RED EARTH MITE CONTROL MEASURES “DISAPPOINTING”

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22823, 18 December 1948, Page 8

RED EARTH MITE CONTROL MEASURES “DISAPPOINTING”

Replies described as "disappointing" : were received on the question of con- j trolling localised infestations of red- ; legged earth mite in the Gisborne dis- ! trict at a meeting of Ifhe Gisborne pro- ;

vinciol district executive of Federated Farmers yesterday.

The Department of Agriculture, in a letter, di.scribed the results of control

trials experimented with at Bay View, pave the formula for control and said it had been decided that the rest was up to the individual farmers affected, jn reply to the information sought as to the measures to be adopted by the Railway Department on the infested land occupied by that department, it v .-a S stated that the correspondence was being referred to that quarter. The Railway Department wrote that owing to shortage of staff it would be impossible to clear railway land of the earth mite. However, if adjoining owners affected would treat their land with DDT the department would comply and fix a rate for the work to be done on its property where necessary. Discussion centred on the fact that the Department of Agriculture claimed to have found the control and then loaded the expense of spreading the dust on to the farmer. It was decided to request that DDT dust be made available free of cost.

In regard to the Railway Department letter, one member suggested that farmers were in a worse position than the department in regard to labour. However, the subject was not pursued.