OCR Text |
Show DAMAGE BY ALFALFA WEEVIL Larvae From Eggs Laid In Stems of Plants Work Much Injury by Feeding Upon the Buds. Although in the middle west no alfalfa harming insect has yet caused widespread damage, Utah farmers have a serious pest to contend with known as the alfalfa weevil. It made its first appearance in 1907, coming from Europe. The adult weevil is a hard shelled beetle, about 3-16 inch long, brown in color with a darker - . . Adult Male of ths Alfalfa Weevil, Greatly Enlarged. stripe down the back. It lives over winter in sheltered places much the same as chinch bugs and in the early spring lays its eggs in the alfalfa stems. The larvae from these eggs do the damage by feeding upon the buds for a period of about six weeks if unmolested. Control methods recommended by the Utah station include keeping the alfalfa growing rapidly in the spring by disking or spring toothing, removing remov-ing the first crop as soon as serious injury occurs, followed with thorough spring tooth and brush dragging, and rotation of alfalfa every four or five years. As with chinch bugs it is ad-visible ad-visible to keep out of the way places clean of shekering grass and refuse and securing the co-operation of whole communities in fighting the pest. |