Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-06-03
DAILY HINTS ON
FARM TOPICS
Rv K A Kirkpatrfck,
By K. A. Kirkpatrick
The Corn Root-I4ouse.

In6 NOTn ltOOV"hNASS1s
The corn root-louse Is due to be-
gin its degradation as soon as the
plants appear In the field. This IN
sect was OF considerable importance
in this county last year. and caused
probably thousands OF dollars o.
damage in this section. Many FAR
mers have already complained to me
about the trouble they experienced
last year.
Practical Pointers Regarding the
Insect.
The insect passes its winter In the
nests of the cornfleld ant. As soon
as the warm days Of spring come, the
ants take the eggs or undeveloped
lice and place them on the roots o.:
some suitable plant. They will de-
Ivelop upon many kinds OF weeds,
namely smart weed, rag weed, fox
tail. and crabgrass. There are ma
Inv generations each season, probab-
lily at least 1l6. A certain proportion
| Of the lice In each generation arc
winged and fly from one corn field
| to another. The wingless forms are
distributed on other plants by the
ants. The rate of reproduction is
something enormous. The average
number Of generations is about 16,
and each female in each one Of these
generations produces an average OF
I "A young. 1t will be seen at once
that q very few of these insects
would be sufficient to stock q whole
neighborhood ana 1t also points to
the necessity Of the combined efforts
of all farmers to get rid OF the trou-
BILE. AS long as there Is one care
less farmer there Is always q chance
to have a stock Of insects on hand.
How to Get Rid of the Louise.
It has been found that the root
louise eggs are always laid In old
cornfields, that they are kept over
winter in the nests of ants, that they
begin to hatch some time before any
crop Is In the ground In condition
to furnish food for the young, that
during this period which is two to
four weeks in length, the young lice
must get their support from young
field weeds that start from seeds
during the month of March or April
The time for operation will de-
pend on the weather and the season
FAIL infested corn fields should be
plowed deep enough to turn out the
nest of the ants, and should then be
repeatedly disked as nearly as pos
sible to the depth OF blowing. The
blowing should be about to in
ches. The disking will break up
the nests Of the ants and scatter the
root lice so thoroughly through the
ground, that the old ants will not
be able to bring them together again.
! To make 1t as difficult as possible for
the insects to search the earth, the
soil should be packed with heavy
roller after the last disking Is done.
This work should all be done as ear
ly as possible in the spring. 1t Is
more important that these opera
lions be carried out on fields where
corn is to follow corn.
In fields where the attacks were
bad last year, and may be anticipat-
| ted again this year. one may carry
, out supplementary method of COM
! bat by placing some strong smelling
! substance In the hill of corn to keep
| the ants away. In some expert
ments that have been carried on at
. the Illinois Experiment Station, II
has been found that oil Of tansy
! mixed with bone meal and dropped
In the hill by fertilizer droppel
attached to the planter is q good re-
pellent. Use 100 pounds Of bone
meal to each acre Of land, and Y
pound of oil Of tansy mixed with on,
gallon of wood achotol. Stir tn
liquid into the bone meal and drol
he same with fertilizer dropper
attached to the corn planter This
will protect the corn for only short
:ime.. 1t will not kill the anita or
heir young but will keep
hem out of the corn hills
f the weather is >verw wet 1t
oe put into corn Frequent rotation
will presently be washed away but
such weather is itself destructive to
he root lice and will often save q
field which would otherwise have
been badly damaged.
The fact that the lice get their
sustenance during several weeks In
The spring from field weeds would in
iicate that the farmer should be very
careful about keeping weeds from
seeding during the fall OF the previ-
GUS year. The weeds should not be
allowed to secure q start on corn
ground during the spring season.
THIS may be accomplished by contin-
ually disking the soil which is to
be put into corn. Fequent rotation
late surface cultivation and main
tenance OF fertility are important
aids in the control o.. the lice.
rEEn oAvc