GUIDE BOOK FOR 1946 
Page 33 

Asked about the hazard to men working in 
commercial bulb houses where the volume of 
the work done might increase the respiration 
hazards beyond that of the amateur’s base- 
ment, Mr. Farrar thought respirators or other 
dust protective equipment should be pro- 
vided whether the men used them or not. 
Particularly in the actual dusting process the 
air could become quite dusty and some pro- 
tection should be used but he doubted very 
much if the worker would get very much dust 
coming off treated bulbs while later rooting 
them. 
By Jas. S. McConahy 
of Makon Chemicals, Inc. 
Ann Arbor, Mich. 
Mr. McConahy suggests the use of thei! 
Makon’s Botany Brand Arbortox DDT 
(5%)—Pyrethum (.2%) Dusting Powder 
for thrips and other insects on dry bulbs in 
storage. He says avoid excessive inhalation 
or wear damp cloth over nose and mouth. 
They sell 2 lb. bags for $1.00 each and 10 tb. 
bags for $4.00 each, f. o. b. express. 
For spraying plants in the field he suggest- 
avoiding the many cheap wettable powder 
simple formulas which he terms “‘commodis 
ties’ and use a “‘specialty’’ combination for 
particular purpose, though somewhat more 
expensive such as their DDT vegetable oil 
emulsion called Makon’s Botany Brand - 
Arbortox with DDT Spray. This contains 
15% DDT and six other ingredients, one of 
them Lethane, full 100% active. They sell 
this professional spray at $4.75 per qt. or 
$9.00 per half gallon, f. o. b. express. 
He further warns not to dust or spray vege- 
table crops with folding leaves unable to be 
washed. Also that we must understand that 
users assume all risk of use or handling, 
effects or results, whether used in accordance 
with directions or not. 
By Robert E. Wean of The Geigy Co. 
(Geigy Co. is the originator of DDT insec- 
ticides and holder of the basic patents). Mr. 
Wean detailed to me much of the information 
already carried in our next article on THRIPS. 
He explained that their wettable powder 
formula Gesarol DT50 contains wetting and 
sticking agents whereby it is not necessary 
for the consumer to purchase additional ma- 
terials of this type. He recommends that it 
be used at the rate of 2 lbs. per 100 gallons of 
water (1 oz. per 3 gal. of water). Sufficient 
spray should be applied to thoroughly wet 
the plants—this will require about 200 gallons 
per acre. 
The product is available from Geigy Gor 
Inc., 89-91 Barclay St., New York 8, Saye 
THRIPS 
If thrips appear on your plants they must 
be controlled before the bud spikes emerge 
from the foliage. Watch for any silvery gray 
streaks on the foliage. If permitted to in- 
crease unmolested they will extract juices 
from the buds resulting in a burned appear- 
) 
ance, they will eat streaks of color off the 
petals even before they unfold and if they 
unfold at all, the petals may crimp up their 
edges and dry to a dull brown. Even the 
young, lemon colored thrips may do this 
damage to the bud so it is important to kill 
such adult thrips as may arrive before they 
lay eggs, also because the young have the 
bad habit of staying inside the bud and crev- 
ices of the plant where they are hard to reach 
with insecticides. The silvery gray (feeding) 
streaks on the foliage, in badly infested cases, 
turn brown, stopping both plant and bulb 
growth. 
In our opinion, thrips come more into the 
open during the hours of 4-6 P.M., so spray- 
ing is most effective if done at that time. 
Also, the less heat the safer for the plants 
and evaporation is retarded. If plants are 
thirsty when spray is applied, spraying 
hazards are increased. lants should be 
well watered but the foliage should be dry 
before the spray is applied. Spraying but 
one part of the patch only is inadvisable on 
account of the migratory habits of the insect. 
Above all. we beg our readers not to put 
off inspecting the plants for thrips infestation 
until blooms appear. If they already have 
a good foothold at that time you may have 
a very discouraging task on your hands. 
We recommend preventive = spraying. 
once every 10 days after plants are up 6 or 8 
inches. until blooming. In any event, have 
your insecticide on hand to use if needed. 
A WORD TO THE WISE 
Disappointment can be minimized by leav- 
ing to the highly trained gladiolus specialist 
the experimentation and cash investment 
necessary to try out all the new offerings of 
the many hybridizers. Those who know the 
quality of competition in national, state and 
regional shows in the last few years have come 
to realize that inferior sorts rarely win. We 
list only those varieties currently winning 
first prize awards and, on occasion, a limited 
few new ones which we have grown and which, 
in our opinion, are about to take their place 
in the winning ranks. We have almost no 
errors to acknowledge. 
We have no knowledge of the existence of 
any other gladiolus catalog in the world that 
even closely approaches so exclusive a list of 
prize-winners. 
Also, it is well to leave to the federal, state 
and university entomologists, pathologists 
and to gladiolus specialists cooperating with 
them, the determination of best usages for the 
control of insect pests and bulb and plant 
diseases. Experimentation by others with 
poisons, poisonous gases and with insecticides, 
the component parts of which are not under- 
stood by the user, and with unapproved meth- 
ods of fertilization, usually leads to trouble. 
