Evening star., 1952-04-20
Protecting the Garden
AII-Purpose Sprays or Dusts Considered
Best for Use by the Small Gardener
By w. n. Younomon
By w. n. Younomon
Gorden Editor

Protecting the garden from the
insects and diseases that are
plentiful in this area can be made
a relatively simple task If few
rules are observed. In the first
place, our efforts should be pri-
marily preventive. In other words,
We should see to it that the
poiSons and germ killers are on
the foliage before the bugs and
the germs arrive.
Secondly, the job of selecting
the right kind Of materials and
mixing them together can be a
complicated task should the gar
dener attempt to do it. It is
safer to depend on a reputable
manufacturer to do the job. To-
day. practically every one Of the
manufacturers of insecticides and
fungicides has a staff of experts
who study the new materials and
select those they believe will do
the best job.
The last rule is to follow a
regular program of busting or
spraying so that the foliage is
kept covered with the necessary
protective materials. There is
no hard-and-fast rule as to to how
often the job should be done.
Some gardeners plan to make an
application every week end.
Actually, in the spring when the
foliage is growing rapidly and
showers are frequent, the appli-
cations should be more often than
in late summer when growth is
relatively slow and when showers
are infrequent.
Matter of Personal Preference.
The choice between dust or a
spray is a matter of personal pref
erence. Both will do a good job
of controlling the garden pests and
diseases if properly applied. A
dust is easier to put on and a dust
gun is relatively inexpensive. The
time it Stakes to prepare a spray
is often longer than that required
to dust the entire garden. On the
other hand. dustS wash off with
every shower and must be re-
placed. Also, dusts are objection
able to some and should be avoid
ed. Dusts cannot be applied when
there is an appreciable breeze
blowing. Most dusts are relatively
ineffective against aphidS and
other sucking insects that must be
''hit" to be killed.
While a spray takes time to
mix, and after the chore is done
it takes a few minutes to clean
the sprayer, the material is likely
to stay put, especially if a good
spreader and sticker was included
in the mix. To be effective a
Sprayer must develop good pres
sure so that the spray is delivered
as a fine mist. Large drops of
spray do not give good coverage
of the leaf surface and there is
a strong tendency for them to run
together and flow to the lower
edges Of the leaves.
Leaves Should Be Covered.
A spray to be effective should
leave the surface of the leaf cov-
cred with a large number of very
tiny specks of solution. If the
material is applied until it runs
off the leaf, very little protection
will remain on much of the leaf
surface. The same may be said
for busting. But if the coating is
so heavy as to be plainly visible
to the eye, it is likely to reduce
the amount of sunlight that
reaches the leaf cells, thus redue-
ing the leafs functioning. 7
Whether one uses dust or "a
spray, every effort should be made
to see that both surfaces of all
of the leaves are coated. In COM
pact. dense, tWiggy bushes it is
more difficult to attain this OBJ
jective with a spray than with a
dust, but it is important to do SO
because many insects spend most
of their time on the underside OF
the leaves. Also, the major points
of entry for disease germs are the
large pores on the under Sufface
of the leaves.
AS indicated above, the choice
Of the materials to be included In
a dust or spray should be left tc
the experts. This implies that
the job will be taken care of BY