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Show I A NEW PEST IN THE ALFALFA FIELDS. That the average fanner has his share of troubles, big and little, is made evident by the numerous letters let-ters of warning sent out by the agri-cultural agri-cultural department with descriptions of pests and Instructions how to fight the invaders. Utah alfalfa growers have been worrying over the weevil, that importation im-portation from Italy. Now the producer pro-ducer of alfalfa seed is cautioned to be on the lookout for a gnat-like fly which deposits eggs on ripening alfalfa al-falfa seed and works destruction. From the Gulf to the Canadian line, this gnat-like fly. known as the I 9 rhalcis-tly, has inTested the alfaiia I fields. The eggs are so small as to I a be Invisible, to the naked eye and I j are depdsited through the soft, green I J seed pods directly into the soft seeds I j when the pods are about half grown I Immediately upon becoming a fly, the I 3 insect eats its way out through the I J shells of the infested seeds, then I a through the green pods large por- I jl tions of the seeds are hollowed out in I J this manner, when they are still I M green and growing. The infested sepds I which still contain the living larvae M of the insect may be recognized by I a their abnormal shape and usually by I a the dull brown color Some of. the I 9 infested seeds, however, retain their I' natural color, but they always lack the closs appearance of normal seeds. The extent to which alfalfa seed is damaged by the fly is not generally gen-erally apparent, owing to the minuteness minute-ness of the insect and because its destructive de-structive work is accomplished within the growing seeds. Thf method of fighting the fly is similar to that employed against other similar pests. After the alfalfa Is I thrashed the great mass or screenings screen-ings which is left frequently contains larcf numbers of seeds infested with hibernating lanae If the chaff, together to-gether with the screenings, is placed in a compost pile for three or four months, go that it will become heated and decay, most of the insect life""wili he destroyed Unless it is possible to treat th screenings in this manner man-ner they should bp burned before the growing season opensMn the spring. Many of the alfalfa seed pods along check ridges and fence lines may be destroyed by burning off the weeds and alfalfa This should he done cither in the fall or early spring. In purchasing alfalfa seed, farmers should ir.Fist upon having seed which has been well cleaned after thrash ing and should never plant the un-cleaned un-cleaned product in new fields. In many localities much of the seed is sold both by farmers and by local dealers without first having been cleaned. The product of such seed when harvested from the late crops frequently contains a 10 to 15 per cent Infestation of hibernating chalci6 fly larvae The planting of this un-, cleaned seed frequently gives the chalcls-fly a start in the new field, as well as resulting In a poor stand. |