Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-07-31
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
BY DR. ANDREW M. SOULE
Fighting the Enemies of Corn

fighting the Enemies Of Corn
Some 10000 boys will probably
in Georgia. 1t will also be raised
OF nearly every one of our 100000
farms. 1t thus Is crop of universal
interest To our people. Like all other
w.: x is subject 20 injury and
damage BY various enemies Sup
pose tnar some of them should at
tack your corn crop this summer
What will you do about it? In
other words, have you taken the
trouble to acquatnt yourself with
OF these diseases and insect pests
md the best means of combating
them? If not, you should think
4bout these matters very carefully
because you can do q Tot to minimize
tho damage your corn crop may 9TH
trWise suffer 1t is important that
you do this because the loss of an
ear Of corn after you have gone
% All the labor and trouble in
rolVed in making it is exactly like
throwing away money which you al
ready have in your pocket. The most
aggraVatlng losses we suffer arise
from our permitting the destruction
OF such a large proportion of our
diseases after we have made them.
IT we stop leaks in this direction, we
would literally add millions of dol
lars to the value of our farms. This
oelng true, consider and give atten-
ton to the following suggestions on
the best means of fighting and con-
trolling some of the principal dis
eases and insect pests affecting corn
These suggestions have been pre-
pared by experts of the Georgia State
College of Agriculture, and they rep
resent the best information to be
mad on this subject at the present
time.
Ear. rots are of two kinds, namely,
~ q fnvl Il ~, al
ear worm) damage, and complete de-
structlon of the ear due to rot or
gan1sms which enter through the
stalk by way of the silk. The pre-
yent1on of insect damage would I'M
doubtedly greatly reduce the amount
of ear rot. On the other hand, the
rots which completely destroy the
ear seem to be independent of insect
damage, and it is thought that the
rGe producers queer, az, are soil organisms
stalk and penetrate the ear, destroy
ing its food value. The inconspicu-
Gus frutting bodies of the disease ap-
pear on the stem and base of the
in this way. On the ear itself the
disease appears as a white or piuk-
lsh mould-like growth between the
grains. which are more or less dis
colored (yellowish to blackish). It'll
is thought that the planting of dis |
eased seed will produce diseased
plants, but this point is question |
able IL is known. however, that con-
tlnuouS cropping of the land to corn |
results in an increa sing amount of 4
ear rot, which would indicate that
the trouble is due to a soil organism
or to the diseased stalks LETT in the
field
Ear rot is common over the entire
state. but seldom attains serious pro-
portions except locally. In 1918 the |
loss on certain farms in the western
part of the state ranged as high as
80 per cent.
Crop rotation, combined with prop
er selection of seed corn, will un-
doubtedly hold the disease in check.
The prevention of insect damage is
also of Importance.
The adult form of wire worm is the
snap" beetle, a dark brown or black
beetle about an inch in length which
possesses peculiar habit of Snap
ping its head back and forth, pro- |
ducing clicking" sound The
worm is dark brown or black, about |
two inches long and covered with a
hard, shiny coat The mature beetle |
abundantly over newly broken sod
and in rather wet situations The |
eggs are laid in clumps of grasses or
dedges early in the summer and
hatch about midsummer, the worms
working upon the roots of whatever
other cereals. root crops, vegetables, |
etc. Usually two or three years are
equired for the worms to mature
INTO beetles. When young plants
re attacked the injury resembles
he work of the root borer and, for
his reason, the wire worm is also
, noWn as the bud worm
Crop rotation is the most salts
ractory means of controlling wire
orms. Corn or potatoes should
never following sod. Fall blowing in
regions subject to winter frosts de-
;;troys many of the immature insects.
often 1t is advisable to pillow during
The summer after the eggs have been
deposited and plant to some re-
;;istant crop which will be harvested
in the fall to permit of early winter
blowing. The application of salty
fertilizers Ckainit and nitrate of
soda) destroys many of the insects.
Kainit at the rate of 1000 pounds
per acre is recommended.
The corn weevil proves destruc-
tive field pest in the coastal plain
region of the south in addition to
being a serious storage trouble over
the entire country. The mature in
sect is quite similar in appearance