Editing Cotton (section)

====North American insect pests====
Historically, in North America, one of the most economically destructive pests in cotton production has been the [[boll weevil]]. Boll weevils are beetles who ate cotton in the 1950s, that slowed the production of the cotton industry drastically. "This bone pile of short budgets, loss of market share, failing prices, abandoned farms, and the new immunity of boll weevils generated a feeling of helplessness"<ref>{{Cite web|title=King_Cotton_in_Modern_America_A_Cultural_Political..._----_(11._"The_Fabric_of_Our_Lives").pdf: ART 2100-01 (95293)|url=https://calstatela.instructure.com/courses/63089/files/7639185?verifier=zc6E9xjUYSqXiH0RfBQRFfmHBJMnLEyINsGXPPsC&wrap=1|access-date=2021-10-19|website=calstatela.instructure.com}}</ref> Boll Weevils first appeared in Beeville, Texas wiping out field after field of cotton in south Texas. This swarm of Boll Weevils swept through east Texas and spread to the eastern seaboard, leaving ruin and devastation in its path, causing many cotton farmers to go out of business.<ref name="auto"/>
 
Due to the [[US Department of Agriculture]]'s highly successful [[Boll Weevil Eradication Program]] (BWEP), this pest has been eliminated from cotton in most of the United States. This program, along with the introduction of genetically engineered [[Bacillus thuringiensis|Bt]] cotton, has improved the management of a number of pests such as [[cotton bollworm (American)|cotton bollworm]] and [[pink bollworm]]. Sucking pests include the cotton stainer, ''[[Dysdercus suturellus]]'' and the tarnish plant bug, ''[[Lygus lineolaris]]''. A significant cotton disease is caused by [[Xanthomonas citri subsp. malvacearum|''Xanthomonas citri'' subsp. ''malvacearum'']].