WHEAT CROPS DAMAGED

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22195, 11 September 1937, Page 11

WHEAT CROPS DAMAGED

DESTRUCTION BY SLUGS Complaints have been prevalent in many districts in Canterbury concerning the destruction to young wheat crops. In some cases, according to the reports, the seed did not germinate and prompt resowing was undertaken. In other cases the germination was satisfactory but the plants produced were weak and in places only from half to a third of them appeared above ground. In other places, again, the plants came through well, but have been severely damaged. The leaves are frayed and grey in appearance, and little growth has taken place. It is rather singular that most of the damage has appeared in fields that carried a pea crop last year. Growers in places noticed a large number of slugs under the pea plants, their presence, doubtless being due to the wet weather experienced last season, which was favourable to slug growth*. Myriads of eggs were doubtless laid, and these, having been ploughed in, had hatched out and were now the cause o fthe trouble in the wheat crops. Departmental Investigation The matter was referred by growers to Mr R. McGillivray, Fields Superintendent of the Department of Agriculture, in Christchurch, who mentioned the large number of inquiries received from farmers who were anxious about the condition of their crops. Inquiries had been received from districts in North Canterbury right down to Waimate. There was no doubt that germination had been unsatisfactory in a number of cases, Mr McGillivray said. This may have been due to the seed being out of cony, dition or to the coldness of the soil and. in some cases, he believed, to too deep sowing. In other cases the germination had been good, but many of the plants had failed to appear above ground, and'when the soil was cleared away the shoots were found to be yellow and weak. In cases of this kind the assistance of the mycologist j was sought, but he had been unable to find the slightest evidence of any fungoid disease, but a further examination of the soil was being made. Mr McGillivray said that he did not expect to get anything definite from the soil examination, as the plants appeared to be quite clean. In the cases where the wheat had been severely damaged after a normal germination the damage had been done by slugs. On Thursday evening, at Rangiora, he had inspected a wheat crop where there was considerable damage to the plants. The inspection was made by artificial light and this revealed an abundnace of slugs and that" the plant? were actually being eaten. The night was cold and not altogether suitable for the best results in an inspection of this kind, but he was quite satisfied from what he saw that the slugs were responsible for the damage. Preventive Methods Where this pest was prevalent, Mr McGillivray advised, the field should be dressed with sulphate of ammonia or superphosphate and sulphate of ammonia mixed. The application should be made in dry weather, and it was advisable to do the work late in the day, so that the sulphate of ammonia would still be on the surface of the soil when the slugs come out to feed in the evening. This application would kill most of the slugs and would hasten the growth of the wheat.