Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 284, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 November 1916 — SOW SPRING WHEAT EARLY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

SOW SPRING WHEAT EARLY

This chart shows the part played by the stubble and the young plants of the next crop, as also by volunteer wheat, in passing the Hessian fly on from crop to crop. The attack against the fly in winter wheat, therefore, must be made in the summer and fall by burning and plowing under the 6tubble and in delaying seeding until after the egg-laying period of the fly, as shown on the map above. Mere disking of stubble is not sufficient. It must be burned or plowed under deeply. Where the plants in infested fields are mostly dead, there is no need of waiting—the fields should be plowed under in early spring, the soil thoroughly rolled, and planted to a crop other than wheat or barley. The only hope of the wheat grower lies in prevention, as once the growing crop is infested nothing can be dofie to lessen the damage. In the case of spring wheat, sowing should be done as early as conditions permit so that the plants may get a good growth and be in better condition to withstand the spring’crop of maggots. Where spring wheat is -rtrmeiTtSyThe~ffy Tt~sFfould be destroyed by harrowing, disking or pasturing. Where rotations are possible they furnish the best method of starving the fly on an infested field. Wheat following infested wheat may keep the fly alive where other crops give the fly no chance to winter. rye also support the fly, and should not be used in such rotations.