Show CONTROL OF WEEVIL IN ALFALFA FIELDS the cheap cheapest eat and most ef effective me method thed to control the alfalfa weevil 1 Is to cut the first crop of alfalfa when it Is in one tenth bloom and cut the second crop 35 to 40 days daya after the first cutting this 00 controls coni n rols the weevil for the following year this practice reduces to a minimum the number of adult weevils that live his over to the following year it la Is these over wintering weevils that lay the eggs which hatch into the hungry green worms that do the damage the early hatched worms all fall victims to the weevil parasite which lays its eggs in the worms later in the season the parasite misses a few worms an and ol 01 unless something else happens to destroy them they go through the cocoon stage and emerge as a a beetles bee t ill which live until the next year cutting and harvesting the hay checks clicc ps the growth of the w weevil e e tit in the worm stage so eo that but bu t v very ery few of them spin cocoons those worms that started in the cocoon stage just before the hay was cut are killed by the heat of the sun when their shade Is taken away it if the hay Is cut early all except two or three per cent of the worms that have started SPI spinning oiling cocoons will tile die because they contain parasite eggs the small percentage escaping the parasite will have only barted their cocoons the last week wee k before the hay Is cut and the sun will kill the worms now consider what happens when cutting of the first crop Is delayed one or two weeks the parasite Is less effective eight or ten tea per cent of the worms agape esabe tt it and these are given enough time to develop into beetles and crawl craw away so the heat of the sun has n effect on them when the hay is cut As a result a heavy crop of weevil Is assured the following year the same principles apply to the second crop although there la is no damage da inage in fact worms are hardly to be found this i crop must be cut early or enough wee vils will mature to overbalance over balance the good effe effects acts of cutting the first crop early the argra pr igram of weevil control c atri places no reb tion upon the handling of the third crop another advantage of sarly early cutting lg Is improved quality of hay it may mean less pounds of hay per acre from froin the first two wo crops but jn in fee feeding ans slue elue it means more pounds of but lerat ai beet beef or lamb iamb per acre this effly catling must be evera aa a whether the hay bay demage or not it only two female per foot to la Is eggs to produce enough worms to riddle that square toot foot of hay there are usually enough wee vils in utah fields to prorogate a damaging number for or the following year it they are given a chance nell neil apson who recently underwent an operation for or appendicitis Is able to be out and around once more |