The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1909-07-28
HOW TO PREVENT
DODOER IN CROPS
Expert Discusses the Lit
tie Parasite.
SOME VALUABLE POINTERS"
For the determination of
This Very BOtherSOme
Farm Growth.

Expert discussion Of the parasite
which destroys clover and alfalfa is
contained in a letter made public byM.
lC. Rankin, Commissioner Of Agricul-
ture, and which will be read with in
terest by farmers who grow either
crop. The communication from Mr..
Rankin is as follows:
Frankfort, KY, July 21.-To the Ed
itors of the City Papers and the Coun
ty Papers in the State:
| wish to ask you to publish for
the benefit of the farmers ofKentucky
and also for the seed men, the fol-
lowing letter in answer to a request
accompanied with sample Of weed whic
was cut from a clover field of DR.. J..
NJ Jesse. at North Pleasureville, Hen
ry county, Ky. The letter from Prof.
H. Garman, State EntomOlogist, fol-
lows:
Lexington, KY. July 17.-Dr. ]. NJ.
Hesse, North Pleasureville, Henry
county, Ky, Dear Sir:-Some time
ago received from Frankfort a pack
age containing the plant parasite.
dodder, on clover, but through soEre
oversight no communication with ref
eIence to ii reached me, and | did
not know exactly where it came from
until | received this morning a com
munication from the Department of
Agriculture. The pest is true para
site. but its seeds terminate in the
soil and grow much like other plants
until il secures a hold on clover or
alfalfa. when it loses connection with
the soil and thereafter derives ALI is
nOurishment from the plant TO which
| il Is attached. The small flowers are
not very different in structure from
these Of other plants and the seeds
are produced in exactly the same way,
but are extremely small. This species
# dcddcr seems to be pretty closely
restricted to the plants Of the clover
group, bat there are others OF The
same genus which attack a variety
Of plants; one Of them IS the we'll
known love-vine often seen growing
/ in large quantities over weeds and
sometimes attaching itself 10 black
/ berries and other woody plants. It
is known also 10 attack clover. The
chief difficulty in destroying The par
asite, once il becomes generally scat
tered in yields, is its likeness to the
plants upon which it grows and the
impossibility Of applying a herbicide
TO It that would not kill the clover or
alfalfa. Good may be done by cutting
the infested clover so early that the
dodder will not have developed it's
seeds. This and the precaution of
avoiding land infested with dodder for
clover and alfalfa, and planting in
stesd such crops as corn, wheat, rye,
potatoes and like, which are not at
tackled by dodder, and above all avoid
planting seed with which dodder seeds
are mixed, are the only suggestions
! have to offer.
81 am satisfied. from the examina-
tion in this division of large num-
bers of clover and alfalfa seed sam
pies that dodder has been widely dis
tributed in the State with clover and
alfalfa. There is 30 good reason why
this should be so. The dodder seed
is 50 much smaller and lighter than
that Of clover that IL can be easily
removed, either by careful screening
or by The use of some blowing device.
If our sced-inspCction law We're amend
ed 50 as to prohibit the sale Of for
ege seed containing the seeds of the
pest, it would do the farmers moro
good than the provision against the
ants employed for seeds are, as far
as | know, all plants that have some
value as forage, but they are much
cheaper than the seed with which
they are mixed, and VILE the farmers
who buy such seeds are cheated they
are not injured otherwise. In the
case of the presence Of large per
centagos of weed seeds, some of them
destructive TO the crops, as in the
case of dodder, and others increasing
the labor of the farmer, the buyer
is not only cheated, but he suffers
an injury which will require years to
remedy. Yours very truly,
Uu HADMANy