GARDEN PESTS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17702, 31 January 1918, Page 5

GARDEN PESTS.

ADDRESS BY MR T. W. KIRKThere was a large attendance of fruitgrowers and others interested in horticulture in Messrs Baker’s buildings last evening, when Mr T. W. Kirk, Director of Orchards, gave a lecture on the various forms of fungi and insects, which infest both gardens and orchards. , . . The lecturer showed a large number of slides of drawings and photographs of root, leaf, bark and fruit diseases. Photographs of gruos and insects, which cause great damage, to fruit, were also exhibited, and, at the end of the lecture, a number of slides were thrown on the screen, showing useful insects, which live on various the course of an interesting lecture, Mr Kirk said that destructive insects’were divided into two classes—those that bite the fruit or leaf, 'and those that suck their nourishment from the fruit or leaf- Direct poison, applied by means of ft spray, exterminated only the former class, but had no effoct on the latter. One of the best remedies for leaf diseases, such as rust, was the Bordeaux mixture. In some cases ordinary tar oil might also be found effective- Another serious form of disease was root knot, which, however, thanks to the active measures taken by the Department of Agriculture, was not common in New Zealand. Mr Kirk emphasised the good work of tho Department- If fruitgrowers were to be enabled to export their fruit to other countries, it was of the greatest importance that the orchards should be kept as free from disease os possible. Many countries, notably America, would not accept any fruit from a country where certain diseases were known to exist. New Zealand had similar regulations regarding tho importation of fruit. Useful insects were certainly a help in combating garden pests, but they could not perform tho whole work of destruction, and mechanical means, such as spraying, must still be largely used, and depended upon as the chief method of extermination. Mr Kirk also dealt with diseases in potatoes, carrots asd other vegetables. During the course of the lecture 'Mr Kirk answered several questions, and at its close he was accorded a hearty vote of thanks.