The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1907-04-05
TWO GREAT CORN PESTS

tnC NoIh tApcIlb SldoolHtS thc NOin TOW
worm aud the corn root louise as HE
two greatest enemies of the corn plant.
He estimates that the damage to tie
crop in the corn belt alone from tie
first pest is not less than 200.O0000o
bushels annually. The loss is so serious
as to invite the attention OF all corn
growers. Mr.. Holden states that ort
of 600 fields which he examined IN
Iowa. Illinois. Kansas and Missouri!
over 400 were more or less injured by
the corn root worm. One reason for
the general ignorance that seems to
prevail touching the damage of this
pest is that it works entirely under
ground and gradually. The eggs, which
are laid by little grass colored beetle
along in August and September, hatch
In the following June and early July.
AS soon as they are Matched the worms
forth lengthwise through the roots and
just beneath the outside covering. AS
high as POO Of these worms have been
found in a single hill of corn. The
roots attacked rot; the stalks lose theil
vitality and break over easily or fire
in the August weather. A heavy wind
storm is likely to PROSTATE an entire
field. The corn root worm is likely to
infest any field which has grown corn
more than two years in succession, anu
the only remedy is to put the infested
land into some other crop, preferably
clover for a period of two years. In
other words, damage from this pest is
practically nothing on farms where an
intelligent system of crop rotation is III
vogue. Ravages by the worm are sim
ply a protest against an agricultural
system that is wrong in both theory
and practice.
Next to the corn root worm tn:
worst enemy the&sarn plant has 10
contend with is the corn root louise or
aphis. They are smaller than the head
of pin, blush green in color and ap-
pear in clusters on the roots of the
corn early in the spring. They are al
ways associated with ants. which act
as TIER guardians, protecting them
and carrying them to the roots OF the
corn. When disturbed by the ants
they exude from their honey tubes a
sweetish substance, called "honey
dew" on which the ants feed The
damage from the corn root louise is
done largely while the plant Is young
and immature and its roots are juicy
and tender. it being the juice in the
root that the lice feed upon. When Il
field has suffered from the lice, damage
the following season may be greatly
decreased by cultivating and harrow.
ing the field thoroughly before the
corn comes up nnd giving 1t frequent
cultivation afterward. This not only
disturbs the work Of the ants, but
hastens the growth of the corn. AS In
the case of the corn root worm, the
best preventive of damage from the
lice is a system of crop rotation, which
does not allow them to get foothold
in the soil. Experiments conducted by
Professor Forbe of the Illinois expert
ment station showed that the damage
by the lice could be greatly lessened
by treating the seed before planting
with g solution made by mixing one
part o6oil of lemon with nine parts Of
wood alcohol, using three ounces of
the solution to gallon of seed. He
found that the ants would keep away
from corn thus treated. After six
weeks treated rows had one-ninth as
many aphides as the untreated, while
at the end Of. ten weeks the treated
hills of corn stood "A per cent higher
than those untreated. In the case OF
both of these pests as well as other
enemies of the corn plant damage
see s to be reduced to q minimum IN
derNb system of crop rotation, which
not only is the best thing for the soil,
but produces the largest crops as well.