-4- 



Take a warm soapy shower or bath as soon as possible after returning from a chigger- 

 infested area. It takes the mites several hours to penetrate the skin; they can 

 often be washed off before becoming embedded. 



To reduce chiggers in a home yard, spray lightly over the grass, low flowers, and 

 shrubs with either malathion or diazinon. 



PLANT DISEASES 



Wheat 



Septoria leaf blotch has increased during the last week. Lesions may be found on 

 all leaves in fields in southern Illinois. The leaves on the lower half of the 

 plant are usually dead. The incidence of septoria is less as you go north in the 

 state. Damage by septoria can be expected to increase during the next week or 

 10 days if the weather remains moderately cool. 



There has been relatively little change in the amount of powdery mildew . Although 

 scattered in occurrence, this disease is present in some fields in sufficient 

 quantity to cause lodging. 



Leaf rust and stem rust can be found on susceptible wheat varieties south of 

 Highway 40. Rust has not been observed on Benhur or Riley 67. Trace amounts 

 have been found on Triumph and Monon. Uniform light leaf rust has been found in 

 Gage wheat. 



Oats 



Yellow dwarf in oats has been found only in the extreme southwestern part of Illi- 

 nois. If aphid populations increase in other parts of the state, oat fields 

 should be watched for this disease. 



Corn 



Cold-weather damage to corn has been reported in northern Illinois. 



WEEDS 



Ducks and Herbicides 



The excessive moisture we have had in some areas may be fine for ducks, but what 

 about herbicide performance? 



With normal seedbed preparation and fairly loose, open soil, herbicides are usually 

 moved into the soil with initial rainfall. There probably wasn't much lateral 

 movement across the soil surface, unless herbicides were applied to a compact smooth 

 surface that wouldn't let the herbicide in easily. The torrents of rain that moved 

 soil in some places may also have caused some herbicide movement with the soil. 



With excessive rain, the more-soluble herbicides like Randox may be moved too deep-- 

 past the zone where they are most effective. Ramrod is less soluble (700 parts 

 per million) and not as subject to leaching as Randox. Atrazine is one of the 

 least-soluble herbicides for corn (70 p. p.m.). Other factors (soil texture, soil 

 structure, temperature, and degree of adsorption onto the soil complex) will also 

 affect the rate of herbicide loss. 



