A Comparative Study of Anti-locust Baits, with special Reference to Base Materials

Abstract

A simple, but reliable, technique is described for the study of the acceptability to locust hoppers of poison baits under field conditions. This was applied to the study of a number of vegetable materials which might be used for the manufacture of wet baits to destroy hoppers of the Desert Locust. The materials tested could be divided into five classes of acceptability, and consideration of these indicated that heavy lignification detracted from acceptability while the presence of starch added to it. It was shown that molasses adds to the acceptability of only the least acceptable materials unless very large amounts are used. Simple tests showed that acceptability was not correlated with water-absorbing properties, that the rate of drying of bait was dependent on the amount of water initially absorbed, and that molasses influences the rate of drying only when large amounts are added.