The Ordway new era., 1905-04-21
Tho Beet Web.Worm.

nc 0SGh
p,,,e,ip ss of the Agricultural Eh'
,eriment station OF the Colorado AsIf
culturai College at Fort Collins IL ue
xn,eJ 10 A description OF the worms
mar prey on the sugar beet, the Wcp'
worm. the army worm ANA the cur
worm. Following are extracts rom
the article on the cut'worm Dy rfoi'
Clarence 7. Gillette. entomoiosis''
..The beet web.worm did more or less
damage In all the beetsrowihs So
tions OF the state last summer anu iai,
In the vicinity of the LoSciahu anu
the I,ongmont factories very h,tIe
harm was done. but the beets sroMn
for the sugar factories az hocky foio'
Sugar City. Fort Collins. Wihusoi'
Greeley and Eaton all suSefed 10
considerable extent In some Vi '"'
fields. ,.
..This insect does not possess any
great potoriety as yet as u crop p.a'
twelve years ago last summer IL at
tracted some attention because OF It's
INJURIES TO sugar beets In Nebraska
during the months OF July and August.
and because OF its injuries to n field oil
mint I'm Michigan late in september
since 1892 IL has not attracted much
attention.
.The first complaint that came TO
the experiment station last summer
was August 18th. On that date went
with Mr.. C. NJ. LigEett to his ranch.
about ten miles northeast OF Fort COZ
Inns. and found the worms doing con-
siderable damage.
mir. Timothy. agriculturist Tor the
Greeley sugar factory. told me that ne
first noticed the worms at Sterling
August Sd. and at Greeley August loth.
The worst OF the injuries were over at
Greeley August Goth.
Growers have estimated their losses
all the way from one to hye tons per
acre as the result OF the injuries by
the worms. Analyses by the chemists
at the sugar factory indicate loss OF
about two per cent. In both sugar con
tent and In purity In beets that were
defoliated badly during August. Prob
ably more than 1000 acres OF beets
suffered substantial loss from the web
worm In Colorado last year.
"Remedies.-lf the worms are num-
erous enough to attract any attention
at all late In the summer or In the fali.
the beet ground should be plowcd
deeply and as soon as possible after
the beets are gather, for the purpose
OF buryIng the worms so that the
moths will not be able to escape the
following spring. II It Is impossible 10
plow in the fall. then the surface of the
ground should be thoroughly narrowed
or disced for the purpose OF crushing
the worms and bringing the tubes To
the surface where freezing and thaw-
ing and the attacks OF birds may de-
stroy large proportion OF the worms.
THE worms accomplished their work
OF destruction so quickly that II Is i'm
portant that the beet grower should be
prepared to check the injuries as soon
as they are seen. In order TO do this 1t
will be necessary TO be OH the lookout
for the moths. which will always ap.
pear in the beet fields from one to two
weeks before the worms will be no
ticed. These moths span about one
inch from tip TO tip Of their wings
when spread. and are OF dark gray
ish or grayish.brown color.
They will fly up and go a short dis.
tance and then suddenly alight. us
ually upon leaf of n plant. The pres
ence OF the moths in anything like
large numbers among the beets should
be the signal TO prepare for war by
procuring a quantity OF poison and a
spray pump VI
for the distribution of the poison upon
the beet leaves.
Some combination OF arsenic. as
arsenite of lime. arsenate of lead. paris
green. or london green should be
used. The arsenite of lime is the cheap.
est of these but is little moro trouble.
some to prepare and apply. krsenate
of lead Is more easily mixed and ap-
piled. but is by far the most expensive
poison to use. Paris green settles
badly in the barrel or tank and must
be kept thoroughly stirred. 1t would
be cheaper than the arsenate of lead,
but dearer than the arsenite of lime.
The chief objection to paris green last
year in Colorado was its serious adul.
teration with white arsenic, causing 1t
to burn foliage"
The worms will probably appear in
large numbers about the middle of
May. Other broods appear about June
10th, the first week In July and about
the middle of August
Be prepared with poison and spray
pump so as to strike the blow in time
to prevent serious injury to your beets
If the worms should appear.