CROP PESTS

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXIII, Issue 11533, 9 January 1932, Page 2

CROP PESTS

BEETLES AND FLIES ON SOLID CANTERBURY FARMS.

Swarms of brown beetles, and in some eases a small flj', are destroying acres of rape, mangels and swedes in tbe \\ aim-''‘c district, in South Canterbury. In some instances they have ruined grass and clover pastures, while the “niglit-bee” has stripped the foliage from root crops. A number of specimens lllubtrat•ing the damage done by the fly J las been exhibited bv a. AYaikakalii \ alley farmer. These were small plants, with a leaf about one and a-lialf to two inches iu length—swedes, rape and mangels. Tbe fly had attacked .them on tlio ground level, in most cases eating right' into the fibrous (oontre —completely ‘ TingibarWing’ ’ tbe plant. The leaves were untouched, and appeared healthy, but would wither away very soon. The farmer had sown’ two and ulialf acres in mangels at the end of October, and they were a failure, possibly through the dry spell. The same ground was. sown again in swedes, and the fly is now attacking these. He sowed a 20-acre paddock in rape, in three rotational sections. Seven acres were sown on Noveniher 10, and the fly completely ruin-, ed this when it caine up. A "further seven acres were sown, on December 3, and this also was affected so badly by the fly that it was grubbed up. The third seven-acre patch was put in on December 22. and. making good i.irogress as a result of th e recent showers, it is beginning to show up, and so far the plants above ground have not been touched by the foot.

Another Valiev farmer has grubbed up his early mangels, and resown the ground in swedes. A fair amount of resowing is going on in this district, necessitated through the activities of both the beetle and the fly.

The specimens shown included a number of mangels fairly well advanced. They had had a loaf of about six to seven inches in length, ami were grown on the property or a third- farmer ill the Valley. ‘The root of those Itad missed attention from the fly, but the foliage Jiad been eaten by the beetle, which had stripped the leaves to the bare stems.

A number .of ten-inch -shoots from some young willows was included m the parcel exhibited. There was hardly a trace of leaves left on the stripped stalks. There were ten of these young willows on the property, and the . beetle bad treated them aB the same way.

In size, this pest approximate* that of the common wood borer. 11 has a dark grey, almost- black, body, with irregular light markings on the back, and tiny'wings. One observer stated that lie had never seen them fly. but that thej scuttled away to cover under lumps of soil when' disturbed. He .said he could find hundreds about the soil around his crops. Another informant, from another district, -said he had seen them flv.

A Morven farmer is reported to have had a paddock of vounw grass and plover cleared off by'the flv. The general opinion is that this fly lias •not been known io appear iii the Waimate district before'. If it ha-s been there, os one farmer believes, it was about- ten years ago. in a very dry season, and in such small numbers that little notice was taken of the small amount of damage done. Some of the flies will he iorwarded to the G’awtliron Institute at Nelson, and to the Lincoln Agricultural College, in order that some steps may be i* z:T. to combat the men-