The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1907-05-04
Making nature Fight the Insect Foes.

oCE6OblStS are uOh 11SdIAAAdS 01@S' NAAS
abundance OF insect pests which the
farmer of today has to battle with IS
due largely, If not entirely, to the
upsetting of natures laws.
Before man placed the woods and
prairies under cultivation, excessive
increase of any insect species was per-
haps unknown, or at most very rare
Nature has always provided forces
which operate against each other, as
il were: and with insects, as with other
creatures, balance between the num-
bers of different species has been
maintained.
Modern methods OF farming have
often decreased the natural enemies OF
injurious insects, and in other cases
have afforded conditions favoring the
rapid multiplication of insects not
formerly present in dangerous Gum"
bers.
The practical entomologist OF today.
while not discounting the value OF
poisons and sprays as implements OF
war against the six-footed host, rec
ognizes that really satisfactory con-
troll is to be brought about by Q par
tial or total restoration of the condt-
tions under which nature formerly
prevented the different species from
becoming too numerous. The ento-
mologist accordingly studies parasitic
enemies sand diseases which destroy
the injurious insects, and Oftentimes
he is enabled TO encourage the para
sites to such an extent that they largely
or entirely control the injurious forms.
An interesting bit of work OF this
character Is at present being done by
the state crop pest commission OF Lou
isiana. In the ge-growing par
ishes OF the state, one OF the most de-
structive pests to the orange and lemon
trees is the "white fy.'' This insect
not only sucks the juices from the
leaves, but is Indirectly responsible
for the "sooty mold which chokes
up the breathing pores of the leaves.
Over in Florida disease called the
red-pink fungus" has for several
years been attacking and killing the
white flies. This beneficial fungus did
not occur in Louisiana until during
the spring of 1906, when the crop pest
commission sent to Florida for trees
bearing the ripe spores, or seeds, OF
this fungus and distributed these in
orange groves in about half-dozen
localities in louisiana The weather
following this introduction was very
dry and the fungus planting" did
not stake" except at Lake Charles.
In an orange grove at the latter place
t the fungus is increasing rapidly and
on the trees where it is abundant more
than 95 per cent of the white fly larvae
were killed during the past winter.
Encouraged by this partial success,
the entomologists OF the commission
are now s'planting'' the fungus in
orange groves in Orleans and Jefer'
son parishes, and the recent wei
weather-which is favorable to the de.
velopment OF the fungus-is indicative
of success. AS rapidly as material
from the groves already infected with
the fungus can be secured, the com.
mission will start this disease in other
orange groves where the white fly is
prevalent. The present outlook for
the success of this experiment is very
bright, and should it result as ex'
pected the beneficial fungus will save
the orange growers OF the state alone
many times all the money that has
been expended by the commission in
it's various lines of work.