Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1907-12-13
4;un narAr CORN PESTS.

| In his little DOCK eulll40u tnO
n of Corn Culture" Professor Holden
the corn expert, Classics the corn roof
worm and the corn root louse as the
two greatest enemies Of the corn plant
He estimates that the damage to the
cron in the corn belt alone from the
first pest is not less than 2OO,OO0,oVO
bushels annually. The loss is so serious
az TO invite the attention Of all corn
growers. Mr.. Holden states that Out
of 600 fields which he examined ID
Iowa. Illinois. Kansas and Missouri
over 400 were more or less injured by
the corn root worm. One reason foI
the general ignorance that seems to
prevail touching the damage of this
pest is that 1t works entirely under
ground and gradually. The eggs, which
are laid by little grass colOred beetle
along in August and September, hatcn
in the following June and early July
AS soon as they are hatched the worms
enter the roots and burrow back and
forth lengthwise through the roots and
lust beneath the outside covering. AS
high as 200 Of these worms have been
found In a single hill Of corn. The
roots attacked rot; the stalks lose theit
vitality and break over easily or fire
In the August weather. A heavy wind
storm is likely to prostrate an entire
field. The corn root worm is likely to
lnfest any field which has grown corn
more than two years In succession, and
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 in
vogue. Ravages by the worm are sim,
ply protest against an agricultural
system that Is wrong in both theory !
and practice.
Next to the corn root worm the
worst enemy the corn plant has to
contend with is the corn root louise OF
aphis. They are smaller than the head
of a 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 their guardians, protecting them
and carrying them to the roots Of the
corn. When disturbed by the ants
they exude from their honey tubes
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, 1t being the juice in the
root that the lice feed upon. When a
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 and 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 Forbes of the Illinois expert |
ment station showed that the damage !
by the lice could be greatly lessened
by treating the seed before planting
with a solution made by mixing one
part Of oil Of lemon with nine parts of
wood alcohol, using three ounces Of
the solution to a gallon Of seed ole
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 IA per cent higher
than those untreated. In the case OF
both Of these pests as we'll as other
enemies of the corn plant damage
seems to be reduced to q minimum TN.
der a system of crop rotation, which
not only Is the best thing for the soil,
but produces the largest crops as we'll.