122 WHEAT 



winter in a dormant, or quiet state, known as the "flaxseed 

 stage," because they look like the seeds of flax. In May, 

 these hatch out into flies. These flies lay the second brood 

 of eggs which, in turn, produce the larvae that injure the 

 wheat crop. They attack the young wheat plant just 

 below the ground, three or four being sufficient to kill the 

 plant. They do this by sucking the juice from the plant. 

 Fall plowing, burning the stubble, and rotation of crops 

 are helpful in controlling this pest. 



Chinch bugs, when present in great numbers, do much 

 damage to the wheat crop in dry seasons. They, like the 

 Hessian fly, suck the juice from the plant. They can be 

 controlled by keeping rubbish and weeds along fences 

 cleaned out. 



The wheat midge is a small fly whose larva sucks the 

 juice from the young . wheat grains, thus causing them to 

 shrivel. Deep plowing in the fall will prevent them from 

 living over winter. 



During hot and damp seasons rusts sometimes cause 

 great loss. These are fungous diseases that grow from 

 spores. They can be seen on the stem as little black spots, 

 or on the leaves as red spots. They like a wet, warm 

 summer. No remedy for this disease has been discovered, 

 therefore the best preventive is to select varieties of wheat 

 that will withstand it. 



Smut, another fungous disease, may do a great deal of 

 damage to the wheat crop. But since it can be controlled 

 by seed treatment it is not so much to be dreaded. There 

 are two kinds of smut. The stinking smut, or bunt, of 

 wheat, can be prevented by moistening the seed with a so- 

 lution containing one pint of formaldehyde (40% pure) and 



