KEEP PESTS AT BAY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 December 1939, Page 3

KEEP PESTS AT BAY

SPRAY AND DUST. There are now so many reliable insecticides and fungicides available, in both liquid and powder form, that the home gardener should have no difficulty in controlling all the most common pests and diseases that attack the plants. Few garden plants escape the attacks of aphis, of which there are many different kinds. They suck the sap from the leaves and young shoots. Unless destroyed at an early age aphis may do considerable harm. Those that congregate on the shoots and undersides of the leaves are less difficult to combat than those which cause the leaves to curl and so protect them from attack. The secret of success in dealing with aphis is to spray, or dust, with nicotine or derris compounds as soon as the pest is observed. Nicotine is poisonous and should not be used on fruit and vegetables which are likely to be consumed within three weeks of its application. Where a non-poison-ous spray or dust is preferred, one of the well-known brands of derris should be used. In most cases more than one application of insecticide will be 'necessary to keep the plants free from aphis and they should be given at intervals of about ten days.

Leaf-eating caterpillars appear to be very plentiful this season and here the remedy is to spray with arsenate of lead. Pests which curl themselves within the leaves arc more easily destroyed by dusting with one of the dry powder insecticides than by spraying. Most of us are troubled every season with the leaf miner pests. The best treatment is to crush the tunnels between the finger and thumb to destroy the grub within, then spray the plants with nicotine and soap. As with pests, so with fungus diseases. There are many which attack our favourite plants in early summer and must be dealt with promptly if the health of the plants is to be maintained. Most common of these diseases is mildew which attacks a variety of plants, including roses, chrysanthemums, and apples. Fortunately, control is not difficult and consists in applying sulphur dust by means of a good powder sprayer. Incidentally, powders can be obtained, consisting of nicotine and sulphur, or derris and sulphur. Armed with a sprayer charged with one of these dusts we can deal effectively with the pests and diseases as soon as they appear.