BOARD O F HORTICULTURE 155 



THE STRAWBERRY ROOT-WEEVIL* 



(Otiorhynchus ovatus Linn) 

 By Prof. A. L. Lovett 



The strawberry root-weevil is by far the most injurious insect pest of the 

 strawberry in Oregon. Just recently the serious nature of the pest has Ijeen 

 brought into prominence because of the quarantine imposed by California against 

 Oregon plants from certain specified regions believed to be infested with 

 this weevil. 



The strawberry root-weevil was undoubtedly introduced from Europe. The 

 first i-eport we have of it in this country is in Massachusetts in 1852. Since that 

 time it has spread steadily westward and also northward, reaching Michigan in 

 1S7S, and being reported as a pest to the strawberry in Southern Michigan in 

 1884. This same year, 1884, it was reported from Ottawa, Canada. It was 

 reported from Wyoming in 1893, from New Mexico in 1894, from Minnesota in 

 1895, from Montana in 1897, and from Washington in 1904. When we consider 

 the fact that this insect caniiot fly but must depeud almost entirely on outside 

 agencies for transportation, its spread seems fairly rapid. In a succeeding Para- 

 graph on the habits of the weevil this phase of the question will receive a more 

 detailed consideration. 



The first report we have of the weevil as a strawberry pest in Oregon is in 

 1900, from near Montavilla Station. In 1908 it was doing serious injury to 

 strawberries in the Milton-Freewater section of Umatilla County. In 1911 the 

 insect was seriously injurious on strawberries in the small fruit sections about 

 Mt. Tabor, Gresham, Russellville and Oswego in Western Oregon, and in the 

 Walla Walla Valley of Eastern Oregon. It was present in the Hood River 

 Valley, but not in such destructive numbers. 



The present distribution of the weevil in Oregon is not definitely known. It is 

 hoped to complete surveys soon that will give us this much-needed Information. 



Destructiveness 



The strawberry root-weevil is a pest both as a beetle and as a grub. The 

 beetles feed on the foliage, Stripping and ragging it in a charaeteristic manner 

 (See Plate — , Fig. 4). The grubs, however, are by far the more injurious. They 

 feed on the entire root System of the strawberry. The smaller grubs are usually 

 found feeding on the fibrous rootlets, often devouring them entirely or barking 

 them so that they die. A seriously infected plant may be kicked out with the 

 foot or easily puUed up, often with the fibrous root system eaten away. Un- 

 doubtedly a Portion of the grubs feed closely about the main tap root, and their 

 feediug there will sometimes girdle the crown. The larger grubs are often found 

 ))uried in the tap root, and this food seems to give them a more pinkish cast, 

 giving rise to a common belief that two species of larvae are present. 



These beetles may be present in a patch for years and but little injury result 

 from their attacks. In certain localities where I have noted their presence, the 

 growers assure me that they have observed them for several years, yet even the 

 older fields show no apparent injury. The common practice in the strawberry 

 districts of Oregon is to plant in the early spring, cultivate well the first season 

 and keep down all runners. A half crop is expected the next season and a füll 

 crop the second season or the third spring from planting. Ordinarily the fields 

 are kept as long as profitable, and too often, in the infested districts, even longer. 

 In the weevil districts, under normal conditions, an infested patch will show a few 

 sickly hills the first season. small patches here and there dead the second season, 

 and the patch rendered worthless the next spring. This affords one füll crop in 

 our System of culture. A condltion th;it is becoming quite common, however, is 



»Abridged and revised from Bien. Crop Pest and Hort. Rept., 1913. 



