Overcropping
What does overcropping mean?
Planting the same crop repeatedly on the same land.
What is a boll weevil?
A small insect that damages cotton plants.
What does it mean when cotton prices are low?
Cotton sells for less money.
What year did the Great Depression begin?
1929.
An Alabama farmer keeps planting cotton in the same field year after year. What problem might occur?
Overcropping.
What happens to soil nutrients when farmers repeatedly grow the same crop?
The soil loses nutrients.
What crop did the boll weevil attack?
Cotton.
If cotton prices drop, do farmers earn more or less money?
Less money.
What was the Great Depression?
A time of widespread economic hardship.
A farmer notices insects destroying the cotton bolls. What is causing the problem?
The boll weevil.
How can overcropping affect cotton plants?
They may not grow as well because the soil is less nutrient-rich.
What part of the cotton plant does the boll weevil damage?
The cotton bolls and other plant parts.
Why were low cotton prices a problem for farmers?
They received less money for their cotton.
How did the Great Depression affect many American families?
Many people lost jobs and had less money.
A farmer harvests plenty of cotton but receives very little money for it. What challenge is the farmer facing?
Low cotton prices.
Why was overcropping a problem for Alabama farmers?
It made it harder to grow healthy crops and produce good harvests.
How did the boll weevil affect farmers' harvests?
It reduced the amount of cotton they could harvest.
How could low cotton prices affect a farmer's family?
The family might struggle to afford necessities.
How did the Great Depression make life harder for Alabama farmers?
It added to their financial struggles and made it harder to earn a living.
What could a farmer do to help improve soil nutrients after years of growing cotton?
Rotate crops or plant different crops.
What could farmers do to help prevent overcropping?
Rotate crops or plant different crops.
Why did the boll weevil cause financial problems for Alabama farmers?
Farmers harvested less cotton and earned less money.
Why could a farmer have a successful cotton harvest but still struggle financially?
Because cotton prices could be so low that the farmer did not earn enough money.
Did the Great Depression cause the boll weevil infestation, or did it make existing farming problems worse?
It made existing farming and financial problems worse.
An Alabama farmer faces poor soil, boll weevils, and low cotton prices. Explain how these three problems could affect the farmer's family.
They could produce less cotton, earn less money, and struggle to support their family.