Kankakee Valley Post, Volume 19, Number 32, DeMotte, Jasper County, 8 July 1949 — Corn Borer Is On Increase [ARTICLE]

Corn Borer Is On Increase

The European corn borer is showing up in increased numbers this "year particularly in the fields of corn planted early in May. J. A. Carroll county agricultural agent is receiving many requests for information about spraying corn with DDT for control of the borer. According to Mr. Carroll the use of DDT will help control the borer only when applied at the proper time and when the blades of corn are thoroughly covered with spray materials. The only time when the borer can be killed by use of DDT is from the time the eggs hatch until the borer has made his way into the stalk. It takes the young borer three to five days to make his way down the corn leaf to the stalk. After this time he is safe from harm by DDT. The corn borer moths are laying eggs from last of May until the middle of June on the tallest corn they can find. The eggs hatch in about seven days and in three to five days the young borers are in the stalk. According to experimental results water sprays have given best results. One hundred to 125 gallons of water with two pounds of fifty per cent DDT must be applied per acre at a spray pressure of one hundred to three hundred pounds per square inch to get sufficient coverage to get effective control. When a dust is used thirty to forty pounds of five per cent DDT dust must be applied per acre. The most economical measures for corn borer control are clean plowing getting all stalk plowed down by May 15 and delayed planting of corn. Delayed planting means planting corn from May 20 to June 5. Corn trials in various of Indiana over a 10 year period indicated that corn planted around May 20 to 30 produced the highest yield.