COLORADO BEETLE

Chronicle (Levin), 14 June 1947, Page 6

COLORADO BEETLE

• (Special Carrespondeht.) : ;

SPREAD TO ENGLAND

v LONDON, June 11. The plant research; depaftnieht of the; British .Department of Agriculture, is orgaiiisi'hg aii ext'eusive cam'i>aign to guard againsh.the spread .pf.t'he Ooiprado .potato beetle in England, The iliscovery. .of. a. coiisiderable ' number bf these insects in' both ' Guerhsey ; and Jersey, o'n which Englamjl depends fqr : niueh bf its early potato' crop, and p'orts that over 100 beeties have alrektiy been found in dift'erent pafts of ;thesouthern English couiities, haVe' emphasised the danger. . In Oanada and United Statds the Colorado beetle is reeognised as one oi the greatest threats to the potato crops and they have already done untold damage in parts of Europe. They inultiply so rapidly that on one occasion they stopped an express train m France because the beeties clustered so thickly on the rails that the wheels would not grip, while it is also on record that when a mass migration of the insects took place across the Oanadian Great Lakes, so many fell in the water that they 'were dredged up by the ton. Experts of the British Plant Research Department state that if the beetle spreads to England the only way of guaranteeing a potato crop will be to spray all growing potatoes at leaSt once a vear. The beeties are capable oi a 50 miles ' flight wiili a following wind and it is feared that the few already discovered will be followed by large numbers from the coast of France which is known to be infected. Arrangements have already been made to spray 10,000 acres of English ' potato crops as a precaution and during the autumn further measures will be carried out with the object of dest.ro.ying hibernating insects in the ground. Imports of potatoes from Jersey and Guernsey are being closely inspeeted and members of the public have been asked to report all insects founa in England. Special sprayers iitted to tractors are being used to treat the crops in all districts where the beeties are reported.