The Leader, enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1915-1921, 1918-05-24
SPECIAL SERVICES RENDERED
BY GA. BOARD OF ENTOMOLOGY
What The Board Has Done And Is Doing To
Save Food, Fruit And Cotton Crops From
Injurious Insects And Diseases

Atlanta, Ga, May 21.-(Special.)-
The people of Georgia, especially
farmers and fruit growers, ought to
be well posted on the variety and ex-
s9nt of the services offered to them
hrough the State Board of Entomol-
sgy-services for which there is no
charge and which have saved the
state, or it's individual citizens, in the
last twenty years, many millions of
dollars.
The Georgia State Board of Ento-
mology was established in 1898 with
an initial appropriation of only $4,000.
1t had then only state entomologist
and a stenographer. Today it has grown
into splendidly efficient organization
Of fifteen, including state entomolo-
gist, assistant, experts, station super
intendents, stenographers and others,
and handles annually state appro-
priation Of $4,000.
Generally speaking the work of the
state board may be classified as in
spection work, enforcement Of quar-
antine regulations, investigations look
ing to the control Of injurious plant
insects, and experiments for the con-
troll of plant diseases.
To Save Food Crops
The particular purpose of this ar
ticle is to call the attention of farm
ers and fruit growers to the service
the state board of entomology renders,
SO that there may be wider applica-
ton of it right now to prevent the de-
struction by insects and diseases of
food and fruit crops so badly needed
by Georgia and the country
The inspection work includes in
spection of the lis nurseries in the
state, as well as foreign shipments
into Georgia, to prevent the dissent
nation of injurious insects and plant
diseases. In addition, many peach and
apple orchards, private grounds in city
and country, truck farms and cotton
fields are inspected at the request of
owners, and directions given regard
ing the control of any plant diseases
or insects discovered in them.
enforced by the board relate to the
boil weevil and cotton products from
infested sections; to the shipment of
nursery stock within the state and
from other states; to the pine blister
rust, the sweet potato weevil and the
foul brood Of bees.
Insects And Diseases
The department conducts expert
ments under the direction of w. w.
Chase, and furnishes information re-
lating to the control of peach insects,
such as curculio, peach-tree borer,
shot-hole borer and San Jose scale;
apple insects, such as codling moth,
fat and round-headed borer, apple
aphis, woolly aphis. San Jose and 9TH
er scale insects; Eessian fly in wheat,
and. finally, garden and all crop in
ects and those which attack shade
trees, timber trees, shrubbery and
flowers.
Plant diseases have been given q
great deal Of time and careful atten-
ton by the board. Among these may
be mentioned bitter rot, scab, leaf
spot, cedar rust and crown gall of the
apple; brown rot, scab, leaf curl,
crown gall and nematode gals Of the
peach; various pecan insects and dis
eases; diseases of field and gar:.al
plants such as potato blight, toms 0
wilt, black rot Of cabbages; and, final
ly, the diseases which have proven 50
destructive to cotton, such as wilt, an
thracnose and leaf spot or black arm.
Reducing Cotton Wilt
State Entomologist A. G. Lewis has
devoted much time each season since
1905 to cotton wilt and its control. Mr..
Lewis has succeeded in breeding sig
new strains which are wilt-resistant-
four hybrids, including Dix-Afifi, Lewis
SO, Dillon Hybrid and Hendley's
Choice; and two, by selection, Mo-
della and DeC OTTO, Covington-To ole,
now known as CouncilToole has also
been greatly improved by selection.
These wilt-resistant strains original
ed and distributed by the board of
entomology, are now saving the cotton
growers Of Georgia millions of dollars
each year. Thus the annual loss from
wilt to Georgia has already been re-
duced from $500, 900 in 1905 to $780,
600 in 1917, due directly to the work
Of the board.
Value Of Variety Tests
The variety cotton tests conduct
ed by the department. are proving of
immense value. The purpose of these
tests is to develop strains of cotton
which are both early maturing in or
der to meet boil weevil conditions and
wilt-resistant; and in addition to find
out which are best adapted to maxi.
mum yield in particular localities.
These variety tests are now being con-
Quoted at Thomasville and Valdosta,
where the board has two stations in
charge Of Cotton Specialist Ira w.
Williams. Experiments at the Valdos-
ia station are confined to sea island
cotton.
The variety tests at Vienna, Amer
icus, Lumpkin and Brunswick, togeth-
er with the breeding plot at DeSoto,
Sumter county are in charge Of