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Show Lygus Bug injury ; Is Anticipated i By Dr. Knowlton Lvgus bugs are present in many ( 'the alfalfa fields this year, ,hele the proper control practices have not been used for their control. con-trol. The young lygus bugs (Nymphs) (Nym-phs) and the adults damage the bud of the alfalfa causing them to bleach and die. These insects also ' feed on the flowers and young seeds, increasing the amount of flower drop and causing the developing devel-oping young seeds to shrivel and turn brown. Fields severely dam-" aged by the lygus bug take on a ' grayish cast. I The nymphs do more damage to the individual plants and fields' f they ai'e in ,nan do lhe adu11 ly-eus ly-eus bugs. The adults migrate from ! field to field to infest or reinfest 1 fields that were once free from lygus infestations. ' for best results in controlling the lygus while the alfalfa is in the bud stage, dust with 20 to 25 j lbs of 10 DDT dust per acre, or , spray using at least 1.5 lbs. of act-1 ual DDT per acre. Either of these treatments will eliminate lygus nymph for three weeks and possibly pos-sibly through the bloom stage. If the alfalfa field is in the bloom and pollinators are working the alfalfa flowers, toxaphene dust should be applied at 20 lbs. of 10 toxaphene dust per acre, or 1.5 lbs- o actual toxaphene as a spray per acre. The application of insecticides should always be done between the hours of 7 p. m. and 7 a. m., when there are blossoms on the alf alfa fields or alfalfa pollinators, (honey bees and wild bees ) in the area. If this practice is followed follow-ed the least damage will be done i to the beneficial insects which are very valuable in alfalfa seed production. pro-duction. ' |