The control of yellow tea mite, Hemitarsonemus latus (Banks), with DDT on cotton in Uganda.

Abstract

The damage caused to cotton by the yellow tea-mite,Hemitarsonemus latus(Banks),was first seen in Uganda in 1945 and is now known throughout the important cotton-growing areas of the country. Experiments on cotton in the Belgian Congo showed that sprays and dusts of several insecticides would control or prevent infestations of H.latus;earlier published work in Ugandasuggested that BHC reduced tea-mite damage and DDT increased it,when both were appliedas sprays from wettable powders.However,tea-mite damage was not noticeable on trials in which single rows of cotton were sprayed with DDT emulsion,or on large-scale trials using DDT formulated as a water-miscible liquid. These trials were all directed against the pest insects Earias spp. and Lygus vosseleri Popp.,the standard rate of application being 1 lb. active ingredientper acre applied four times at ten-day intervals.