CLOVER DISEASES AND INSECTS 369 



where under conditions where the plant does not thrive, they 

 may cause serious injury. The best remedies are to improve 

 the condition of the soil by adding fertility or by draining, 

 and to practice a proper rotation of crops. 



Insects usually do far more damage to clover than 

 diseases. Among the more common enemies are the clover 

 root-borer, the clover-leaf weevil, and the clover-flower 

 midge. The root-borer usually does not seriously affect 

 the stand until the latter part of the second year, when the 

 roots are large enough to harbor the larvae or grubs. They 

 then enter the roots and bore through the upper portions, 

 greatly weakening the plants. The best remedy is to plow 

 the land soon after the crop of hay is removed the second 

 year, thus destroying the food of the grubs. The clover- 

 leaf weevil sometimes destroys the leaves of the plant in the 

 early spring; but as new growth is soon produced, it does 

 little serious damage. The clover-flower midge does no 

 harm to the hay crop, but as the eggs are laid in the heads and 

 the grubs develop there they feed on the young seed and 

 prevent the production of a seed crop. Their ravages are 

 checked if the first crop of hay is cut quite early, for the 

 larvae will then have no opportunity to develop, and the 

 second crop will be beyond the possibility of damage by the 

 time the second brood appears. 



A parasitic pest known as dodder is sometimes quite 

 troublesome in clover fields. This plant begins growth 

 about the same time as the young clover plants, and the stem 

 soon attaches itself to the stems and leaves of the clover, 

 coiling tightly around them. The ground stem of the dodder 

 then dies away and the plant lives on the clover. The best 

 preventive measure is to examine the clover seed carefully 

 to make certain that it is free from the seeds of dodder. 



