THE POTATO MOTH.

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 79, 3 April 1911, Page 11

THE POTATO MOTH.

I A SERIOUS MATTER.

fl» potato moth has made its appear•flcejn Dunedin, and a very unpleasant m\ it is. Bags of potatoes ."Meed with the pest were shown to. -a member of the Ihinedin ■ S W' staff, and they were literally alive Jrahgrubs or maggots, as many as eight jfing counted on a surface of two square tebee. All over the bags were dotted the : \tocoons from which these maggots pre- . "mnafcly emerged. The eggs are laid by *k potato moth, which is said to be a lught-flyer, and usually seizes the chance . H>, ley eggs presented by the bags being left at night in the paddock during digP^g.' , The pest, which is scientifically £°°™ as "gelechia opereuleila," ie said - in many parts of the world, •specially during seasons of drought, but « s new to Otago. The infected potatoes *ere not grown in or around Ihinedin; 1 i^J' anie from drought-stricken Oamaru, ; ?«ca district is juet now very agitated \ wer the appearance of the pest. T-he potato crops from Dunedin to the Bluff ~ , free from the disease. . ii* suggestion was made to a merchant wet the Government Agricultural Dβ- ■' PWnent might suggest a remedy. "If 3 fj belief/ -1 was the merchant's reply, mat; the pest is so big a matter that the wvenunent is afraid to tackle it. The "wnaru people wrote to Wellington, and « reply Mr. Kirk, the Government Biolp|ißt,.named the pes.t and suggested steep?g»Pparently sound potatoes from an 2 d area with a solution of corrosive i ? -« c or arsenate of lead, both poi«Mi therefore the potatoes should be •JMi washed before being used for food. I A.njce thing that for the consumer. Mr. ;fi* says that the potatoes with caterers inside will find their way into • k^f 8, an <i therefore should be examined, .. «J any infected ones removed. Any in- "-'■■ iSia.-« J""} at those - I guarantee if iuL^ ted those ba S s the fl °or would be with maggots." the "Star's" informant remarked, potatoes are going into consump- ■ tt*i J 0 ™??- Oamaru .is spreading ■•.■gs* k Zealand a nice memento of