The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1912-07-02
INDUSTRY
IN UNITED STATES
INJURY BY INSECTS BEING IN
VESTlGATEO BY BUREAU OF
ENTOMOLOGY
lRY Winfield JOnes)

Washington, July lit has been
est mated that the peanut industry III
the United States, for the year l3lO
amounted to sl5,0O0,O00, and that
about 20 per cent of the peanuts
grown are injured by insects, bringing
the estimate of annual loss to $1,000,
OOD. Under the direction of Secreta-
ry of Agriculture Wilson, experts in
stored product insect Investigations OF
the Bureau of Entomology are study
ins this problem.
Until recently the peanut was con-
sidered practically immune from in
sect injury, the growing plants suffer
| ing no noticeable damage while the
nuts" are protected by their shells
from the usual insect enemies Of
stored products. With the advent OF
the mechanical thresher or peanut
picker" this injury has greatly in
creased, amounting to as high as 80
per cent. This is due to the tendency
of operators to feed the nuts TOO
quickly through the machine, resulting
in broken shells, which afford easy
entrance to insect pests and to the
practice of piling sacked nuts high in
storage warehouses, and climbing
upon tae sacks, thus breaking the
shells, and increasing the percentage
of infestation. The insect principally
concerned in injury to the stored prod
uct is the Indian-meal moth. It's cat
erp!llar, which, when fully grown,
measures about half an inch in length,
develops with great rapidity ana II NOT
checked does consequent serious in
Jury. The moth which lays the eggs
which produce this destructive cater
pillar appears in the Virginia peanut
growing region in March and April,
and by June the first new generation
or broad" of moths first become no
ticeable in numbers, Later, other
} )generations are produced-as many
as four in ordinary temperatures and
still more in heated buildings.
Two effective methods of control
may be employed with excellent re-
sults-heat and fumigation Heat is
applicable only to mills or storage
rooms heated by steam. BY employ
ing steam at a pressure of 10 to 100
pounds a temperature of l20 degrees
Farenheit may be easily produced on
hot day in summer. This tempera-
turh. if maintained for about SIX
hours, readily penetrates the bags and
destroys the insects. The temperature
should not he raised above 125 de
greeS, as experiments nave SHOWN thaI
blanching and slipping Of the skin
are apt to take place at higher tenn
peratures. especially with shelled
spanish nuts.
\ considerable degree of prevention
of injury may be accomplished by the
grower and packer in the proper hand
ling of the peanuts. Infestation may
begin in the storage sheds or barns
and is especially apt to be severe
whore the nuts are held over summer.
BY avoiding this practice of crowdiug
the mechanical pickers or threshers,
especially those of the cylinder"
type. which results in broken peanut
shells The peanuts should be stored
IN light, well ventilated buildings. pre-
fereably in concrete, brick or stone
structures rather than in loose, frame
buildings In addition to the necessity
of fumisating or heating the storage
plant it may be found advisable to
fumigate the freight cars used in
transporting the nuts.
Notice Of Sale