OCR Text |
Show DANGER Of THE ALFALFA WEEVIL In 1904 the ctomologists of the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station discovered a weevil in an alfalfa field near Salt Lake City, which had not been known in this country before that time. Since then this insect (Phytonomus murinus) has spread In all directions over a largo territory and threatens to extend Its ravages throughout the alfalfa country. At a recent meeting of the Biological Biologi-cal Society of Washington, Francis M. Webster, of the United States Department Depart-ment of Agriculture, gave an account of tho life history of the beetle and of Its methods of diffusion The eggs are laid In the young stem of the alfalfa al-falfa plants, and as soon as tho grub hatches out It climbs to tho growing tip and feeds on the tender leaves, preventing the growth of the plant. As the season advances the adult beetles bee-tles are found feeding on the plants, gnawing through tho bark and killing them. It is estimated that the damage dam-age done by this beetle In Utah during the past season amounts to half a million dollars. ' Tho adults conceal themselvos In baled hay, In packing material and cases in cracla, of freight cars, etc., so that they aro being carried rapidly In all directions by the regular channels chan-nels of commerce In addition to this tho flying adults are rapidly carried about by the wind. No ineanB have been found for lighting this new enemy of one of the most Important of our crops. Frogs and toads seem to be tho only natural enemies in this country, and these cannot be relied on to be of much assistance In tho comparatively dry regions where- tho alfalfa is raised. The birds do not seem to rllli them, and no insect enomies havr been found. Tho larvae of similar forms In tho eastern east-ern states have been successfully corn-batted corn-batted by means of cortaln fug'l; but those do not seem to attack the larvao of tho lucerne weevil. The sorlousnQas of this now damage may bo realized when It Is considered that In several of tho western states tho alfalfa crop means the farmor's chief or even sole source of cash. Tho .cultivation of alfalfa has dovoloped so rapidly that tho government statisticians statis-ticians havtj l)cen unable to dotermlue Its valuo from year to year with any -degree of accuracy. For 190S tho value of this crop was estimated by the experts as being over $100,000,-000. $100,000,-000. Scientific Amorlcau. |