BETTER FRUIT 



EDITOR: W. H. WALTON 

 STATE ASSOCIATE EDITORS 



OREGON — C. 1. Lewis, Horticulturist. 



WASHINGTON — Dr. A. L. Melander, Entomologist; 

 O. M. Morris, Horticulturist, Pullman. 



COLORAUO — ('. P. Gillette. Director and Entomologist : 

 E. B. House. Irrigation Expert, State Agricultural College. 

 Fort CoUlna. 



ARIZONA — E. P. Taylor, Horticulturist, Tucson. 



WISCONSIN— Dr. E. D. BaU. Madison. 



MONTANA — O. B. Whipple. Honiculturist. Bozeman. 



CALIFORNIA — C, W. Woodwoilli. Entomologist. Berke- 

 ley; W. H. Volck. Entomologist. Watsonvilie; Leon D. 

 Batchelor, Horticulturist, Riverside. 



INDIANA— H. S. Jackson. Pathologist. Lafayette. 



An lUustiated Magazine Devoted to the Interests 



of Modern, Progressive Fruit Growing 



and Marketing. 



PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY 



Better Fruit Publishing Company 



70.3 Oregonian Building 



PORTLAND, OREGON 



All Communications should be addressed and 

 Remittances made payable to 



BETTER FRUIT PUBLISHING COMPANY 



Subscription Price: 



In the United States, $2.00 per year in advance. 



Canada and Foreign, including postage, ?3.00. 



Advertising Rates on Application 



Entered as second-class matter April 22, 1918, 



at the Postodlce at Portland, Oregon, under 



the Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. 



Volume XIV 



Portland, Oregon, February 1, 1920 



Number 8 



Insecticides, Spraying and Fruit Insect Control 



By A. L. Quaintance, Entomologist in Charge of Deciduous Fruit Investigations 

 and E. H. Siegler, Entomological Assistant U. S. Department of Agriculture 



ORCHARDS and vineyards are 

 usually troubled with different 

 classes of pests, as biting insects, 

 -sucking insects and fungous diseases, 

 each of which usually require for their 

 control a different kind of spray mate- 

 rial. 



Combined Sprays. 

 Fortunately it is possible to combine 

 the necessary materials for the simul- 

 taneous control of the pests, thus avoid- 

 ing separate applications. In figure 1 

 are given the standard spray materials 

 for chewing insects, sucking insects and 

 the fungous diseases and the way in 

 which they may be combined. It will 

 be noted that there are three main divi- 

 sions separated according to the prin- 

 ciple stomach poisons in use: (1) 

 Arsenate of lead; (2) Arsenate of lime; 

 (3) Paris green. Each of these divi- 

 sions is divided in accordance with the 

 kind of fruit: Pome fruits, grape and 

 stone fruits. These in turn are sub- 

 divided into sections: (1) Chewing in- 

 sects; (2) chewing and sucking insects, 

 (3) chewing insects, sucking insects 

 and fungous diseases. These are fur- 

 ther divided when a choice of spray 

 material could be given. To make use 

 of the diagram, the first consideration 

 is the kind of fruit to be sprayed; next, 

 the pests to be combatted; and finally 

 the choice of the spray materials. In 

 selecting the spray materials the speci- 

 fic recommendations as given elsewhere 

 should be consulted. 



If pome fruits, for example are to be 

 treated for chewing insects, arsenate 

 of lead, arsenate of lime, or Paris green 

 may be used, but as will be seen in the 

 latter diagram milk of lime should be 

 added to the latter two. If stone fruits 

 are to be sprayed for chewing insects, 

 it will be noted that nothing but arsen- 

 ate of lead combined with milk of lime 

 should be employed. Again, suppose 

 apple trees are infested with chewing 

 and sucking insects and that arsenate 

 of lead is selected for the former, it 

 will be observed that this arsenical may 

 be combined with soap, or nicotine, or 

 nicotine and soap, or kerosene emul- 

 sion. If apples are to be sprayed for 

 both chewing and sucking insects and 

 also fungous diseases and arsenate of 



lime is to be used for the chewing in- 

 sects, nicotine should be added to it 

 and also lime-sulphur or Bordeaux mix- 

 ture. 



Spray Dilutions. 



Table I shows the amount of spray 

 material required for a number of dif- 

 ferent quantities of sprays. The rate 

 at which the materials have been com- 

 puted will be found in the first column. 



Small pressure tank lypc of sprayer. 



The figures at the top of the table rep- 

 resent the total number of gallons of 

 diluted spray desired, and the figures 

 in the vertical columns give the amount 

 of spray material required. Thus, if 

 150 gallons of arsenate of lead, paste 

 at the rate of 2 pounds to the gallon, 

 50 gallons is to be used, it will be noted 

 in the table that 6 pounds is required. 

 If 25 gallons of self-boiled lime and 

 sulphur mixture is needed, the table 

 shows that 4 pounds of stone lime and 



4 pounds of sulphur should be used. 

 Again if 100 gallons of kerosene emul- 

 sion, 10 per cent strength, is wanted 

 and the stock solution contains 66 per 

 cent of kerosene, it will be found, by 

 referring to the table, that 15 gallons 

 of the stock emulsion should be used. 



SOME IMPORTANT INSECTS AND THEIR 

 TREATMENT. 



APPLE INSECTS. 



CONTROLLED BY 'WINTER OR DORMANT 

 TREE SPRAYING. 



San Jose scale — The San Jose scale infests 

 the trunk, limbs, and branches of most fruit 

 trees — apples, pears, peaches, plums, etc. The 

 mature scale is about the size of a pinhead, 

 circular in outline, grayish in color, with a 

 nipple-like prominence in the center. The 

 bark of badly infested trees is ash gray, and 

 when cut into shows a reddish discoloration. 

 In the absence of treatment young trees are 

 usually killed in two or three seasons, and the 

 vitality of older trees is quickly impaired and 

 eventually they are destroyed by its attack. It 

 is usually controlled by one thorough spraying 

 of the trees each year, preferably with lime- 

 sulphur solution. Petroleum oil sprays also 

 are used, but these sometimes cause injury to 

 the trees and fruit buds. Fish-oil soap washes 

 may be employed and these are convenient 

 where only a few trees are to be treated. Badly 

 infested trees should be sprayed in the fall as 

 soon as the leaves arc do^Nn, and again the fol- 

 lowing spring before the buds open. Ordinar- 

 ily one treatment each year, preferably in the 

 spring, will be sufficient, although thorough 

 work is necessary to destroy the insect so that 

 there will be no spotting of the fruit. 



Oijster-shell scale — The oyster-shell scale is 

 readily recognized from the resemblance of its 

 scale, or covering, to a long narrow oyster 

 shell. The female scale is about one- 

 eighth of an inch long, in color brown 

 to dark brown, though sometimes grayish in 

 appearance. While less susceptible to winter 

 treatments than the San Jose scale, the oyster- 

 shell scale will be sufficiently controlled in or- 

 chards by the lime-sulphur solution employed 

 for the former species. When infesting apple, 

 pear, etc., it may also be treated with kerosene 

 emulsion or lime-sulphur spray at summer 

 .strength when the young arc hatching in the 

 spring, which for any locality will usually 

 occur during the period of one to three weeks 

 following the blooming of the apple, or, in the 

 case of the peach, with self-boiled lime-sul- 

 phur mixture in from two to four weeks fol- 

 lowing the blooming of the peach. 



Scurfy scale — Although not often very injuri- 

 ous to orchard trees the scurfy scale is the sub- 

 ject of frequent inquiry from fruit growers and 

 others. The treatment recommended for the 

 San Jose scale will aid much in keeping this 

 species in check, and it may be treated with 

 dilute scale washes as the young are hatching 

 in the spring, as just described for the oyster- 

 shell scale. 



Pear-leaf blister mite-^The very mimite 

 creature known as the pear-leaf blister mite 

 in recent years has become an important apple 



