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Show FARM, RANCH 8. GARDEN Edition April, 197813 Hints for insect, pest control The backyard gardener Carbon and Emery counties isnt alone as he watches his garden grow. Out there somewhere are the insects and mites that are just waiting to see what was planted. After a long, and often cold winter, some of these insects are ready to eat as soon as the gardener finishes planting. Most insects, however, dont start eating until the plants are up and growing. Insect damage to garden vegetables may take many forms. If the seeds germinate, but only a sprinkling of seedlings appear along the row, one may suspect root maggots, wireworms or even cutworms. These same pests may be responsible for seedlings doing poorly after they appear above the surface. To determine the cause for these problems, the gardener needs to dig up some of the plants and observe the roots. The root maggots are a greyish-whit- e worm-lik- e larvae of a fly, and look very much like the house fly maggot. The in wireworms are rather in small diameter, in color and feel stiff when handled. brownish-orang- e The cutworms are caterpiin appearance. llar-like There are reasons other than insect pests which may cause seeds to fail to germinate and seedlings to die. Lack of moisture, too much moisture, and plant diseases are often to blame. Once the garden plants are up and growing, many different kinds of insects may attack them. When aphids first appear the gardener may fail to see them because they are small, slow moving and often the same color as the leaves. Since they usually feed on the underside of the leaves, one must turn the leaves over to find them. Later on, as the aphids increase in numbers, they may be readily seen and by this time, the plants may be loosing vigor. Aphids feed by sucking the juices out of the plants, but they dont seem to discolor the leaves as is the case with some other insects which feed in a similar way. If plant leaves have a blotchy or mottled look, with green and white areas intermixed, the gardener should suspect mites, leafhoppers, thrips or some other such pest. Mites are very tiny. It is often much easier to see the damage they cause than to see the mites themselves. Like most aphids, mites are usually found feeding on the underside of the leaves. Leafhoppers and thrips often damage the leaves in such a way as to give them a grey or mottled appearance. These two insects suck the plant juices from some cells leaving them white or clear. The white cells intermixed with the green cells causes the mottled appearance. Leafhoppers are small, narrow-bodie- d insects that often fly or jump when starteld. Some people refer to them as flies, but they are not flies. Thrips are very tiny in size and narrow in body shape. Some are winged and can fly, but many including the nymphs are not winged and therefore cannot fly. Thrips often prefer to live in the flowers. plant leaves look they are being skeletonized, that is, the If like green between the veins is being eaten causing the veins to stand out, then one might suspect the beetle larvae are present. If the damage is due to the Mexican Bean beetle, one can often find the eggs, larvae, pupae and adults all on the underside of the leaves. Only the larvae and the adults feed. Like most insect pests of the garden, only a few individual specimens may be seen at first, but within a matter of a week or ten days, these insects can badly damage a row of beans. If leaves have the appearance of being chewed, then suspect caterpillars, grasshoppers, crickets or beetles. Caterpillars, a name which tends to include loopers, armyworms, cutworms and the com earworm, are the of butterflies and moths, mostly moths. These insects, like the grasshoppers and the Colorado Potato beetle, have chewing mouthparts. They readily feed on the tender leaves and the stems of growing plants. The cutworms usually eat the plants at that point where they emerge from the ground. The army-worm- s will crawl up the plants and feed on the leaves. The corn earworm feeds on the newly forming kernels just inside the developing cob. Home gardeners are encouraged to periodically examine their vegetables, observing both the condition of the plants and the possible presence of an early insect indeveloping festation. Some insects can be present in rather large numbers and yet not be too damaging, such as is the case with some kinds of aphids. Other insects can be present in very small numbers, yet do siderable damage, to be predators of sorts. We have a briefly discussed some of the insects to watch for, but it should be pointed out that there are many insect visitors in the garden that are beneficial and many more which are harmless. The ladybird beetles are very beneficial. Their presence in the garden is a good omen, since they will feed on the aphids and some other small insects. mantids and Preying lacewing flies are also beneficial and should not be destroyed with chemical sprays. Among the most benelicial of all insects are the insect pollinator's, such as the honey bees and wild bees. Some of our past icnuency io use a pesticide for a minor infestation than has often been the case in the past. The attitude now is, dont spray if you dont have to. Some people are exploring other ways of controlling insects other than the use of pesticides. In the past we were somewhat obsessed with the idea of destroying all pest insects on any particular crop, now we realize that with many insect pests, 70 or 80 percent control is adequate, especially if by accepting less control we destroy fewer beneficial insects. Most insect pests of gardens can be controlled with one of the four following insecticides; Sevin, malathion, diazinon or methoxychlor. Chlor-danis an excellent insecticide for the control of certain insect pests, but it will soon be restricted for homeowner use by the U.S. Environmental Protection e if you have chlordane on hand, you can use it according to label directions, present, i .r con- cepts concerning insect control are changing. We are now much more conscious of the possible hazards involved in using pesticides. Many people are changing from persistent or highly toxic pesticides to those which are less persistent and less toxic. We are also more concerned now than may have been the case in the past in terms of protecting the beneficial insects. We realize that we need the beneficial insects and that to destroy them is very unwise. There is now less of Sweet pea tips Read the descriptions on seed packets. Varieties bred for landscaping form mounds 12 to 20 inches high and need no support. Tall varieties grow to 6 feet or more and need to be trained up wires or strong cords. 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