Other rotations with corn or cotton may be arranged, because an annual lespedeza fits in more readily than any other legume.
For soil improvement and erosion control over a period of years, the annual lespedezas are less desirable than the perennial lespedeza, sericea. However, if the annual lespedezas are used for this purpose, a winter annual grass such as Italian ryegrass or rescuegrass fits in well with them. These grasses grow in winter and protect the soil. In the spring they give way to annual lespedezas and some of them will produce seed for a volunteer crop the following winter. This makes an excellent grazing and soil-protecting combination.
Small gullies can be healed and further erosion checked by seeding annual lespedeza. Roadbanks and shoulders can be covered and held by lespedeza which not only offers a good appearance but prevents washing. Grass in combination with the lespedeza can often be used to advantage.
When a summer crop is needed for the addition of organic matter and for soil improvement in orchards, the annual lespedezas can often be used for this purpose.
Grasshoppers frequently feed on the leaves and stems of lespedeza plants. In the Southeastern States the American grasshopper (Schistocerca americana) is usually the most injurious species.
In some years the armyworm (Pseudaletia unipuncta) and the fall armyworm (Laphygma frugiperda) cause serious and widespread damage to lespedeza. These worms prefer to feed on grasses, both wild and cultivated, but during outbreaks they will eat many other crops. The nearly full-grown caterpillars have enormous appetites and can strip the plants within a short time.
In the Southern States the threecornered
alfalfa hopper (Spissistilus festines) at times damages
lespedeza severely. Both adults and nymphs weaken the plants by
sucking the juices. They also girdle the stems with feeding
punctures, which later form hard galls, and the injured plants
are retarded in growth and break off. Cut badly infested hay as
early as practicable.
The lespedeza webworm (Tetralopha
scortealis) defoliates the plants and reduces seed
production. It appears from Maryland to Florida, and in some
seasons outbreaks of the web-forming caterpillars (fig. 6) have
caused much concern. The leaf tier (Archips obsoletana)
also infests lespedeza. The larvae produce a webbing effect
similar to that of the lespedeza webworm.
In the Southeastern States, whitefringed beetles (Graphognathus spp.) sometimes feed on lespedeza. Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica) may partially defoliate plantings in Maryland and Virginia.
Some of these pests can be controlled with insecticides. For the latest information on insecticides that are approved for use on lespedeza, contact your county agricultural agent, your state agricultural experiment station, or the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., 20250.
2 Contributed by the Entomology Researh Division.
