FIGHTING GRASSHOPPER PLAGUE POISONING MEETS WITH SUCCESS
AMPLE SUPPLIES IN MALLEE
PROTECTING GRAPE CROPS WORTH £1,000,000
Every effort is being made in the Northern Mallee to exterminate the plague of grasshoppers before they reach the winged form and already gratifying success is reported. Ample supplies of poison have been sent to the areas affected and plans to intensify the campaign have been made.
Precautions are being made to protect the grape vines in the Red Cliffs district against the plague. There are about 30,000 acres of vines and it is estimated that the grapes from them will be worth £ 1,000,000. It is thought that while the grasshoppers are not in the winged form the vines can be protected. As a precaution, however, quantities of poison are being sent to Red Cliffs. If required this will be mixed with the spray which is normally used to protect the vines from black spot and so destroy the pests in the winged form.
Reports received yesterday by the Closer Settlement Commission showed that the grasshoppers were very thick in the wheat areas in the districts around Carwarp and Nowingi, and in some instances they were beginning to fly. Within a week it is expected that large numbers of them will be on the wing. They were also reported to be thick in the Robinvale and Annuello districts, where, however most of the crops have failed owing to the adverse season. Supplies of poison have been sent to the district, and preventive measures will be organised to-day.
In the Colignan district it was reported that 20 tons of a green wheat crop had been eaten by the grasshoppers in two hours. Elsewhere they were attacking the flag but not the head of the wheat, and in many cases the crops had been saved. As the crops dried there was less danger. A message was received from Mildura from Mr. Allnutt, M.L.A., pointing out that in one part the grasshoppers were on a front 20 miles in width and six miles in depth.Another report indicated that the grasshoppers were moving south and east toward Swan Hill. The dried fruit areas have not been affected yet. There is enough poison at Ouyen, Mildura, and Red Cliffs to cover a strip about 500 miles in length and of adequate width. This is considered ample for the present. Some anxiety is felt about the extent of the plague in the unsettled areas of the Mallee from which no reports have been received.
The Closer Settlement Commission has bought 100 tons of bran at £4/17/6 a ton for mixing with the poison and about 60 tons will be sent to the Mallee today. Every facility is being provided by the Railways department to ensure the rapid transport of materials to the areas affected In the Mallee there are 2,600
closer settlers and settlers receiving some form of Government assistance. Reports received last night fiom the Mallee show that the grasshoppers have reached Werrimull, where some properties are badly infested. The insects are also near Nandaly, 20 miles north of Sea Lake and there are several swarms near Mittyack. Crops around Kulwin which promised record yields have suffered considerable damage. It was expected that this district would provide the best harvest in the Mallee. Supplies of poison are required at Sea Lake for growers to the north, who fear that the plague will soon spread to their districts. Grasshoppers have been found around Underbool, but not in sufficient numbers to cause alarm. According to reports oat crops at Linga are being attacked. Green feed has been eaten out completely at Merrinee, where crops are also suffering. Settlers met there last night to make plans to deal with the pest.
A report from Wentworth (N.S.W.) says that although the plague has reached Cardross within a few miles of the Red Cliffs fruit settlement, it is not considered that they will cross the Murray River into the New South Wales pastoral areas.
FIGHTING GRASSHOPPER PLAGUE. (1934, November 9). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848-1954), p. 3. Retrieved November 17, 2010, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10992479
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