The Texas Department of Agriculture announced Monday that the cotton stalk destruction deadline for cotton growers in Zone 2, Areas 2, 3 and 4 has been extended to Oct. 15, due to wet fields resulting from widespread rainfall of eight to 14 inches produced by Tropical Storm Hermine and Hurricane Karl. Wet fields limit or prevent the use of equipment needed for harvest and stalk destruction.

The new deadline applies only to current cotton fields in portions of Aransas County; the southern part of Bee County; and Calhoun, Goliad, Jim Wells, Kleberg, LaSalle, McMullen, Nueces and San Patricio counties; the northern portion of Kenedy County; the southern part of Live Oak County; and Refugio and Victoria counties.

Deadlines for cotton stalk destruction are established by regulations adopted under the Cotton Pest Control Law to help control boll weevils. After the deadline, cotton stalks are not allowed to have squares, blooms or uncracked bolls, and must remain without fruiting structures until emergence of the new cotton crop next spring.

Cotton is a host for the boll weevil. The weevil remains the most destructive cotton pest in North America. The Texas Legislature established the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation in 1993 to eradicate the pest and ensure Texas remains the No. 1 cotton-producing state in the nation. Cotton has more than a $4 billion annual economic impact on the Lone Star State.

For more information, contact the TDA Valley Regional Office at (956) 787-8866.