322 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



recently fertilized willi uiidecoiuposed manure, they stood a much bet- 

 ter chance of escape if the field was ])repared early in the season and 

 the maggots given a chance to develoi) and disappear before the beans 

 were planted. To illustrate this i)oint the following cases are cited: 



Near Akron, Tuscola county, a field of live acres of beans planted on 

 clover sod, was injured to the extent of about fifty per cent. After the 

 damage was first noticed on June 22d, two acres of this field were 

 l)lowed and replanted on the 28th. The second planting was slightly 

 injured by the maggots but not nearly as badly as the first crop. An- 

 other field of beans located directly across the road had been planted 

 at the same time, but on an overturned timothy sod without an applica- 

 tion of stable manure; in this case no injury from maggots was shown. 



In another instance in this same locality, a field consisting of clover 

 sod was heavily manured before plowing and fitting. This field consisted 

 of nine acres of which six acres was sowed to beans, two and one-half 

 acres to corn and one-half acre to potatoes. The beans, which were 

 planted on June 14th, were damaged, resulting in about an eighty per 

 cent loss, making it necessary to plow and reseed with millet. The corn 

 which was jd'Tnted about June .5th showed no damage. 



Another case which shows nicely the effect of a combination of clover 

 sod and manure, occurred near Middleton on a Gratiot county farm. 

 One area which had been in clover the previous year and early spring 

 had hogs penned in the middle of the field where they remained until 

 June 20th. The field was planted to beans on June 23d without the use 

 of fertilizers. Injury from the bean-maggot was shown only where the 

 pigs had been. On this farm the other field, which had previously been 

 in oats and which received practically the same treatment as in the first 

 case, showed no injury. 



The folloAving illustration is from a forty-five acre bean field on a farm 

 near Bad Axe in Huron county. In this field, which had formerly been 

 a pasture lot, the higher bare spots received stable manure before plow- 

 ing and these were the only portions infested with maggots. 



The preceding illustrations are cited as examples of the many cases 

 that were examined during the season, all of which point to the same 

 conclusion. 



In summing up, it appears that the best way to combat the bean- 

 maggot is by cultural methods. As the maggot breeds in manure and 

 other decaying material, as well as in exposed clover roots moistened 

 by rains, it is necessary to prepare the ground early in the season to 

 allow the maggots time to disappear before the beans are sowed. Fur- 

 thermore, it seems that plants from more vigorous seed suffered less 

 injury than those of poorer vitality. 



Land which is in clover, or which is covered with manure, should be 

 plowed early and prepared so that the soil will be in good condition. 



Commercial fertilizers may be substituted for barnyard manure when 

 the necessity for late fitting of the soil demands it, and repeated harrow- 

 ing and perhaps rolling, especially when the ground is light in texture, 

 seem to aid. 



