The Nevada County picayune. (Prescott, Ark.) 190?-current, 1912-08-02
Expert Makes Trip Over State
And Sees Damage Done
BY Worms.
METHOD OF DETERMINATION
Farmers Must Act Quickly to Save
Great Loss-Agricuiturai De-
partment Advising.

Little Rock.-The Arkansas farmer
is threatened by new insect pest
this year and only hard work will
! prevent great damage being done to
the cotton and corn crop, according
to experts connected with the agricul-
| tural experiment station of the Uni
versity Of Arkansas. The enw pest
is the fall army worm or the grass
worm, as it is most commonly known.
G. c. Becker. acting entomologist of
the agricultural experiment station of
the state university, who has just
completed tour of part of the state
for the purpose Of studying the in
sect and making recommendations as
to how it may be successfully combat
ted, declares that the worm has APP
| peared, apparently, in almost every
part of the state and has already in
| 'lcted great damage. He states that
| -urther loss can be prevented, to
large extent, by the exercise of GER
tain measures by the farmers, but he
asserts that unless these precautions
are taken ile5timable damage will be-
done
The fall army worm has been known
to exist in the South for more than
| 100 years. but it is only occasionally
| that it becomes a menace to the farm
ers Of the country. There has been
no official record of any serious dam
age from the pest in Arkansas before
| the present year. Complaints had been
! received at the agricultural expert
ment station from points in various
parts of the state of the damage in
! flicted by the worm this year and in
order to determine how serious the
| damage has been and to determine
what means could best be adopted to
destroy the pest Prof. Becker has
made trip over part of the state
| Prof. Parker states that he believes
the worm is at work in practically all
of the low lands of the state but that
it has not appeared, so far as is known,
in the higher lands. The worm has
| preyed mostly upon the corn but has
also damaged cotton to a considerable
extent in certain parts of the state.
| The worm only eats the cotton stalks.
however, when it tas no other vegeta-
ton upon which to feed, according to
Prof. Becker, and for this reason the
damage to the cotton has not been
extensive.
ITO much stress cannot be laid upon
the importance of clean culture he
| declared. Il found that wherever
there was the greatest infestation the
cause could be traced generally to
the poor culture. Where grass is al
lowed to grow in a cotton field. fe-
male moth will be attracted and will
deposit eggs. After Matching, the
| young worms will eat the grass and
when this is gone they will 20 to the
cotton. The same thing is true to a
larger extent OF corn for corn forms
more natural food for the worms
than does cotton.
As to the methods that should be
adopted to destroy the pest, Prof.
Becker, said:
"Arsenate of lead powder should be
applied to the cotton field. In dust
ing this on the plants, it should be ap-
piled undiluted at the rate of five
pounds TO the acre. Care should he
taken to get the powder on so that
| the poison gets in on the stalks and
branches of the plant. Paris green
should never be used where 1t 4 ,os-
sible TO get arsenate of lead, as the
former is apt to burn the foliage.
nate of lead he should use paris green.
diluted with equal parts of flour and
lime. Since flour does not correct the
burning property of paris green, it ID
well always to add the lime. The paris
| green-lime-four mixture should be an
! piled five pounds to the acre.
AS far as possible" he says, "avoid
giving the moths favorable place tc
breed, such as unused grass lands, az
! grasses, cereals, ETC., to the crops
which are most affected, 1t is adyis
able not to plant wheat, corn or AM
other cereal in pasture lands, unless /,
crop not so subject to infestation in
teryenes. This fall the planter,
should go over all infested lands ant
burn them over. After this the,
should pillow such lands very thorough
~. Burning and blowing for this pes
may be done in the early spring, bu
1t must be early. The object here i
TO burn and bury the wintering pupa
before they emerge in the spring a
moths"
1T is up to the farmer to get busy.
Prof Becker said THE grass worr
mas appeared generally throughou
the state, it is apparent from report
which we have received, and the onIJ
way in which it can be exterminatet
Is through energetic action on "
part oil the farmers. II all the nr
ers who are suffering from the Ss
VIII act at once and follow %
structions which We are givir
pest can be controlled and w
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