The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1916-04-12
CUTWORM CONTROL
Cornfields May be Protected by PloT-
ing at The Proper Time And Using
Poison.

ing at The Proper Time And Usln.
Poison.
Numerous complaints of the raw
ages of cutworms, especially in rela
ton to corn, are received each season
by the department. Prompt action
is necessary for controlling cutworm
after their presence becomes notice
able in the spring, which is usual.
about the time the corn begins tt
sprout. Because of the fact that the
delay necessary between the time the
worms make their appearance ant
the time a reply can be received
from the department is often disas
trous to the crop, the Importance o
recognizing these insects and know
ing how to control them is evident.
Cutworm injury almost invariably
occurs in the spring, the plants usu
ally being cut Off at the surface, OF
a little below the surface, of the
ground, beginning as soon as the
first plants sprout and continuing un
til late June or early July. by which
time the worms are full grown. Feed
ing takes place at night, the worms
resting during the day beneath debris
or in the soil at depth of from one
half to l inch below the surface, and
since they closely resemble the color
of the soil in most cases, the cause OF
the injury is often not apparent.
However, if the soil surrounding the
cutoff plant be examined carefully.
the culprit will quite likely be found
curled up in the soil.
The various cutwormS are known
under number of popular names,
such as the CLASSY cutworm, greasy
| cutworm, yariegated cutworm, clay
backed cutworm, ETC., but the injur-
les caused by them are very similar
and their habits in general are also
much the same. The parents of cut
worms are grayish or brownisn
moths or ''millers," which commonly
occur at lights during summer even
ings. Each moth may lay from 200
| to 500 eggs. either in masses or
singly, in fields covered with dense
vegetation, and hence are to be
! found more often in cultivated fields
! which have been in grass or weeds
| the preceding fall. The eggs hatch
! in the fall, a few weeks after they
are laid, usually during September,
and the young cutworms, after feed
! iIg on grass and other vegetation un-
til cold weather, pass the winter as
partly grown caterpillarS. If such in
! tested fields are left to grass, no no.
! ticeable injury is likely to occur, but
when it is broken up and planted to
corn or other Wide-row crops, the
worms, being suddenly placed on
short rations," wreak havoc with
the newly planted crops. the nearly
full-grown worms feeding greedily
! and consuming an enormous amount
of food. In northern ATTITUDES they
attain full growth and stop feeding
| in late June or early July and change
to the pupal or resting stage. The
injury often ceases SO suddenly that
| farmers are at a loss to account for
the fact.
| Land to be planted to corn the fol-
| lowing spring, especially such land as
| has laid in grass for a considerable
time and is likely to contain cut
worms, should be plowed in midsum-
| mer or early fall about the time the
| eggs are laid, or better, before the
eggs are laid, for then vegetation
which is suitable for the moths to
lay their eggs upon is removed. The
earlier the preceding year grasslands
to be planted to corn are plowed, the
| less will be the probability that the
cutworm moths will have laid their
eggs thereon, and the less, conse-
quently, will be the danger of in
jury by cutworms tn following year.
| Late fall and winter plowing of
grasslands, although not as effective
as early plowing. will destroy many
of the alternating cutworms, as well
as such other important corn pests as
white grubS, and should be practiced
when earlier plowing is impracti-
cable.
Pasturing hogs upon land suppos-
ed to harbor cutwormS is beneficial
practice, as these animals root up
and devour insects of many kinds, in
Guiding cutworms, in large numbers.
Farm poultry. If trained to follow
the plow, will prove of inestimable
value.
When cutworms are found to be
abundant on corn land, the use of
the poisoned bait is recommended.
This may be prepared as follows:
Mix SO pounds of wheat bran, 2
pounds of Paris green, and finely
chopped oranges or lemons. Then
| bring the whole mixture to the con-
sistency of a stiff dough by the ad-
dition of cheap molasses, such as
is used in cattle rations, adding wa
ter when necessary. Distribute this
bait over the infested field in small
Jumps, taking care to sprinkle 1t spar
ingly around each hill. In case bran
can not be readily obtained, mid
dlings or alfalfa meal may be sue
cessfully substituted. In fields
known to be infested, the distribu-
tion of this bait should be started as
soon as the corn begins to appear
above ground so that the cutworms
may be eliminated as quickly as
possible and the injured hills prom
pity replanted. During the warmer
spring months cutworms do most of
their feeding at night and burrow in
to the soil to the depth of an inch OF
two during the day, SO that the bait
will usually be more effective if ap-
piled during the late afternoon o.
early evening hours.
Frequently cutworms migrate to
cultivated fields from adjoining
grassland, and in such cases the
crops can be protected by running a
narrow band of the poisoned bait
around the edge of the field or along
the side nearest the source of infes-
Automatically News Letter.