Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1918-07-30
AMONG THR FARMERS.


Correspondents on pracs1cal Agricultural tonic
70 solicited. Address AL oommunications IN
tended for this department. 10 HENRY D
hh0ND. Agricultural Editor Oxford Dem
The Corn Growers Troubles.
SOME REASONS WHY YOUR CORN NAY
HAVE Had POOR START.
Possibly the Maine Agricultural Ex
pertinent Station has not received more
letters about corn troubles this year
than usual, but IL certainly seems so, al.
though every year numerous letters with
their tale of corn failure come to IL.
| There have been five principal reasons
this year why many corn paintings did
not have Q healthy start; immature seed,
cutworms, white grubs, magoots, and
wireworms. All of these agencies have
been evident in many parts of the State
and In some fields several of the factors
operated at once. Climatic conditions
cannot be held responsible in any
of these except In this WY;
perhaps their Injury was q little
more evident this year than II
might have been last year. But the pur-
pose of this letter is to show that these
five factors operate every year when GER
tain principles of corn production are
neglected.
The use of immature seed may be
avoided by testing the seed before plant
ing and In this connection 1t should be
emphasized that so to 100 seeds are not
too many to use for this purpose and
the use Of less than this number
rarely gives accurate results. From the
same field>one ear may show high and
another very poor termination. Make
the test thorough enough to be certain.
The trouble involved is negligible and
one cannot afford to stake several acres
Of corn on a guess that the seed will
germinate well. Neglect to test the
seed necessitated the replanting, too
late for good crop, Of one field of IS
acres this year.
The insect factors of corn production
have been more important this year
than has been observed for q long time.
The reason is evident in all parts of the
State where new land has been turned.
scotland is always infested with multi
tudes of insects and frequently hay-fields
are "run out" because of the numbers OF
subterranean insects that nible off the
roots Of tall grasses, causing them to be-
come stunted or die, in which event their
places are taken by weeds. II scotland
Is "turned over" to be cultivated it will
carry with it the insect inhabitants of
| the ground and il the land is planted to
corn, the same insects which fed upon
the grass roots will attack the corn
since the corn is one Of the grasses.
And the wireworms, cutworms, and
white grubs will concentrate their at
tention on the sprouting seeds.
OF these pests the wireworms have
this year been of the major importance.
They are one half to one inch long, with
wiry, cylindrical, tough, brown, wsxy,
shiny texture. They feed three years in
the ground after which they turn into
''click beetles" The wireworms some
times do not wait for the corn to sprout
but attack the seed. More often they
nibble off the roots of the corn or the
crown and the plant turns yellow and
dies. They then attack the next plant
or wait for new seed to be planted.
There is no remedy directly applicable
to save crop once attacked but pre-
ventive measures are discussed below.
The "white-grubs," the young stage
of the "June bugs, are very much
larger than wireworms, have softer
bodies, are white with q brown head
and are generally found lying curled up.
They are destructive during the two
years of their underground life attack
ing corn roots voraciously and like the
wireworms cannot be attacked in time
to save the crop when once observed at
work.
The ''cutworms" II present in import
ant numbers can be easily dealt with by
the use of "poison bran NASH" They
differ from the other two in being in
the caterpillar stage of moth and in ap-
pearance being about an inch in length,
clay -colored, naked, curled up and
greasy looking. They feed entirely
above ground and at night.
Having disposed of the ''cutworms" via
the "poison bran mash" method let as
confine our attention to the other two
which this year have been the more
destructive and In some sections have
been disastrous to the corn cultivator.
As previously pointed out, methods for
controlling wirew0rms or white-gruos
must be applied before the crop
is planted. In the first place let US dis
pose of one experiment that has failed
this year in widely separated counties
under State of Maine conditions: No
material coated on the seed such as tar
or an insecticide preparation will insure
against insect attack. Any temporary
repellant becomes overbalsnced by the
| attractive sproutipg root of the grain.
Those substances are good safeguards
against the crows but not, according to
Maine experience, against the insects.
There remains the alternative of crop
rotation combined with frequent culti-
vation and late fall ploughing. II one
prefers 10 raise corn rather than wire
| worms and whits-grubs, than he should
plant q crop upon which they cannot
feed such as clover, peas, beams, etc. In
the rotation following sod. In the case
of cultivated crop, cultivation should be
frequent enough to kill the weeds and
grasses upon which the insect might
| otherwise feed and In tho fall turn over
the land TO expose the wireworus and
white grubs to the birds and the wealth
or. In some sections hogs are turned
onto land intended for corn cultivation
the following year. The hogs eat both
tho worms and the grasses, seldom leav-
| ing single white grub In the soil.
/ In the event that cultivator refuses 70
recognize the insect factor Of corn culti-
walton and 10 satisfied with . minimum
weld, theu be should not forget the risk
that he has taken. Sometimes Q rather
heavy infestation Of wireworms will live
of . field Of corn which has been heavily
fsrtilixed and plentifully watered and
the evidence Of attack will not be
noticed until the yield in bushels OF corn
n considered. This il the most danger
ous aspect Of these corn insects, they
work unseen and the result ct their
nresence 10 often unrealized when the
| field il apparently In thrifty condition.
In any case, IL the insects are there you
are feeding them and II you are feeding
them you cannot afford to.
These may be some Of the reasons
vhy your corn had poor start this year
and for lust the Same reasons you should
plan to rotate next year.-Chss. u.
Woods, Director.
| Order fertilizer In 200.pound bags,
al