TURNIP PESTS.

Colonist, Volume LIV, Issue 13411, 8 May 1912, Page 8

TURNIP PESTS.

"Oabbage-Top in Swedes," forms tlie subject, of Bulletin No. 82 of tho Yorkshire- College at Garforth, recently issued. The condition known by this namo is common in Yorkshire. The •extent to which the weight of the crop is lessened by tho condition has not been ascertained, but that tho weight is lessened scarcely admits of doubt. Two phases of the condition are noted. The ono is designated a "many-nocked swe.do,'' and the other "Crumple leaf." Both may be caused by the larvae of a midge, but the many-nocked or cabbage top condition may ari&o from other causes. The bulletin explains how this condition is brought about. When the terminal bud in the heart of the young crown of the immature swede has been destroyed, the plant has to make use of its dormant buds for further growth. These dormant buds give rise to the irregular mass of foilage borne on a number of short sterns or "nocks." The terminally bud may be destroyed mechanically, or it may be deadened by -midgo'■ depositing its larvae in the crown. The other condition designated "crumple leaf," is wholly dv« to the midge, which has been popularly named the swedo midgo. This bulletin gives! an account of its life history, liberally illustrated, and makes interesting reading. Spray.' has not besrn a success in dealing with the midge, and the plan of trapping tho midge at the beginning j of the season is recommended instead, j