Bulletin [No. 107 (Dec. 1957)]

Bulletin 107

UDNIeV~c/eTmYbOeFr,~EQR1l9; ~
JUN 7 '58
Annual Reportr----- tfBRARIES -J

DEPARTMENT OF ENTOMOLOGY

July 1, 1956 - June 30, 1957

GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF ENTOMOLOGY

w. E . Blasin g am e, Direct or

S t a te Ag ric u lt u re Build ing

A t l a nt a, Ge orgi a

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Letter of Transmittal

Introducti on

__ __ _ _____ ___ _____ ___ __ _

Atlanta Offic e

Tifton Laboratory

Cornelia Laboratory

Page 4
___ 5 6 6 7

Co ope r ati ve Program

White-Fringed Beetle Cont ro l and Eradication

7

Sw eetpotato W eevil Cont ro l a n d Eradi cation

8

Japanes e Be etl e Control and Eradi cation

9

Phon y P each Disease Cont ro l

10

Insect and Plant Dis ease Surveys

11

W itch" reed

11

Imported Fire Ant

12

Khapra Beetle

12

P ink Bollworm

12

Soyb ean Cyst N ematod e

12

Mediterranean Fruit Fly

13

Tomato Late Blight

13

Eu ropean Cor n Borer

13

Plant Ce r t if ic a t ion Program

Ornam ental Nurseri es

14

Sw eetp otato Plant

14

T om ato Plant

15

Ca b ba ge Plant

16

Easter Lily Bulb

16

Cotto n

16

Bee In sp ection a n d Cer t if icati on

17

Structur al P est Cont r ol Insp ection ---- ---

17

Camellia Flow er Blight Contr ol ---- -- -

18

R egistrati on of E con omi c Poisons and D evi ces

18

Quarantin es

:

18

Incom e and Disbursem ents

19

FRONT COVER-During th e 1956-57 season, 64 ,490 colon ies of bees w ere insp ected by this d epartment.

3

To the Honorable S. Marvin Griffin, Governor of Georgia, and Members of the General Assembly: I have the honor to submit, h erewith, th e annual report of th e Georgia Department of Entomology for th e fiscal year, Jul y 1. 1956 to June 30, 1957.
Respectfully sub mitte d ,
4

INTRODUCTION
Function
T o protect the agricu ltu ral, h or t icultu r al a nd oth er interests of the state by preventing the introd uction into and dissemination within th e state, of destructive insects and diseases of .plants.
Methods
Promulgates and enforces q uarantines, p lant a nd bee certification programs, m ak es p lant pest surveys. P r og r ams for t he eradication or suppression of plant pests.
Authority
Entomology Act of 1937, as amended Be e Disease Law of 1920, as amended in 1947 Economic P oison s Act of 19 50 Structura l P est Control Ac t of 1955
Cooperation
U. S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Resea r ch Service, Plant Pest Control Division.
Georgia Department of Agricu lture. Sec r etary of State, Examining Boards.
Importance of Work
Damage caused by insects alon e in Georgia exce eds 100 million dollars annually. Were it not for th e constant work b eing don e in th e fi elds of teaching, r esearch, ext ension and regulatory, this figure wo uld be even greater.
Essentially a ll of our m a j or insect p ests are of foreign origin; many of th es e were of minor importance in their native la nd . Rapid advances in th e f ield of transportation have greatly increased t he proble m of pr ev enting th e accid ental introduction and /or spread of insects and plant diseases of ot he r countries. There are in excess of 800, 000 describ ed speci es of insects, anyon e of which could become a p est of major importance if introduced into a new area free of the parasites and predators t hat normally k eep them in check .
New Crop Pests Now Threatening Georgia Agriculture
Imported Fire Ant Pink Bollworm of Cotton Soyb ean Cyst Nematode European Corn Borer Striga sp. (witchweed ) -parasitic on corn Khapra Beetle Mediterranean Fruit Fly
5

ATLANTA OFFICE

Th e d epartment's main office is loca t ed on the third fl oor of the new Agricultural building.

Th e f u nctions of th e Atlanta office are many and v a r ie d . T h is office prepares th e quarterl y b udgets, annua l reports; pays salari es, mi leage, ex pe nse and sup p ly b ills; mak es a ll of th e d epartment's purchases; maintains p ersonnel r ecords, k eeps a co m p le te set of books with a dail y record of transa ction s; prepares and distributes th e va r ious publications of th e department, including such things as quarantines , r egula t ions, b u ll etins and circulars on th e control of in sects a nd d iseases, r esearc h findi ngs; issu es bee, n urse ry and oth er licen ses . V ery n ecessary to the proper operation of th e department is th e library whi ch is maintained in this offi ce. Th e st a te in sect coll ection, consisti n g of approx imatel y 3, 24 0 different sp eci es , is a lso located in this office.

As an in dica t ion of t he work carri ed on in this offic e, t h e fo llowing information is given:

Letters written

13,478

Bulletins and Circulars distributed

5, 329

Transit Insp ection of plants ____________________________________ 289

Sw eetpotato P lant T a p e

A 52,500

Sw eetpotato P lant Certificates

17,785

N ursery Certificates

311,877

Native Wi ld P lant Certificates .

.

.__ __ ____ 2,27 5

Queen and Package Bee Certificates

.

36,3 00

Insect and Disease Id entifications . ._.. .___ ___ __ __ 54 8

TIFTON LABORATORY
The department owns a building housing office space, a laboratory and greenhouse, lo cated at th e Coastal Plain Exp eriment Station in Tifton. This office is d esigned primarily to carry out th e departm ent's work in p lant pat hology but is equ ip pe d t o h a n dl e a ll p hases of the departme nt's fi eld work .
During this fisca l y ea r , 265 sampl es of tomato seed and 83 sampl es of cabbage see d w ere t ested in th e gre enh ou s e and laboratory in connection with th e tomato and cabbage certification programs. In addition, 45 samp les of mi scell a n eous seeds w ere t ested for growers. Approximately 229 insect and p lant dis ease d eterminations w ere m a d e and control inf ormation furnish ed .
In coop eration with p ersonn el of th e Coastal Plain Exp erim ent Station, t ests w ere continu ed on the tomato fr uitw orm a nd on th e evaluation of n ew aza lea varieti es .
T h e m a j or wo rk p erformed fro m t his office is on t h e plant certification programs and the sweetpotato weevil project.
6

COR NELIA LABORATORY
Exp erim ental work on insects and dis eases attacking p each and appl e tre es is th e main functi on of th e d epartment's laboratory located at Corn elia. Insecticid es and fungicid es t ested during ths p eriod were Malathion, Captan, Parathion, and T r ia ngl e 35-E . A deta iled report on th ese tests is avai lab le on req u est.
P ersonnel from this st at ion joined with p ersonnel from th e Agricultural Extension Service, Experiment Stations and th e U. S. Department of Agriculture in preparing spray schedul es for th e control of peach and app le insects and diseases.
COOPERATIVE PROGRAMS
Th e following programs are joint op erations b etw een this department and the U . S. Department of Agriculture , Agricultural Research Service, Plant Pest Control Division.
WHITE-FRINGED BEETLE CONTROL AND ERADICATION
The white-fringed beetle, an introduced agricultural crop pest, attacks every major crop produced in the st at e of Georgia. Principal damage is done by the la r va e which liv es in the soi l and feeds on the roots of far m crops, vegetab les, f lowers an d some ornamentals . In heavi ly infested lan d, as mu ch as 90 per cent of the p lant stand m a y be destroyed. The ad ult beetles which live above ground are about one-half inch long and ea ch insect la ys in ex cess of 600 eggs. Males of this sp ecies hav e never been found; th ey cannot fly but crawl activel y and are spread through transportation of agric ultural or industrial commodities and by other means.
T h e white-fringed beetle is k nown to occ ur in portions of 8 southeastern states and N ew Jersey, in cluding lim it e d areas in Georgia. It was first found in Georgia in 1946.
Quarantine
On this joint program there is a fed eral quarantin e and a paralle l state quarantine . Farm products, soi l, machin ery and articles capabl e of carrying or harboring th is insect are r egulated by these quarantines.
Objective
P r esent program objectives are to eradicate outlying infestations and to cond uct control and suppressive m easures in other areas wh ere er a dic a t ion is not now possibl e to prevent crop damage and to retard furth er spread .
Survey
During this year, infestations were fo und for t he first ti me in Carroll, Schl ey and Chatham co unti es . New infestations
7

were found in the fo llowing counties already infested: Cobb, Dooly, Talbot and Wilcox. At the close of this fiscal year, in festations were present in 63 co unties involving 98 ,03 7 acres.

STATUS OF IN F ESTE D ACREAGE

No specimens fo und Light po pul a ti ons Moderate pop ulations
Reavy po pu la t ions

Ac res

-45,897

-46.8 {ii,

45,490

4(j.4 %

5,977

6.1 {It,

673 ________________ .7{ii

Control and Eradication

Eradication treatments are b eing app lied to a ll known infested areas in the following counties:

Berrien
T attnall Sc reven T elfa ir H arris Troup

Butts Clarke Cobb Tu rn e r W il cox

T h e fo llowing counties are still cl a ssif ie d as infested but a ll infested acreage has received eradication treatm ents. Before being released there m ust be three years of n egative inspections.

Chatham Clay DeKalb

Evans Glynn Henry

Jones Morgan Oconee

Richmond
Schley Upson

SUMMARY OF INSECTIC ID E T REA T MENTS

1956 -57

Commercial Nurseries

73.6 Ac res

Farmland, Broadcast

.3,178 Acres

Farmland, With Fertilizer

1,452 Acres

Farmland, a nd other surface treatments

.5,096 A cr es

Surface Treatments-l lb . rate ._______ 892 Acres

Foliage Treatments (Aggregate) -40,727 Acres

T otal t o Da te 739 Acres
35,592 Acres 25,316 Acres
15,124 Acres 892 Acres

SWEETPOTATO WEEVIL CONTROL AND ERADICATION
Th e sweetpotato weevil is th e m ost destr uctive pest of sweetp otat oes and in a reas w here it occ urs sweetpotato prod uction is n ot feasib le witho ut ad equ ate control m easures. This sma ll in sect inf ests gr ow in g p otat oes in th e fie ld and co nti n ues to mul ti pl y a nd damage potatoes in sto rage . Pri nc ipal damage is done by t he la r va w hich t une ls th ro ugho ut the potato . H ea vily infested sweetpotatoes are unf it for hum an consumption and in many cases cannot even be used as feed for liv estock . There have been many instances of total destruction to plantings. Here in Georgia in 1945 a million do llar sweetp otat o p lant busin ess was destroyed by t his insect pest.
8

Th e sw eetpo t ato weevil was r epo rted as ea r ly as 1857 Jll Ind ia a nd currently in t h e U nite d States it occurs in par ts of seve n so ut he rn st ates in clu din g limit ed se ctions in Ge orgia.
Quarantine
A st a te q ua rant ine r eg ulating th e m ovement of sw eetp otat oes, sweetpotato p lants a nd pa r ts t h er eof is in effect an d at th e close of this f isc a l yea r , parts of 24 co unt ies invo lving 4 ] 8 pro p erti es w ere r egu la t ed by this qu a r a nt in e .

Objective
T h e obj ec t iv e of th is p r og r am is t o erad icate th e sw ee t potato w eev il f ro m a ll kn own in f est ed prop erties. T h e p ri m a r y diffic ulty enc ounte re d is t h e la ck of unif ormity in r egulating th e interstat e m ovem ent of s wee t po t atoes and /or sweet potat o pl ants infest ed w it h t his insect.

Survey

Insp ecti ons w ere m a d e in m ost of t h e counti es in mi d dl e an d so ut h Georgia . A t otal of 11 ,531 prop erti es were inspe cted .

S U MMA RY

P r opertie s inf ested a t beg inn in g of yea r

.373

N ew pr oper ti es fo und in f est ed

.340

P r operties released fro m qua rantine .

.295

Control and Eradication
Th e fo llowing co unti es w er e r el ease d fro m qu arant in e durin g th is season: H a rris, I r wi n , Long, P ulaski , T r ou p.

S UMMA R Y OF I N SECT ICIDE TRE ATMENTS

F ield T r eatments (aggr egate )

1,359 Acres

Seed Bed s T r ea t ed __________________________________________________________ 41 6

S tor ed sweet pot a t oes

49,950 Bu sh els

Volun teer swee t pot a to pla nts ._______________________________________ 738 Acres

Seed bed s de stroyed (he r bicide )

91

JAPANESE BEETLE CONTROL AND ERADICATION
Th e J a p a n ese b eetl e was first f ound in this count ry in Ne w J ersey in 1916 a nd w a s f irst d etected in Georgia in 1936. Th is insect fee ds on ove r 275 diff erent cr ops and or na ment a l pl ants and is a ma j or econ omic p est in areas w h ere it h as b ecome est a b lish e d. Th e da mage caus ed by t hi s insect throu ghou t th e U nited States in 1955 was esti m ate d at $10 ,000 ,000 .00 .
Quarantine
A f ederal quarantine is in effe ct r eg ulating th e m ovem ent of articl es ca p a ble of spread ing t hi s in sect, Du e t o t h e con tro l m easures th at h a ve b een app lied , Georgia is at presen t not r eg ulated by this quarantine.
9

Objective
The object of this program is to eradicate all incipient in f estations and to appl y control m easures to prevent crop damage and additi onal spread in areas where ov erall treatments are not practical at present.
Survey
A total of 1,317 traps w ere used during this r eporting p er iod a t 160 locations. Traps were placed at airp orts, transportation t erminals, f a r m mark ets and r esid ential areas.
To date this insect is known to occur in Atlanta, Austell, Dahlonega, Gainesv ill e, Doraville , Marietta and Toccoa . In addition, specimens have b een collected in th e train ya r ds at Waycross.
Control
A total of 421 acres w ere treated in th e city of Dahlonega. Limited t r eatments w ere a lso app lied t o various oth er iso lated inf est at ion s.
PHONY PEACH DISEASE CONTROL
Phony peach disease is the most destructive known virus dis ease of peach es. Th ere are no known varieties r esistant to th e disease. T h e d isease do es not kill but stunts th e tre es and th e fruit is reduced in siz e. T h e dis ease occurs in wild plum as well as in p each and is s pr ea d from plum to p each and p each to peach by small in sects known as leafhoppers. There is no known spray sch ed ule that will satisfactorily control t his dis ease .
Phony peach was first fo und about 1890 near Marshallvill e, Georgia. It is now known to occur in a numb er of states in addition to Georgia. It can b e found through out Georgia b ut is more serio us in th e central plateau area and in th e coastal p lain section. T h is d isease caus es m or e economic loss in G eorgia th a n in any other state.
Objective
Th e obj ective of this control proj ect is to make possible th e continuation of th e commercial peach ind ustry in this state.
Quarantine
A state quarantine is enf or ced jointly regu lating t h e production and movement of p each, plum, apricot, n ectarin e and almond nursery stock , all of which are carri ers of phony peach disease . A ll or parts of 12 states, incl uding the entire state of Georgia, are quarantin ed because of this disease . A requ irem en t of t his q uarantine is t hat the regu lated p lants be g rown in accordance with ce rtain r egulations. In t his co nnection d ur-
10

ing this p eriod , planting sites of four nurseri es were insp ected in Georgia, three of which were approved for th e production of peach stock. During the 19 57 season these nurseri es produced 272 ,000 p each trees.

Orchard Inspection

Progress in r educing the incidenc e of this dis ease continues
to be excellent. T he percentage of infected tre es found during th e past years is the low est in th e history of th e program. A total of 2, 558,54 5 tre es in commercial orchards of 24 counties w ere inspected for phony p each d isease and only 21,811 trees
w ere fo und infected and removed from the orchards. T his represents 0.85 % of the trees. The tab le b elow shows the nu m b er of inspections made and r eflects the excellent prog-
ress made on this project since 1950.

Year
1949-50 1950 -51 1951-52 1952 -53 1953-54 1954-55 1955-56 1956-57

Counties Inspected
32 17 11 14 16 20 21 24

T rees Inspected
2 ,3 62,507 1,514,946 1,727, 167 1,42 3,810 2,004,385 2,141 ,125 2,482 ,445 2,558 ,545

Phony Trees
63,390 43,190 106,441 29 ,873 47 ,903 26,75 5 28 ,744 21,811

Per Cent Infection
2.6 2.8 6.1 2.1 2.3 1.2 1.1 0.85

Wild Plum Control
The casual virus for phony peach disease is known to b e epid emic in wild plum. Although th e insect vectors that spread phony disease are known, th ere is no satisfactory contro l procedure avai labl e due to the wide host rang e and habits of th e insect carriers. Control of wild plum in the environs of orchards w ill greatly improve the effectiveness of the phony peach dis ease control program. Present plans are to intensify control of wild plums in orchard envir ons located in the main peach growing section for the next year. During this reporting period a total of 154 ,250 square yards of plums w ere treated around the envir ons of 68 orchards in Crawford, Macon and Peach co unties. This was a joint program with th e individual grower, county, state and federal government participating.

WITCHWEED SURVEY
Witchw eed is a parasitic seed-bearing p lant that attacks corn, sorghum, sugar cane and many othe r members of th e grass family . It was first found in the United States in 1956 and is presentl y known to exist in North and South Carolina. Observations to date indicate that it is a ser ious pest capable of causing complete crop loss in h eavily infested fie lds.
During this fiscal year inspections were made in 24 Georgia counties. A total of 16 10 properties were inspected, representing 15,27 1 acres. A ll surveys were negative.
11

IMPORTED FIRE ANT
Infestations of this imported ant sp eci es have in r ecent years b egun to increase in n umb ers and to spread at a very a larming rate. T his ins ect is now of m aj or econom ic significan ce in th e states of A labama, Miss issippi and Lo uisiana and is a d efinite potential threat in this state.
An em erge nc y survey is b eing conducted at th e present ti m e using a ll avai lable p ersonnel a nd f unds. T o date some 46 ,2 54 acres have b ee n fo und infest ed . A ll plant nu rs eri es fo und inf ested a r e b eing r equired to treat th eir prop erty to prevent f ur t he r spre a d by th e mov em ent of nursery stock .
Th is insect is d estr uctive to many agricultural crops and is inj urio us to yo ung livestock and w ild life. T h e ant is extrem ely aggressiv e and possesses a painful sting capab le in ext re me cases of causing death to humans.
Th e f easibility of a joint State-Fed eral program to deal with t h is problem is n ow un der co nsid eratio n .
At th e present tim e this insect is known to occur in A la bama , Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisi ana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and T exas.
KHAPRA BEETLE SURVEY
This insect is potentially th e most serio us insect p est of stored prod ucts. It is kn own to occ ur in limited locations in Ca lifornia, Arizona an d New. Mexico . Dur ing t his fis cal year a tota l of 19 initial insp ections were made in 7 co unti es. All in sp ections were n egative.
PINK BOLLWORM SURVEY
T his insect continu es to pose one of th e m ost serio us threats to agriculture in Georgia. T his insect caused damage to cotton est im ate d at 30 million dollars in so uth T exas alon e in 1952. At t he prese nt ti m e the pink bo llworm is k nown to occ ur in six states, t he clos est to Georgia b eing Lo uisiana . To date this insect h as not b een fo und in Geo rgia.
A t ot a l of 35 7 samp les containing 1401 bushels of gin trash f r om 51 cou nti es w ere insp ected. Insp ections w ere a ll n egat ive . Surveys d uri ng t h e next cotto n season w ill be in t ensifi ed in Crisp a nd Dooly co unties since m ig r a t or y work ers from the pink bo llworm area were used extensive ly during the past year.
SOYBEAN CYST NEMATODE SURVEY
Availab le information on this nematode indicates that it can b ecome a maj or threat to the so ybean industry of this
12

state. T h is cyst n ematod e was first found in t hi s co untry in August 19 54 and is pres entl y known to exist in North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas.
In Ge orgia during th e 19 56- 57 fi scal ye ar so il s a m p les were collecte d f r om 93 prop erti es r epres enting a total of 156 5 a cres. Plant symptom surveys w ere mad e on 25 prop erties r epresenting 135 a cres. Th ese in sp ection s were m a d e in 29 co unties and w ere all n egati ve .

MEDITERRANEAN FRUIT FLY
Th e Mediterran ean fruit fl y is one of th e w orld's m ost d est r uc t ive pests of cit r us f r uits and more than 200 ot he r fruit and vegetabl e crops. This in sect is a native of t he Mediterr an ean area and is presentl y known t o occ ur in th e st ate of F lorida . Inasm uch a s p eac h es are on e of th e m ost pref erred ho sts of this p est, d etection surveys w ere con du cte d in Georgia during this r eporting period . In this survey 395 spe ci a l traps w ere rotated ov er th e st a te with n egative r es u lt s.

TOMATO LATE BLIGHT
This disease is unsurpass ed in destr uctiv e potential to tomato es. It is ca p a ble of r ed ucing a promising cr op to tota l loss in a w e ek's time if w eather conditions are fav orab le.
Regu lations are enf orce d prohibiting th e ent ry of tomato transpl ants from ce r tain Florida counti es b ecause of this di sease . During this p eriod 39,179 containers of Fl orida grown t om ato plants w ere in sp ect ed.

EUROPEAN CORN BORER

Du ring th e summer of 19 55 th e Europ ean co r n bo re r b ecame a maj or problem to grow ers of pimi ento p epp ers in th e state of Alabama. Large qu a ntit ies of th ese p epp ers w ere b eing sh ip ped into this state, and in many in stances, into th e h eart of our pimiento p epp er growing area . Inasmu ch as this seri ou s p est is not known to occur in this area, a n d beca use of th e threat imposed by imp ortation of pimiento p epp er fruit infested with th e Europ ean corn borer, r egulation s we re drawn up r estri cting th e ent r y of pimi ento pepp ers from areas known t o b e infested with th e Europ ean corn borer.

During 19 56 -57 random insp ections w er e mad e ove r th e

state for t h is ins ect with sp ecial em ph a sis b eing placed on ob-

servations in M eriweth er, Upson, Pike, Spaldi ng, Butts and

J on es count ies. At th e present ti m e in f est at ions of th e Euro-

p ea n corn borer are known to occur in Chatooga, F lo yd , Po lk ,

Rabu n , Walker and Whitfi eld co unties.

.

PLANT CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS
Two types of certification programs are con d ucte d by the department r elativ e to insects and plant diseases: com pu lsory
13

and vol unt a ry. Compulsory programs are co n d u cte d to prevent th e dissemination of certain high ly injurious in sects and plant diseases. Voluntary programs are cond uc te d t o all ow th e f ree inte rstate m ovement of pl ants by certif ying that suc h pl ants are ap p arentl y free of in sects an d pl ant di sease.
NURSERY INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION
To prevent th e spread of insects a n d plant di seases through th e sa le or exc hange of nursery st ock, this d ep artment insp ects at lea st once ann u a lly, all nurseri es ope r at ing within t he sta te of G eorgia. During th e p eriod covered by this r eport, 44 7 nurseries w ere in spected and lic en sed by th is department. In addition, 161 deal ers in nursery st oc k and 229 ag ents w ere licen sed , making a t otal of 83 7 li cen ses issu ed by th is d epartm en t.
A mim eograph ed bull etin was prepared a nd dis tributed by r equ est t o th e nursery and allied industries. This bu ll etin lists th e nam e and address of all lic ensed nurserymen and d eal ers and sh ows th e typ e of stoc k th ey carry. Rul es, r egulation s, affidavits and r eciprocal agreements w ere r evis ed and distributed as r equ ired.
Sp ecial surveys w ere mad e in th e va r ious nurseri es and th eir env iro ns f or th e pres en ce of th e White-Fringed b e etle, J apan ese b eetl e, Imported Fire Ant and Camellia F low er Blight di sease.
Sp ecial lic en ses w ere issu ed t o d eal ers in native or w ild stock. Inasmuch as this pl ant material is n ot nursery grown, sp ecial tags are r equi red attesting to this f a ct.
To provid e f or th e in sp ection of nursery stock shipp ed intraand inter-state by in dividuals n ot in th e nursery bu siness, insp ection ce nters have been set up in Atlanta, T ifton a n d Corn eli a .
Information is furn ished to nurserym en as n eed ed or requ ested on th e id entification and control of insects and plant di s e a s es .
SW EETPOTATO PLA NT CERTIFI CATI ON
In ord er to prevent th e introdu ction into and spread within th e state of stem rot, black rot and m osaic of sweet po t atoes, th e de p a r t me nt maintains a co m pu lsory sweet po t at o plant ce rti f ication p r ogram. Th e plants are ins pected in th e fi eld and seed stoc k in sp ected in sto r a ge . If n o d ise ase is found an d th e pl ants are not grown within a t wo-mile radiu s of a sweet po tato w eevil in f estation , certification is granted and th e grow er furnish ed with certificate t ap e an d tags. Through this program th e s pr ea d and buildup of injurious insects and diseases
14

is prevented and commercial or other sweetpotato grow ers are assured of dis ease-free plants.

During 19 56-57 a total of 1523 acres of plants were insp ected in the fie ld . T h e incidenc e of swe etpotato mosaic continu es to spread in the coastal p lain section at an alarming rate. It was nec essary t o r emove 285 acres from certification b ecause of this disease. Certification was not allow ed on a total of 427 .35 acres d u e to dis ease. A total of 87, 794 bush els of swe etpotato es w ere insp ected in storage and 4,0 64 bushels were condemned.

See d Sweetpotatoes Ins pected

Mixed Puerto R ico

Copper Skin Puerto Rico

Bunc h P uerto Rico

oRethde

Skin Puerto r Varieti es

Ri co

Bushe ls
2,357 23,945 19 ,871 10,907 30 ,714

TOMATO PLANT CERTIFICAnON
In order to a llow Georgia plant growers to f urnish to mato transplants to other states, principally in t he northern states, this department maintains a vo luntary tomato plant certification program . To h el p defray the cost of this program participating growers pay an inspection fee of $2 .00 per acre, with a minimum charge of $50.00. A total of $13,743 .00 was col lect ed during this fiscal period and used by the department in accordanc e with budget regulations.
There were 6,593 acres of tomato plants un d er certification in Georgia during the period cov ered by this report. Approximately 514,952,858 certified p lants were shipped from 22 south G eorgia co unties.
All se ed used in p lanting was checked t o determine wh eth er r equ ir em ent s re lating to germination, se ed borne organisms and st ate of origin certification w ere complied with. Land must b e approv ed prior to planting, fie lds checked to se e th at seeds are properly p lanted and fields correctly m a r k ed . Plants are ch eck ed in the fi eld at least w eekly to determin e adeq uacy of spray cov erage and incid ence of insects and plant diseases . Packing sh eds are ch ecked to se e that plants are properly packed and labeled.

Rutgers Marg lobe
Valiant F -2 Hybrid

ACRES PLANTED

2958 13
116 487

Stokesdale Garden State Other

8 1488 152 3

15

AC RES REVOKED

F -2 Sto kes - Ga rde n Ru t g ers Marglobe Va lia nt H ybrid dal e S tate Ot he r

Alternaria

146

1

4

42

138 160

Bacterial Spot__________ 29

9

Bacterial Wi lt

3 13

Southern Blight

109

Nematodes

135

7

15

__

25

64

45

Grade Grass

2439

12

9

103

384

8

1082 1240

138

18

Other Causes

91

39

28

57

Total

2958

13

11 6

487

8

1488 1523

CABBAGE PLANT CERTIFICATION
This is a vo luntary certification program similar to t he T om ato certificatio n pr ogram. During th e 1956-57 season, 364 ac res of cab b a ge pl ants in 5 co unties we re ins pected an d ce rtified by th e dep a r tm ent. As a r esult of this p rogram , a pproximate ly 87,00 0,0 00 pl ants w ere ce r t if ie d a nd so ld bo t h intrastate a n d intersta t e. Rul es and r egul ation s are revised annu all y and fu rnish e d t o t he in du stry a n d to ot hers on req uest.

EASTER LILY BULB CERTIFICATION
During t he 1956-57 seaso n, 27 inspectio ns, involvin g 24 .2 6 acres, were m a de. Of these acres 22.3 1 were certified as being free of insects and p lant diseases.
According to information furnished by the Agricultural Extension Service, the production of Georgia li ly bu lbs is an important money crop for farmers and back yard gardeners. T o meet the requirements of the bu lb dea lers for insect and disease free bulbs the department inaugurated this voluntary certification program in 1954.

COTTON CERTIFICATION
Growers desiring to sh ip cotton seed t o ot he r states and co untries are r equired t o obtain ce rtificates of freedo m fro m in sects and diseases fro m t his de partment. T o m eet t he re q ui re me nts of th e vario us states a nd fo re ig n co untries th is d ep artm ent in sp ects t he co tto n fie lds an d ginning f acilit ies of all grow ers r equ est in g suc h inspections . T o avoid du pl icati on , a r range ments h a ve bee n m a d e wh ereb y in sp ecti on s a nd ce rt ifi cat es of t he Geo rgi a Crop Imp r ovem en t Association are accepted in a ll cases othe r t h an shi pment t o foreign co unt ries. Insp ecti on s by t his departme nt are confined to growers w ho a re no t m em b ers of t he Crop Improve ment Association . During 1956- 57 inspections were m a d e in 3 cou nties on 276 acres of cotton.
16

BEE INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION

T h e purpose of this inspection and certification program is twofold : ( 1 ) t o control certain serious bee d iseases, prim arily American Foulbroo d, a n d (2) to a llow Geo rg ia beek ee p ers to m ove a n d se ll th eir b ees.

During the 19 56- 57 se ason , 64,490 colonies of b ees w ere insp ected by this department in 88 counties. There we re 36,45 6 colonies of b ees inspecte d for package and qu een b e e sh ip pe rs and 28,0 34 colonies f or hon ey produ cers. Of t h is numb er ins pe cte d fo r honey p r odu cers, 17 ,344 colon ies were inspecte d t o enable Geor g ia b eekeep ers t o m ove t heir bees into oth er states, primarily Florid a . Du ring t his p eriod 5,352 co lonies of b ees w er e all ow ed to ente r Georgia after prop er certifica t ion f ro m t h e state of orig in .

Ameri can F oulbrood E u ropean Foulbrood P er Cen t Di sea se

DISEASES FOUND
1954 -55 197 74 0.4 ,/p

1955-56
170 89 .38 '!o

1956-57
308 83 .60 0/0

In a d di tion t o th e in sp ection se rv ice, th e d epartment issu es r egul ati on s fo r queen, package a n d hon ey producers, enfo rc es
b ee d isea se qu a r a nti nes a n d issu es h ealth certif ic ates to p a cka ge and q uee n b ee shi ppe rs whose be e yards h ave be en inspecte d and fo und f ree of d isease.

STRUCTURAL PEST CONTROL
This de p a rt me nt wa s nam ed as th e enfo rc ing agen cy of th e Structural P est Cont ro l Act of 19 55. Insp ection s are mad e by th e department t o determine th e ad equ a cy of m eth od s an d material s us ed by co mme rc ial p est cont ro l f ir ms . The law is administered by a commissi on of f ive m en known as th e Stru ctural Pest Cont ro l Com missio n . This commission is one of th e State Examining Boards in t he offic e of th e Secreta ry of State.
During this period 14,243 t ermi te cont ro l jobs were r epor t ed to this department.

R esults of Insp ections 1956-57

T ot al Nu m be r of J obs Ins pect ed

19 77

N u m ber J obs Where Vio lations Were Fo u nd

82 1

P er cen t a ge of J obs In s pected Sho wi ng Viola t ion s ._______________________ 42'!o

On th e basis of th ese in sp ections and oth er investigations mad e by th e d epartm ent 25 co m panies w ere bro ught t o th e att enti on of th e Stru ctural P est Cont r ol Commission ; r esulting in th e r evocation of 7 li cen ses an d th e sus pens ion of 13 licen ses. In ad di t ion , this dep a rt me nt cond ucte d 6 h earings.

Th e Director of Entom olog y serves as a m emb er of t h e Stru ctura l P est Control Commission.

17

CAMELLIA FLOWER BLIGHT
Large extensions were found d uring this f iscal year in the area infected w ith t h is disease. T h e disease was fo und again in Atlanta, and additiona l areas were fo un d in A u g usta. T hi s disease was a lso fo und to be p resent over m ost of Macon .
In t he in f ect ed a rea in A ugus ta came llia plants were a llow ed t o prod uce b loo ms but ap p lications of fe r mate to t h e soi l un dern ea th t hese p lants were continued. P rop er t y owners were r equir ed to pick up at regul ar int er val s a ll fa llen blooms and to otherwise practice strict sanitation in their camellia plantings.
As a result of the extensions found, it will be necessary that the department concentrate its efforts toward preventing the further spread of this serious f ungus disease.

REGISTRAnON OF ECONOMIC POISONS AND DEVICES
This depar t ment, in cooperat ion wi t h th e State Depart me nt of A gricul ture, enfo rces t h e Econ omic P oisons Ac t of 195 0. Du ring this fisca l year, 3,900 brands of eco no mic p oison s we re registered f ro m 474 co mpanies.

QUARANTINES AGAINST SERIOUS PESTS

The department promulgates and distributes quarantines against serio us economic insect pests and plant diseases which are n ot fo und in Georgia, or which have not become generally d istributed over the state. State quarantines now in force in Georgia are as fo llows:

P hony P ea ch Dise ase Sweetpotato Weevil W hi te-Fringed Beetle

T ob a cco Etch Mosai c Ca me ll ia Flower Blight Oak W ilt Disease

In addition, regulations are enforced relative to th e entry of tomato plants because of lat e blight and pimiento pepper fruit because of the European Corn Borer.

Some of these quarantines are enforced jointly with the Agricultural Research Service of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. A ll q uarantines are revised a nd b ro ught u p to date as needed and the necessary state and federa l perso nne l assig ned t o enfo rce t hem .

In addition to t hese state quarantines t he re a re ce r tain fe deral quarantines t hat p ro tect t he a gricultural a nd h orti cul tural interests h ere in Georgia. These inclu d e q uarantines against:

J a pa n ese Beetle Pink Bollworm Go lden Nematode White Pine Blister Rust Khapra Beetle

Black Stem Ru st Mexican Fruit Fly European Chafer Mediterranean Fruit F ly Soybean Cyst Nematode

18

INCOME AND DISBURSEMENTS

The statement of income and disbursements of the department for the fiscal ye a r July 1, 19 56 to Jun e 30, 1957 foll ow s: a lso the ex p e n dit u res mad e by th e F ederal Gov ernment on th e coope r a t ive proj ects with th e d epartment.

From cash on hand From fe es coll ect ed .
Chec ks from State T r ea s urer

_ __. ._ _.._..
._ __.

.

._. $ 12 ,738 .85

. ._._________ 23,334.75

180 ,069.8li

Tran sfer t o State P ersonnel Board

$216, 143.46 408.86

$215,734 .60

EXPENSE OF THE PROJECT S

State

White-Fring ed Beetl e Eradication ..

$ 44,838.72

Sw eetpotato W eevil

....

Tomato P lant

.._...

_ 31,144.62

.

_ 22,323.44

Structura l P est Control

.._.

_ 15,728.37

Swe etp ot a to Plant ----------------------------------------..-------------- 12,80 9.98

A tlant a Of fi ce ..

__.. __ .

_ 12,066.99

Bee

.. __ ..

__.

. 11,928.62

N u rsery

..__. ... . ..__. . .__... __ 7,88 5.39

Tifton Of f ice

_ 7,440.38

Phon y P ea ch .

..

_ 6,804.20

J a pan es e Beetl e __._

_ 6,39 4.39

Corne lia Statio n

__.__. .. ... ...__...

. 5,751.26

Ca mell ia Flow er Bl igh L ....__..__..._. .. .__. . .. 4,040 .32

Gene ra l Pest Con t ro l .

_ 3,828 .81

Imported Fire Ant

....

__ 2,237.57

Ca bba ge P lant Easter Lil y Bulb .

... . ._. . 1,231.58

.__.

_ 811.36

Fed eral $173 ,230.00
45,5 94.00
27,256 .00 6,260 .00 6,515.00

Retirem ent, Merit Sy stem, Socia l Secuiity

$197, 246 .00 . 8,795 .97

$258 ,85 5.00

$206, 041.9 7
Exp enditures b y th e F ed eral Gove r n me n t on th e co op erative proj ects in th e state w ere paid directl y f ro m th eir ow n d isbursing office.

19

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