BIG CAUSE OF TROUBLE

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 59, Issue 121, 24 June 1930, Page 5

BIG CAUSE OF TROUBLE

BAD SEASON FOR GRASS GRUB. LARGE AREAS AFFECTED IN HAWKE'S BAY, Possibly due to tlie general dryness of the season, Hawke's Bay is experiencing a particulax-ly bad year as far as grass grxib is eoneerned. The activities of tlie pest have spread over a particularly xvide area and during the past fexv days T have had several queries from farmers in various parts of the distriet including one trom as fai' afield as Makotuku as to how best to deal xvith the trouble. An artiele on this subject was published in these columns some weeks ago. xvhen fumigation xvith cai-bon hisulphide xvas advocated in dealing with small areas — lnaking small holes m tbe ground txvo to three feet apart ft is also an 'excellent plan to gix-e tcp-di-essings witli a clay " loam on lai-ger areas where the question of expense xnust rule out fumigation. Such a top-dressing seals the surface and the grubs are not attracted to the area again. On farmlands where extensive areas are affected it is arlvxsable if possible to put in the plough and go xn for a s'hox?t rotatioxt of crops which are not appreciated by the grub. The grub is particxxlarly partial to i-yegrass pasture as its habitat. bnt is not found very .often in cocksfoot and cowgrass.