BLACKBERRY PEST.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 3743, 19 January 1928, Page 1

BLACKBERRY PEST.

POSSIBLE EFFECTIVE ENEMY,

From time to time during the investigations into the problem of blackberry control, which are being carried on under Dr! Tillyard and Mr. Tonnoir, at the Cawthron Institute’s biological control station, reports arc received of more or less extensive work being done by insects or other organisms such as fungi, in various parts of New Zealand. These are all carefully investigated, but most of them turn out to be disappointing. Recently, however, Mr. Gibbs, of Tapawera, drew the institute’s attention to destruction of a large sent specimens of it, which were found to be considerably affected by a combination of the large vine scale and an unknown fungal or bacterial organism. .The identity of the latter has not yet been determined owing to the absence of Dr. K. M. Curtis, mycologist at the institute, from Nelson on vacation. A visit was paid by Mr. Tonnoir to the infected area recently. Ho found that very extensive effect had taken place over a considerable area. The infection is confined to an isolated valley and is nfet likely to spread much naturally. A plentiful supply of infected specimens has been brought to Nelson and 'tests will be arranged on blackberry plants under varying condemns of growth in order to discover how far a combination of insect and fungus is likely to be successful. Those in charge of the specimens state that the public should not expect too much. It may well be, as in the case of other organisms already present in New Zealand, that these enemies of the blackberry will ibnly work successfully under very special conditions and that therefore they cannot be utilised to any large extent in the work of eradication.