The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1915-07-31
DonALDsoNvlLLE, LA, SATURDAY. JULY 81, 1915.
FALL ARMY WORM COMING.
Government Warns Farmers to Take
Precautions in Time.


mics are not sufficiently abundant III
Texas this year to keep it down. There
is little doubt, therefore, that it will
continue to work it's way northward,
doing more and more damage as it adj
vances. The line of its probable
march being fairly well known, how
ever, farmers who act in time may
do much to protect their crops, es-
pecially alfalfa, corn, and the
sorghums.
When they first appear the worms
are very small and feed beneath mat
ted grass, etc., but they grow rapidly
and suddenly migrate in myriads to
the corn or sorghum fields. If the
ground between the corn rows is
grassy the worms will probably orig
mate there and feed there until
partly grown before attacking the
corn. There is danger therefore that
before the farmer is aware of their
presence he will find his corn stripped
to bare stalks and his alfalfa to bare
stems.
Where a close examination Of a
corn field shows the presence of the
fall worm actually attacking the corn,
the Department of Agriculture rec
ornmends busting the plants with
powdered arsenate of lead, using from
8 to 5 pounds per acre, mixed with 2
or 8 times its weight of flour. This
precaution is, of course, out of the
question on forage crops or on corn
afterwards to be used for fodder on
account of the danger of poisoning
stock. In such cases hundred
pounds of wheat bran may be mixed
with couple pounds of either Paris
green or powered arsenate of lead,
preferably the former, and the whole
mass worked into stiff dough by the
use of 8 to 4 gallons of molasses and
the juice of a half dozen oranges or
lemons added thereto. If this is soWi1
broadcast on the ground where the
worms are at work they will feed up
on it and be killed. The worms, it
has been found, will come to the poi
soned bait from distances of from 5
to 10 inches.
In alfalfa fields the immediate cut
ting and curing Of the alfalfa is adj
visable as soon as the infestation has
been discovered. This will not only
save the hay crop, but will cut off the
food of the worm and check there
by the development of another gem
GRAFTON which may be many times
more destructive than the first. As
soon as the hay has been removed
from the field, the ground should be
rolled with heavy roller or brush
dragged, or the poison bait can be
used.
The habit Of the moths of descend
ing an inch OF two into the ground in
order to pass into the pupal state is
Of great Importance in their control.
A. has been tinaated t.lla b sha How
cultivation will destroy from SO TO
go per cent Of the insects at this time,
the efficiency of the measure depend
ing upon the thoroughness with
which the work is done. In alfalfa
the use of the spiked tooth harrow OF
the alfalfa cu1tivator is best unless II
is known that disking is not injurious
to the plants. Cultivation of the
ground between the rows of corn has
been found to destroy nearly all OF
these pupae, thereby preventing the
development of another generation.
Ordinarily, there are from 3 to OF
even generations of the fall army
worm in the course of a year, the
damage done increasing as each sue
cessive generation spreads to the
northWafd
When fields are threatened with in
vasion, but have not as yet become
actually infested, deep furroW
should be ploWed out around the en-
fire circumference nf fhe field. In
to this furrow the advancing worms
will fall. They may then be killed by
dragging heavy log through the
furroW, or, in sections where irriga-
tion is possible, the furrow may be
filled with water and a small quantity
of kerosene sprinkled over the sur
face. This will kill the worms almost
instantly.
The fall army worm, wher
a full grown caterpillar, il
about / 1a inches in length. The body
is striped on ground varying in col
or from a pale, yellowish-brown te
black, more or less streaked and in
terrnixed with dull yellow. On eacI
side there is broad yellow undulat,
ing line more or less strongly nottlee
with red. When very young, how.
ever, the caterpillar is nearly black
The worm will attack almost any
form Of vegetation that is encounter
ed and owes its name to the fact tha1
except in the extreme south it doe
not appear until much later in the sea
son than the common army worm
which it closely resembles.