Show powerful 1 l allks allies aid farmer in battle against bu bugs 9 s inie infection e tion and Eiso erosion sion experiment stations county agents fight crop destroyers how the farmer fares in his never ending battle agai against fist insect pests weather disease erosion and the thousand and one other hazards farm life Is heir to will largely determine how well he succeeds in meeting uncle sams ever increase ing call for more production of foods dairy products fibers and fats luckily the farmer has his own army navy marine corps coast guard and air force to battle and vanquish his en enemies eMles who comprise these armed forces force s the agricultural experiment stations and the extension services of his state land grant colleges the way these services help the farmer to combat any production troubles old or new that come his way Is described by M N beeler in the current issue of cappers farmer the trouble which meets a man at any dawn or in the dead of night may be as old as bangs disease brought to america by cortez in 1521 or hessian fly by introduced into the colonies by german during the revolution writes mr beeler it may be as abw new as late potato blight in the red river valley or the attack of european corn borer in illinois trouble may be as persistent as bindweed smut codling moth or boll weevil as complicated as malnutrition originating in land and nutritional troubles lis ol of crops plan plants ts and foods are legion iw how 0 the army of scientists from the h a land grant colleges has ha fought sought and won battles for the farmer against these and other adversaries forms a fascinating tale rif make ae seed seea germinate when iowa farmers reported sweet clover seed gerini germinate nate properly the state stale agricultural experiment station discovered ered the causi cause was hard haid se seed and made a scar lder thit that correct edthe trouble Tha Ib atwall 30 years ago and was the forerunner of many more modem devices and methods the most recent of which is by the port fort hays kan station for waking buffalo grass seed cherf there was that matter of Lary ngot rache itis down in new jersey sounds profess orish it but it hasan has an earthy connotation to any who has lost 2 20 0 to 60 per cent of his flock the ne new w jersey station found an inoculation that prote protects cis the birds from this disease dibease A shortage ot of spraying machinery threatened the crop of certain pennsylvania syl vanta potato growers in 1942 the state college extension service met that threat by organizing 50 spray rings to serve 1500 farms anspro and protect acres an average of 30 farmers used each machine increased production was estimated at bushels so the story goes oab on of the troubles that plagues farmers on the plains is poisoning of cattle by wheat pasture the oklahoma station investigated and recommended a remedy which included feeding a little dry roughage the kansas college not only discovered a success aw 11 1 N aa 0 EROSION though slow and unspectacular lowers land productivity tremendously this kansas field too steep to terrace was planted with corn orn la in 1912 1942 there was no protective co covering erlof sown on it wind and rain aln scraped another layer ot the already thin topsoil in the spring of e 1943 land like this should be in pasture I 1 poor soil as evident as a grasshopper scourge as mysterious as baby pig disease as commonplace as labor shortage as rare as loot foot and mouth disease as little as ants in n the kitchen as big as a complete management and production program assistance Is at hand but whatever the difficulty help in most cases Is no farther away than the county extension agent or the land grant college mr beeler points out potentialities tor for trouble can be appreciated when such an everyday every day animal as the hog is subject to more than 60 afflictions poultry may succumb to anyone any one or a combination of 89 the indiana experiment peri ment station lists 18 common enemies of corn within that state in the category ot of dl diseases sease and an ohio report credits these same diseases with a bushel yield reduction in a single year this damage is in addition to losses from borers chinch bugs ear worms grasshoppers aphids root uce lice and a host of other insects continuing experimental projects are reported by the arkansas station in combat with a few enemies of cotton such as wilt boll weevil seed destroying diseases aphids leaf worms boll worms red spider flea hopper root rot and just plain soil poverty any says mr beeler can count a dozen profit and life taking afflictions of his flock but there are at least so 36 in miscellaneous I 1 diseases and 40 internal parasites besides foot rot sore mouth scab ticks pregnancy and lung di diseases furthermore the he U S depart ment of agriculture year book bookfor for 1942 devotes pages to diseases and pests of cattle and exola explains ins there are 70 0 or more spec species lesof of bovine infesting tapeworms tape worms and round worms books have been written about the ailments of horses and mules the insect fungous virus ful treatment for blackleg black leg in calves in 1914 but through extension it so increased the use that dosage costs declined from 50 to 10 cents this station likewise introduced coppers copper carbonate treatment of bunt smut of wheat sorghums sorg hums and millet when the new england coastal hurricane damaged 10 to 75 per cent of trees in farm orchards the extension service of rhode Rhod eIsland island connecticut and massachusetts worked out program that saved thousands of trees control fever tick colorado potato growers were faced with an infestation of bacterial ring in 1938 the station found a remedy cattle fever tick had prevented development of cattle raising in louisiana up to 1936 extension workers and animal husbandry res researchers e archers led the fight to stamp it out missouri had inaugurated in 1 I v P grasshoppers and locusts are among the worst scourges urges in many farming regions 1888 the investigations in compera tion with texas which made control ot of texas fever tick possible A mysterious livestock disease observed by marco polo in china more than years ago which afflicted army horses at fort randall bandall neb was explained only in 1831 1931 the trouble is caus caused edby by teed feed irown grown on soil containing selenium the south dakota station has announced control and remedies thi the list of achievements Is almost endless substitutes for pyrethrum have been produced by the delaware station beginning in 1900 the west virginia station worked out the fly tree free date lor for controlling hessian fly tennessee discovered and introduced trod to replace scarce arseni cals as an insecticide montana instituted the feeding of I 1 io dazed salt during pregnancy to prevent goiter losses of newborn new born bom pigs lambs calves and colts ne nebraska braska checked the potency of commercial serums offered in control of swine erysipelas with resultant at standardization of effective protection by breeding a wilt resistant cotton strain the alabama station saved the cotton growing industry of the southern part of the state purdue experiment station in indiana has produced a a new hessian fly resistant wheat new york has announced a new organic spray which kills late isis fruit blooms materially teri ally reduces the hand labor of thinning and induces annual bearing in varieties which normally produce fruit every other year develop borer resistant corn cars the a ohio station has demonstrated that milk fever can be greatly reduced by feeding four ounces of irradiated yeast dally daily to cows for four weeks before and one week after freshening another baio station project was the development of borer resistant corn hybrids experiments at pennsylvania and elsewhere disclose that fowl paralysis which caused a loss in 10 poultry states one year can be controlled by selective breeding and culling but lest any farmer get the notion that the scientific research job has been completed and that he can get along without it mr beeler suggests that he remember just one menace wheat rust ceres ads was a stem rust resistant variety distributed by north dakota in 1926 he points out by 1933 it occupied acres but certain physiologic races of rust increased and laid it lows low then the minnesota station brought out thatcher in 1934 it spread to acres to in the united states and canada by 1940 now thatcher is on the way out because of susceptibility to leaf rust but the min desota station announces nw new hatch thatcher by 36 per cent for three years to be released in iii 1944 k r 4 4 R 31 r CHINCH BUGS ruin millions of at bushels of corn every year us as do d cutworms cut worms army worms and other pests many of which are difficult to control |