Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1916-09-06

, the currant maggot and the onion
magsot would never develop because
the flies would never have laid an egg.
soluble poisons such as potassium
or sodium arsenate injure delicate
follaSe. But it is not necessary to
cover a tree or a field, for the pois-
oned sweet is used as bait and the
1lles are attracted to the poisoned
follage. Based upon Doctor Severin's
experience, the Maine Station issued
letter in the spring of 1916 suggest
ing the following treatment to be used
by those who had more or less of crop
failure in other years from the work
of the union maggot
| Before the onions break through the
ground and about once week there
after until the first of July spray
patches here and there in the onion
held with a solution made in the pro-
| portion OF a pint of molasses, and an
ounce ST potassium arsenate Cor sodi-
um arseEate) to four gallons of water.
/ The writer has grown a small lot of
onions each year for 20 years in his
garden at Orono. In order to partly
overcome the losses from maegots he
has way oversown so that if all of
the onions had lived they would be at
' least five times too thick in the row
He had rot for years had occa sion to
thin his onions. The maggots have
done that for him. And in 1915 de-
spite the overseeing there was not
hVe per cent of a stand at harvest.
IN 1916 he planned to spray with poi
son balt as above described. But like
most readers of Station publications
lie qua not read as carefully as he
should and did not discover until after
MS onions were about two inches high
that he should have sprayed before
they came up. The very last of April
ne planted two rows 100 feet long with
onions, way overseeing as in the past
and parallel with them another row Of
onion sets. The onions came up very
thickly but the seedlings were two or
three inches tall and the sets six to
10 inches tall before the first spray
was applied on the 18th of June. Al
mat time three places about ward
long, at either end and the middle of
.he rows were sprayed by means of a
hand force pump and Nermorel
nozzle with the poison bait A cheap
ieed molasses (blackstrap) having a
strong persistent odor was used. II
rained nearly every day but only three
other applications, at the same part
OF the rows first sprayed. were made
June IS, June 26 and July 10. July Is
the seeding onions were about the
size Of ones finger tip and were
standing very thickly-too thickly to
make crop They We're apparently
without maggots. The writer person
ally thinned the onions on that date /
So far as could be told without pulling
them up the onions from sets were
free from maggots Out of the more
than one thousand seedlings pulled .
up in the process of thinning 10 of
them had maggots. None of those left
for the crop have shown any indica- !
tons of having maggots in them. The
spray did not permanently injure any
of the plants to which it was applied.
If there is second brood it is about
time for them to appear but there will
be no further spraying this season.
Apparently the spraying has been
successful in control of the maggot
Obviously a single trial Of this kind
Is not conclusive. 1t is not feasible to
have check plots in an experiment of
this kind. The only way to make sure
is by having a large number Of trials
at different places. The chief object in
writing this at this time is to learn
% If anyone followed the suggestions
in the earlier letter the present
year, and if so with what success, and
@! to get the names of people who
are having trouble with onion mag
COTS this year in order that cooperative
trials may be arranged with them in
1917. The writer would be lad for in
formation on either Of the above
points at an early date.