Evening star., 1942-08-16
japanese Beetles
Being Defeated
By Maryland
Milky White Disease Wipes
Out Vust Armies of
Destructive Insects

Using modern methods of bac-
terial warfare, DR.. George S. Lang
ford. Maryland insect control Off
Ger. is waging a winning battle
against the first fifth column ever
sent to America by the japanese
the ubiquitous beetle.
Since 1916 vast armies of Japa-
nese beetles which originally in
vaded America in shipment of iris
roots, have cost farmers, nursey-
men. orchardists and tax payers of
America millions of dollars.
Today, however, Maryland Is
bringing about the gradual elimina-
tion Of these destructive pests
Through the Milky White Disease.
For three years Department of
Entomology laboratory workers at
College Park, Md. under the direc-
tion Of DR.. Langford have injected
millions of grubs larvae) of Japa-
nese beetles with millions of spores
of the Milky White Disease to make
thousands of pounds of the dust
fatal only to the grub and adult
beetles.
Heavy Losses in Maryland.
Maryland, one of the worst in
fected States on the Eastern Sea-
board, was formerly losing ap-
proximately 31z to 80 per cent of it's
field corn, IS per cent of the sweet
corn: 43 per cent of the early apple
crop and u per cent of early
peaches.
Today, though the entomologists
at the University of Maryland do
not claim eradication of the beetle,
they do say that they have consid-
erably reduced Maryland's beetle
population.
The Milky White Disease, so
named because infected grubs turn
milky white before they die, was
discovered in New Jersey years ago
and was isolated by the late DR.. G..
r. White of the Bureau of Entomolo-
gy and Plant Quarantine, United
States Department of Agriculture.
Application Described.
The disease, in the form of a
powder-like substance, is sprinkled
over beetle-beset acreage in Mary
land counties. A preliminary step
Is the trapping of thousands of lit
tie grubs which are then shipped to
College Park and stored In boxes.
Each grub is individually inoculated
with a small drop of the milky
white serum containing 100000
spores. The grubs are placed in an
incubating cellar for IL days at a
temperature of IS degrees F. where
the original number OF spores in
creased to 5000, 100000.
The sick grubs are ground to a
paste which is diluted with water
and mixed with finely powdered
chalk. This dough" is dried rap
idly to prevent decomposition, pow
dered and mixed with fine tale to
provide bulk for handling. Then
the dust is stored in one and three
quarter pound sacks-an amount
sumcient to treat one acre.
$4,000 Pounds Distributed.
This year 5000 pounds of the
grub dust has been distributed to
Maryland farmers by Julian j. CHS
holm, I'd, supervisor of the distri-
button Of the milky white disease
in Maryland. State workers actually
sprinkle the dust over the infested
areas, experience having shown that
the best-intentioned victims of the
beetle procrastinate or forget to ap-
ply the killer to their acreage.
Application is simple The dust is
mixed with sand or dry soil and is
distributed by an ordinary hand
corn planter which has been modi-
fled SO that 1t delivers two grams of
Gust with each pressure on the lever.
Two grams, which contain 200, 900, :
600 spores of the disease, are applied
every 10 feet. The elements, birds,
animals and footsteps spread the
dust over the surrounding fields and
into the soil.