New Approach To Grub Control

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31071, 28 May 1966, Page 9

New Approach To Grub Control

(By

A. D. LOWE

’THE persistence of the resiA due problem and the appearance of resistance to D.D.T. in grass grubs meant the development of new approaches in pest control, said Mr P. G. Fenemore at the Entomological Society conference at New Plymouth. Using the less persistent materials posed application problems in getting the insecticide into the soil where gnibs feed before it could volatalise (or break down), he said, and this had led to an investigation into the possibility of attacking the adult beetles while they were above ground. Mr Fenemore is in charge of the chemical control section of the Entomology Division of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research at Nelson. Lack of data on the more intimate details of the adult beetles’ behaviour was hampering this approach, and current research was aimed at filling out detail. It was necessary to know the period over which the bulk of the beetle population first emerged from the ground, and the period over which eggs were laid. Light traps and netting of beetles supplied some of the detail required, and treatments could be tried by timing application according to observations made. Some experiments had already been laid down and had shown a reduction in grubs present in the following year. Materials which showed

promise in this initial approach would be used next season in conjunction with experiments designed to give further data both on their effectiveness and the detail of the beetle’s response to their presence and other environmental influences.