Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 198, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 August 1916 — FIGHTING THE HESSIAN FLY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FIGHTING THE HESSIAN FLY

The life history of the Hessian fly Is shown above. The life of the adult is but a few days, probably but a week or less, and the great mass of the flies will appear at about the same time. If tfie wheat is sown after the flies appear by the time the wheat is up they -will be gone and the plants escape the attacks of the fly. : Experiment stations urge you to sow wheat late in order to escape the Hessian fly. Experience has taught you that the best yields are secured from plants that enter the winter with strong, healthy growth. Solve this dilemma by seeding late and hastening tire fall growth by the use of 200 to 400 pounds of fertilizer containing 2 per .cent to 3 per cent of available ammonia. Acid phosphate alohe will not give the necessary, quick, strong, healthy-growth. If the fly does not happen to be present this year, the good effects upon both the wheat and the grass seeded with the wheat, win repay many times the cost of the added ammonia. You cannot afford to be without this fly insurance.

Read Farmers’ Bulletin 640 (U. S. Department of Agriculture) which says: “The application broadcast of some quick-acting fertilizer containing a large percentage of phosphate, made as soon as general infestation is apparent will cause the plants to tiller more freely and give them sufficient vigor to withstand the winter, and thus Increase the number of healthy stems the following spring. . .' . While it may seem “far fetched” to bring foreward as a preventive measure the enrichments of the soil, a fertile soil will produce plants that will withstand with little injury attacks that will prove disastrous to plants growing on an Impoverished or thin soil. This is because a fertile soil will enable an infested plant to tiller freely, and these tillers will have sufficient vitality to withstand the winter and send up head-producing stems In the spring.” If drought prevails, the seeding date should be longer delayed. Write your own experiment station for additional information.

The Life of the Hessian Fly (From the U. S. Department of Agriculture.)

Plant On or After These Fly-Free Dates (From the U. S. Department of Agriculture.)