Guthion gives excellent control of both the Oriental fruit moth and the twig borer in peaches. When used at reduced rates the mortality of beneficial insects and mites is greatly reduced. There are good possibilities for using this chemical in an integrated control program for peach pests.

Bananas grown in northern Queensland are picked while hard and green and ripened and marketed in the southern States of Australia, where fruit infested by Dacus (Strumeta) spp. is unacceptable. Of the two species of Dacus known to attack banana in northern Queensland, D. (S.) tryoni (Frogg.) does not infest hard, green fruit, but D. (S.) musae (Tryon) [cf. RAE A 52 437], which is normally associated with wild banana (Musa banksii) in rain forests, may attack unripe cultivated fruit if nearby bunches have been mechanically injured. Less than 1% of the harvested fruit is usually affected and this is discarded during packing, but since some may be overlooked, an attempt was made to develop a chemical treatment that would destroy the larvae in the fruit. B. M. Braithwaite found that liquids containing 0.05% fenthion or 0.03% dimethoate killed D. tryoni in bananas dipped in them and did not adversely affect the fruit or leave residues likely to be unacceptable, and these materials, with phosphamidon, were accordingly tested against D. musae. No adults emerged from fruit dipped in solutions of 0.01 % fenthion or 0.03 % dimethoate for five seconds, but there was some emergence in one of two treatments after dipping in 0.01 % dimethoate for three minutes. Phosphamidon exerted little control.

Discusses soils, organic and inorganic manures, pest control, and plant diseases. Gives advice on the selection of ornamental plants and shrubs, fruit growing, and various other topics.

In phytotoxicity tests with 4 insecticides dimethoate proved to be the safest compound for use on cucumbers. Yields from plants sprayed with 0.05% dimethoate emulsion were the highest, and control of Aphis gossypii was adequate. DDT emulsion at 0.1 % killed or severely damaged the plants; DDT as a 50 % dispersible powder caused some marginal scorch and yellowing. Dieldrin as a 0.05% emulsion did not affect plant growth or fruit production adversely. Fenthion as a 0.05% emulsion caused visible stunting in the early stages of growth, which led to a reduction in the number of leaves and in fruit size.