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Show County Agent Urges Farmers To Check Grasshoppers Now Grasshoppers are sabotaging food, forage and seed crops in many areas of Sanpete county, reports Elmer H. Gibson, county agricultural agent, who urges prompt baiting and rebaiting of grasshopper infested land. "Large numbers of grasshoppers grasshop-pers now are winged and moving into alfalfa and other green crops from range land, ripening small grains and from uncultivated unculti-vated fields," Mr. Gibson points out. With the apparent feed shortage in this and other counties coun-ties effort should be made to save every spear of forage. Grasshopper bait is now available avail-able in Sanpete county and hundreds hun-dreds of acres of crops are being damaged because adequate control con-trol is not being applied. Apph-only Apph-only 15 to 20 pounds of wet bait, flaked out thinly, each application applica-tion scattered in early mornings. Usually excellent control is secured se-cured when bait is put out after hay is cut, and following showers and irrigations. Moist soil keeps the bait attractive for two or more days, increasing its effectiveness. effec-tiveness. It is much better practice to bait thoroughly but lightly, and repeat as necessary, rather than to scatter lumps or apply bait wastefully and endanger livestock live-stock or wildlife, Mr. Gibson Doints out. Already thousands of dollars worth of crops have been saved from grasshoppers in this state. The crop saving could easily exceed ex-ceed $1,000,000 if all Utah farmers farm-ers and home gardners would protect their crops from the ravages of these pests, declares Mr. Gibson. Each year many acres of hay, which otherwise might have produced pro-duced a profitable seed crop, have been cut before much, bloom appeared, due to grasshopper grass-hopper attack. Such early cutting cut-ting has reduced honey production produc-tion by bees. Grasshoppers also destroy many other honey-producing plants when present in damaging abundance, Mr. Gibson Gib-son states. |