Imperial Valley press., 1935-03-06
BY ID. A. HARRIGAN
Agricultural Commissioner

The use of sprays and dusts for
the control of insects affecting
truck crops In Imperial Valley has
gradually become part of our ag-
ricultural practice. Any control
treatment of aphis. leaf hopper,
and other sucking insects is apt to
carry with it the liberal use of nico-
tine, pyrethrum and simular dusts
that release stupefying vapors in
quantity sufficient to kill the pest.
Light applications it has been
found do not control Similarly
the use of arsenic against chewing
insects such as cucumber beetles,
cutwor1nS, ETC., has become part of
our standard economic practice.
This development has been one of
steady growth. In the last 10 or
IL years the introduction of higher
power busters and airplane dusting
methods has altered the former
methods of application in the VAL
ley somewhat by giving a more ef-
fective and thorough method While
these methods have reduced the
losses from destructive insects, they
have decidedly affected the bene-
ficial aid given by parasitic and
predaceous insects and have in some
instances cut down crop yields of
melons, squash, tomatoes, ETC., by
destroying the natural means of the
very necessary pollenation requir-
oI 10 1a4 fpt,if tt,AcA
Flies, bees and similar pollenizing
insects are apt to be killed more
quickly by nicotine than the more
sluggish pests that are being fought
by the poison fumes. Arsenic is
more effective against honey bees
than against caterpillars or dark
ling beetles and grasshoppers.
The grower of peas, carrots, let
guce and cabbage is not confronted
with the pollenation problems Of
the melons, squash and tomato pro-
ducer, so it is to the latter group of
growers that we are appealing for
help to keep the bee keepers from
suffering severe losses. If we drive
the bee keepers out of business by
killing off his bees with poisonS
intended for pests we lose our set
of fruit on the crops we are pro-
tecting.
Busy Bees On JOB
In the spring when our melons
begin to bloom, our neighbor IS bees
flock to the fields to pollenate the
flowers that later make our crown
set melons. They keep up this work
through the season and If undis-
turbed set a constant supply of
melons until the season ends. In
most of the melon bearing flowers
of our ordinary cantaloupes and
white melons there is an adequate
supply of pollen in spite of the fact
that the plant also produces a large
number of sterile flowers that bear
only pollen. Bees or other insects
are necessary to set these perfect
flowers which do not self pollenate
naturally. Most forms of water
melons, cucumbers and squash have
pollen carried from the Staninate
flowers to the fruit bearing pistil-
late flowers which in these forms
lack the pollen bearing stamens
around the pistils. If we Use ar
Senic or nicotine in excess we des-
troy our bee visitors and get very
low yields in our fields of melons
and squash. It may be that our
growers will find it worth while to
use the methods of certain decid-
uous fruit growers and make ar
rangements with bee men to pro-
vide swarms of bees to pollenate
their fields.
Seek Control Measures
Through their county and state
organizations, the bee men of this
region are planning for a legislative
program to control any general
program of poisoning.
They very naturally desire cer-
tain legal restraint on the appli-
cation of poisons without due re-
gard to its dangerous and damag-
ing consequences.
We agree with their suggestion
that there should be close state and
county supervision over the oper-
ations of commercial pest control
outfits. who due to the wide range
of their work may not realize the
danger of their treatments to spe-
cial local developments.
Under this head we must also
approve thier suggestion as to the
strict limitations of airplane dusting
until methods are devised to abso-
lutely control the dust cloud drift