BLACKBERRY CONTROL

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 89, 13 January 1928, Page 8

BLACKBERRY CONTROL

NEW ENEMIES AT WORK By Telegraph.—press association ' Nelson, January 12. From time to time during the progress of investigations into the problem of blackberry control, which are being carried on under. Dr. Tillyard and Dlr. Tonnoir, at the Cawthron Biological- Control Station, reports are received of more or less extensive damage being.'done by insects or other organisms such as fungi in various parts of New Zealand. These are all carefully investigated, but most of them turn out to be disappointing. Recently, however, Dlr. Gibbs, of Tapawera, drew the Institute’s , attention to the destruction of a large area of blackberry in his district and sent specimens of it which were found to be badly affected by a combination of the large vine scale and an unknown fungal or bacterial organism. The latter has not yet been determined owing to the absence of Dr. K DI. Curtis from Nelson on vacation

A visit was paid by’ Dlr. Tonnoir to the infected area recently. He found very extensive damage was being done over a considerable area, the infection being confined to an isolated valley and is not likely to spread much. Naturally a plentiful Supply of infected specimens has been brought back to Nelson and tests will be arranged on the blackberry under varying conditions of growth in order to discover how far the combination of the insect mid fungus is likely to be successful

Those in charge of specimens state that the public should not expect too much. It may well be that as in case of other organisms already present in New Zealand that these new enemies of blackberry will only work _ successfully unde- very’ special conditions and that they cannot thertfore be utilised to any large extent in work of eradication'. This notification is only given in order that those interested mayknow “that no effort is being spared to ,find a solution of the problem.