OCR Text |
Show SWEET POTATO CROP DAMAGED BY WEEVIL Outline of Successful Measures of Eradication. Review of Work Done in Florida and Georgia Where Situation Was Worse Use of Clean Plant-ing Plant-ing Stock Is Urged. (Prepared by tho United States Department ot Agriculture.) A method of rendering negligible the heavy damage that would otherwise be inflicted by the sweet-potato weevil has been found by the United States Department of Agriculture. A review of the work done In Florida and Georgia is contained in department depart-ment circular 201, bureau of entomology, ento-mology, United States Department of Agriculture. Measures successful In the eradication of the pest in thnt section sec-tion are outlined briefly as follows: The old field should be thoroughly cleaned over at harvest, the vines being be-ing fed to stock or burned, aud the field hogged over. The potatoes should be banked as far away as possible from the old field and from the site selected for the next year's potato field. All potatoes on the farm suouU disposed of early. StN. No potato or plants from tlieJJWJ crop should be used on the farm no draw-bed should be planted. jAp Old potato banks should be clei4H-as clei4H-as soon as empty. B" Only draws from sources knowllfjj be free from the weevil should be irii? The Georgia-Florida location war- lected for the test because the sip2 tion there was serious, the sectioi" -. land, climatic conditions adverse.-1 4-J many growers unused to ways off -! operation. No more unfavorable g ditions, it was thought, were 11 s ; g to be- encountered anywhere In -U country. All these, and other ujp t difficulties, have been surmoui however, and the department in circular, announces the following elusions: "The results of the work offer ev : vlnclng proof that the same metti eonvJt followed with painstaking care, be successful In eradicating the sv potato weevil in almost any inf e-of locality .where abundant wild gj(le plants do not offer a fresh and jj0us0 tinuing source of new Inf esta r Careful sorting of the crop, the usrcj"B clean planting stock, and an snij ' change of location for the main pi " . , , )edro ing, even in a continuously Infei locality will reduce Infestation of tubers to a practically ne8"gouse "unntlty- nsem "There is no more reason for lowing a sweet-potato crop to be nCc stroyed annually by weevils than th Is for letting the weeds take It. Fy' n conscientious neighborhood effort " " the application of the principles t,,'ons have been outlined may free any I trlct from a heavy annual tax." A copy of the circular may he riu tnlned free of charge upon appllcat:' ve to the department at Washlngt' eI) D. C. lctlT' the |