SCIENCE'S WARFARE ON FRUIT TREE PESTS 



Spraying Department, Conducted by Prof. E. P. Taylor, State Entomol- 



ogist of Missouri. 

 Spraying for Codling Moth and Curciilio. 



All doubt as to the value of spraying for the control of injurious 

 insect and fungus life in the fruit orchards has been removed from the 

 dullest minds, and dwarfed, knotty and wormy fruit has now come to be 

 a reproach upon both the intelligence and industry of the grower. He 

 must obey the law of the universe and adapt himself to the conditions of 

 environment, and his evolution from the thriftless, profitless, unthinking 

 plodded to the brilliantly successful orchardist is fully indicated by the 

 character of the fruit he places on the markets. There is no reasonable 

 excuse for stung and deformed fruit except failure to carry out plans of 

 spraying which are already well known to be effective. Throughout 

 Missouri and the mid-west states there is a strong tendency to more 

 careful and intelligent spraying. The summary of the results of spraying 

 experiments conducted by the Missouri State Fruit Experiment station 

 for the control of the codling moth and curculio, given herewith, will be 

 of real value to all orchardists, for these pests are widely spread and 

 their destructive habits are felt wherever the apple and other fruits are 

 grown. 



One of the main objects of the spraying experiment conducted was 

 to determine the dates of spraying most suitable as a combined treat- 

 ment against curculio and codling moth. Many entomologists have 

 shown by experiment how it is possible to proceed in controlling the 

 codling moth without reference to the curculio. The remarkably success- 

 ful results of apple growers in the Rocky Mountain, Pacific and north- 

 western states, in controlling codling moth are based upon methods aimed 

 at this insect alone, since the curculio is not destructive if all present in 

 those sections. Missouri and mid-west fruit growers must, however, 

 make an allowance for an additional and equally important factor — the 

 curculio. There have been, upon the other hand, some very effective 

 plans of sprays advised by entomologists, after expermental trials, to 

 be used on apples with curculio principally in view. Since both in- 

 sects have always to be dealt with in Mississippi valley orchards it 

 seemed that the problem was worthy of further study in perfecting 

 sprays serving both purposes. 



The orchard spraying problem in Missouri, like many of the mid- 

 west states, is further complicated by the prevalence of several fungous 

 diseases, most prominent of these being apple scab and bitter-rot. In 

 the experiments of the writer these were taken into consideration and 

 insofar as they have bearing upon the sprays for the two insects under 

 discussion they are summarized herewith, in condensed form, easily com- 

 prehended and assimilated: 



