destruction in Zone 3, Area 2 is October 15.

On October 13, 2009, the Chairman of the Cotton Producer Advisory Committee (CPAC) for Zone 3 faxed a written request by the Committee that the deadline for all of Zone 3, Area 1 and Area 2 be extended to October 29.

NOAA weather records confirm the significantly higher than normal rainfall.

The Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation (TBWEF) noted that no boll weevils have been captured in the zone since August 30 and concluded that granting the extension probably would extend trapping for 1 to 2 weeks with a 10 percent probability that boll weevil treatment (estimated to cost TBWEF $5.54 per acre) would be required for approximately 85,929 acres of hostable cotton remaining in Zone 3 Areas 1 and 2. TBWEF estimates the additional cost to administration of the Boll Weevil Eradication Program to be approximately $24,500, or $0.28/planted acre, which should not significantly affect the Upper Coastal Bend's annual budget.