In a message dated 96-06-08 15:27:04 EDT, Allen Dick wrote to me in private
correspondance of some unclear statements I made.
>> Wheat we've seen has been clean of
>> mustard, or else perhaps hasn't been sprayed. The martins and
>> swallows may have done a sufficient job. They sure were "swarming"
>> over the wheat fields.
>
>What are we saying here?
>
>Are you talking about herbicides?
>
>Do the birds eat the mustard?
Boy is this ever fuzzy! I am sorry, and will try to proofread more
carefully next time.
Most damage we've had in the early spring is from wheat spraying, which
should not be a problem, as wheat is not attractive to bees. However, the
wild mustard is a common weed in wheat fields, and foraging bees are killed
by the application. This is, of course a label violation, to apply while
bees are foraging, even though they are not on the crop; they are on a weed
in the application area.
The pest for which the application is made is, I believe, a fly, which
causes damage just before the wheat heads. I cannot recall the name of the
fly (perhaps Hessian Fly??). The martins and swallows were working these
fields heavily this year, and may have caused sufficient control. I did not
see any pesticide applications being made; they normally are aerial, and
pretty obvious.
I observed the martins and even more so, the swallows, concentrating on
wheat fields for about two weeks. It was obvious that they were feeding
heavily on something that was only over the wheat. In fact I got kind of
high, watching them do their thing. -Obviously a kind of biological
control.....
Hope this helps clear the muddy waters. I'll pass it on to the list also,
in case anyone else found it confusing.
[log in to unmask] Dave Green, PO Box 1200, Hemingway, SC
29554
Practical Pollination Home Page Dave & Janice Green
http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
|
