The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1912-06-28
NOTES OF THE FARM.
COLUMN OF INTERESTING NEWS
THAT WILL BENEFIT
FARMERS.
DopDER IN CLOVER.

HlHB NtiioN VI lcuuiSu Pioht WhiN'
chambers over clover and alfalfa, Sc
curing itself to these plants ant
robbing them of their sap. 1t come:
from a minute brownish-gray seed
looking like particle of dirt, which
terminates exactly like the seeds OF
clover, but after coming up lets &c
its hold on the soil and fastens up
on other plants. The love-vine is a
related species. but is commonly
found on plants of little value, grow
ing on wet land,
These plants have no true leaves
and are not weeds in the proper
sense, but parasites, deriving all
their nourishment from plants OF
other sorts. The cloyer-infesting
species becomes extremely destruc-
tive at times, and sometimes dam
ages planting so severely as TO
compel the owner to pillow 1t up,
Fortunately, It does not attack most
other plants and hence, even II soil
becomes thickly sown with its seeds,
it will still produce crops of other
sorts.
Very little can be done toward
getting rid of it, once soil is thick
ly sown with the seeds, except
using the land for other crops not
subject to attack and waiting until
the seeds have lost their vitality,
Just how long this will be necessary
has not been determined, but 1t
would probably be good many
years, Judging by what we know Of
the persistence OF other seeds.
1t is matter of the utmost inn
portance, therefore. 10 prevent land
becoming infested with the pest,
and here something can be done.
The seeds have been sown in large
numbers in Kentucky with clover
and alfalfa seeds Our work of in
srecting the field seeds sold in the
market showed originally that a
large proportion of both clover and
alfalfa seeds contained dodder seeds,
At one time screenings contained
dodder and other weed seeds were
imported to this country from Eu-
rope and were mixed with the seeds
sold to our farmers This fact ac-
counts for the general presence OF
dodder seeds among clover and al
falfa seeds when we began our
work.
To avoid sowing the seeds farm
ers should first acquaint themselves
with their appearance, and TO do
this Ii is only necessary TO buy a
tripod magnifler costing about fifty
cents, spread sample OF clover or
alfalfa seeds on sheet OF white
paper and separate all foreign seeds.
Dodder seeds may be recognized by
the fact that they are smaller than
the average well matured clover
and alfalfa seeds, measuring but
about O.04 inch in diameter, where
as good clover seeds should meas
ure about O.07 inch in length, and
alfalfa COS or 0.0e inch. Seeds OF
the pest are nearly spherical.
though sometimes slightly angled
owing to the pressure of one seed
against another in the seed capsule.
The surface is dull and smooth,
the color, pale gray. or light brown
ish gray. Seeds OF the field dod-
der or loye-vine. sometimes found
with ciGyer seeds, average little
larger than clover dodder seeds
and thus are not SO easily screen
ed out with Me sleeves used by
seedsmen. Standard. sleeves are IN
use, howver, that will remoSe most,
or all clover dodder seeds. and'-the
presence of this dodder seed In
samples is to be looked upon as
condemning the stock from which 1t
was taken.
When farmers or seedsmen are
unable to decide for themselves
about the presence of dodder seeds,
samples should be sent to the Elk
pertinent Station at Lexington,
whore they will be examined free
of charge.
Farmers can help greatly in re-
ducing the injuries of dodder, not
only by refusing to buy field seeds
in which are dodder seeds, but by
refraining from harvesting clover
seeds of infested fields. When dod-
der is prevalent in clover or alfalfa
1t is sometimes wise to cut the crop
before the dodder seeds are ripe, or
else pillow the whole growth under
and put the land in some other
crop. A few patches of dodder in
a field may sometimes be complete
ly eradicated by using crude car
bolic acid freely. This kills plants
80 III o1~t.t o.. 4t,.,. -. L.. ona