The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1920-06-23
ALFALFA WEEVIL
EXPERTS ARE HERE
Give Spraying Demon.
STATIONS Thruout
the County

The University of Idaho extern
sion division is cooperating with
the farm bureaus in several counties
in Idaho where alfalfa weevil has
gotten a start and is conducting
spray demonstrations for the con-
troll of the pest. Claud Wakeland,
extension entomologist for the uni
versity, is in Bingham county now
conducting demonstrations.
A very enthusiastic and interest
ed crowd of nearly sixty men as
sembled at Springfield yesterday to
witness the demonstration, which
was very successful. A demonstra-
ton was held today on the asylum
farm and another will be conducted
Thursday afternoon at o'clock. All
who are interested, and this includes
everyone, for if you have alfalfa you
are going to encounter loss from the
weevil sooner or later, are urged to
be present at the demonstration.
The weevil confronts the farmers
of our western stat es as the greatest
menace to alfalfa raising which is
known. 1t has gradually spread
from the small territory around
Salt Lake City until now it is reduc-
ing the hay crop in five of our west
ern states and it is but a question of
time when it will be a problem in
every alfalfa raising state. Nearly
all the hay raising sections of Idaho
are now infested. Some farmers
will have to undertake control meas
ures at once to protect their crops
and others will need to prepare for
the day when the weevil problem is
theirs, and no man need deceive
himself by thinking he has any i'm
munity from weevil damage.
| Control methods have been chang
ed from year to year and numerous
methods have been tried with vary
| ing degrees of success. Without
doubt spraying with arsenical poi
sons offers the most practical, econ
omical and dependable method
known at present. A spray applied
at the time the eggs are Matching in
greatest numbers and a correspond
ing large number of larvae is at
lacking the foliage of the first crop,
will greatly reduce the damage to
this crop and will protect the later
crops for the same year. A sprayed
field may be left standing until nor
NAL time of cutting or until in bios
som, and growth of second crop Will
start Immediately upon removal of
the first crop of hay Each man
can determine the effective date of
spray by watching his crop. In gen.
eral spray applied just when in
jury to the foliage becomes easily
noticeable and increases rapidly OBJ
tains the best results. This date
may vary considerably in different
years.
The effective date for applying
spray is now about right in Bing-
ham county. While injury as yet is
not very severe in any part of the
county there are few fields heavi-
ly enough infested to warrant dem
onstration work. More can be
learned in attending a demonstration
in person for few minutes than by
reading pages of description. Take
an hour or so off and be present at
the asylum farm Thursday; it will
more than repay you.
The spray used by the extension
division is a regular orchard spray
machine equipped to spray strip
of ground thirty feet wide and as
fast as team walks. 1t will cover
two acres in about twenty-five min
utes. For rapidly transporting the
outfit truck is used and as soon
as a demonstration is completed in
one county the outfit is loaded and
taken to the next county where work
is planned.
The extension division is conduct
ing an extensive series of demon
STATIONS in seven counties of Idaho
and is advocating the adoption by
farmers generally of spraying.
Where hay acreages are large a
farmer can more than pay for a
good spray machine by the saving
of one years crop. Where acreages
are small it is advisable for seven
or eight farmers in a community to
purchase and use a spray machine
comparatively.
i