DAMAGE TO FRUIT
Native Weta Culprit A build- up in the population of native weta is causing damage in the Heathcote and Horotane valley areas in both grassed-down and cultivated orchards, according to the Horticulture Division of the Department of Agriculture. Early soft varieties of cherries and some varieties of apricots are subject to attack. Because of the weta’s nocturnal habits, blame for its damage had often been put on other insects, said the department. During the day the weta burrowed into the ground to about six inches, but where there was cultivation it would go below the cultivation level. The hole which it made in fruit was almost perfectly | round with sloping sides and had been likened to the effect of a counter-sinking drill. D.D.T. prills and trichlorfon granules had not proved successful in trial areas, but a small amount of trichlorfon incorporated into baits showed promise. A wider variety of possible controls was to be tried.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CV, Issue 31031, 11 April 1966, Page 14
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158DAMAGE TO FRUIT Press, Volume CV, Issue 31031, 11 April 1966, Page 14
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