BOYS AND GIRLS' CLUBS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19694, 28 July 1938, Page 16

BOYS AND GIRLS' CLUBS

SPRAYING SWEET PEAS CONTROL OF FUNGUS ATTACKS BY THRIP By "Totara" It is an old saying that "prevention is better than cure." Spraying your plants prevents disease, and the big secret is to spray early and not wait until mildew or other diseases come along. Once they affect your peas they are very hard to get rid of. Watch your plants carefully from now on. It is in warm weather more often that fungoid and insect pests appear. The chief of these is thrip, a tiny insect that attacks the plants, turning the leaves a whitish colour. You can fight these and mildew with spraying. Sprays Recommended ' The following sprays have been recommended by one grower:— 1. Lime sulphur solution, mix 1 part Lo 50 of water. 2. A weak solution of soap suds, to which lime sulphur may be added, 1 part to 50 parts of water. 3. Permanganate of potash, Candy's crystals. This is perhaps the best spray as it kills fungus, provides potash to the plant, and makes the leaves very unattractive to the biting insects, beetles, etc. Use very weak. The solution should be pale pinkish .n colour. Careful Handling Remember, when you are spraying that your sweet peas have delicate foliage, and be gentle with them. Take care not to make too strong a mixture, or you will do more barm than good. If you have not a proper spray, a fly spray that costs about Is Cd will do. You may buy one amongst the six of you, or perhaps borrow one from mother.

•Mildew thrives in the wet weather, more especially. Your plants are liable to infection if they are undernourished or have suffered a setback, as they may have done during the recent wet weather. Mildew Treatment Mildew makes its appearance on the leaves and stems of the plants, and can be recognised as a nearly white film. The leaves become mis-shapen and distorted, and the plants make little or no progress. There are several ways of dealing with this fungus. Put some sulphur in a muslin bag or in a tin with holes in it. Early in the morning when the dew is still on the leaves, take your sulphur and dust the leaves, especially the underside. Another way is to use a weak solution of Condy's crystals, and spray. Remember that the weakest plants are most easily attacked, so feed them, and keep the soil worked, especially after rain, and' you may not have trouble. These little attentions will pay you.