Rtral vSchool Leaflet 



1267 



Peach-tree borers 



or four weeks the moth emerges from the 



cocoon. There is one generation a year. 

 Injury and control. — The larvas injure 



the peach trees by eating out burrows 



partly in the inner bark and partly in the 



sapwood just below the surface of the 



ground at the bases of the trunks and on 



the larger roots. Large quantities of gum 



exude from the injured trees. 



The general method of control is to dig 



the borers out by hand with a knife. This 



is sometimes done in the fall, but more 



usually in the spring. The borers are 



larger and more easily seen in the spring, 



but they should be dug out before the 



middle of June. Mounding the trees with 



soil to the height of eight or ten inches 



after the borers have been dug out in the 



spring, seems to protect the trees consider- 

 ably. 



Within the last year, it has been shown that a tree can be very effectively 



protected from borers by fitting a piece of tarred paper, properly cut, 



tightly about the base of the trunk. These 

 mechanical protectors are now being man- 

 ufactured on a commercial scale and can 

 be bought on the market. 



Several protective washes have been 

 tried for the prevention of this pest, but 

 none of them have proved wholly satis- 

 factory. Gas tar has been used in some 

 cases with good effect, while in other 

 instances it has injured and killed the 

 trees to which it was applied. It should 

 be painted on the trunl<s of the trees to 

 the height of from eighteen inches to two 

 feet and should extend three or four 

 inches below the surface of the earth. It 

 should not be applied to unhealthy trees, 

 nor to trees less than two years old, nor 

 should it be used in the fall. If applied in 

 the spring to healthy trees while growth is 



of p6(lch-tT€€ OOTCYS 



natural size ' active, there is least danger of injury. 



Cocoons 



