Now is the time to control European pine shoot moth on white, red, Scotch, or muhgo 

 pine. The brown larvae with black heads have begun to tunnel into shoots. Spraying 

 with dimethoate (Cygon, De-Fend) will control the first generation in April; the 

 second generation can be controlled in mid- June. Removing the infested shoot tips 

 before June will aid in the control of this insect. 



Eastern tent caterpillars are feeding on trees, especially wild cherry, in southern 

 Illinois. Young caterpillars have hatched, are feeding on the new leaves, and are 

 spinning webs on the trunk and in limb crotches . Spraying with carbaryl (Sevin) or 

 malathion will control this insect. The webbing does provide some protection to 

 the caterpillar and can prevent spray penetration to give effective control. 



WEEDS 

 HERBICIDE INCORPORATION 



Most annual weed seeds germinate in the top 2 inches of soil. And most moderately 

 soluble herbicides move into the weed-seed zone with normal rainfall. The primary 

 purpose of herbicide incorporation is to prevent surface loss of volatile herbi- 

 cides and to move less soluble herbicides into the soil. 



A disk is the most common tool for herbicide incorporation. Run a tandem disk about 

 4 inches deep for best results. Greater depths may cause excessive dilution of the 

 herbicide. Field cultivators, in general, do not give satisfactory herbicide incor- 

 poration. The Treflan label allows the use of a mulch treader for incorporation 

 this year. 



Most volatile herbicides, such as Sutan and Vernam, should be incorporated immedi- 

 ately after application. The Treflan label allows an 8-hour delay, but the sooner 

 the herbicide is incorporated the better. Lasso and AAtrex can be incorporated, 

 but incorporation is not necessary unless yellow nutsedge is a major problem. 



ORGANIC MATTER AND HERBICIDE RATE 



Herbicide rates vary with the texture and organic matter content of the soil. Her- 

 bicides most affected by organic matter content include: atrazine (AAtrex), sima- 

 zine (Princep) , linuron (Lorox) , trifluralin (Treflan) , and nitralin (Planavin) , 

 as well as combination products such as linuron/propachlor (Londax) and 

 propachlor/atrazine (Ramrod/atrazine) . 



You can estimate organic matter content with the "Color Chart for Estimating Or- 

 ganic Matter in Mineral Soils in Illinois" (AG- 1941) , and Fact Sheet SP-36 "Average 

 Organic Matter Content in Illinois Soil Types." Both guides are available from 

 your county Extension adviser or from the U. of I. Department of Agronomy. Or- 

 ganic matter content is also available from some soil test reports. 



The "1971 Weed Control Guide"- -also available from county Extension offices --has 

 suggested rates for herbicides and can be used as a guideline. 



Herbicides such as linuron (Lorox) and nitralin (Planavin) are not recommended 

 for soils that contain more than 3- to 4-percent organic matter. Other herbicides 

 such as propachlor (Ramrod) do not perform as satisfactorily on soils with low 

 organic matter content. 



