BETTER FRUIT 



EDITOR: W. H. WALTON 



STATE ASSOCIATE EDITORS 



O. M. Moirti. Horticulturist. Pulla 



COLORAL'O— C. P. Gillette. Director and Entomologist ; 

 E. B. Bouse. Irrigation Expert, Stale Agricultural College. 



ley: W. H. Volck. Entomologist. WatsonviUe; Leon D. 

 Batchelor. Horticulturist. Riverside. 

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



An Illustrated Magazine Devoted to the Interests 



of Modern, Progressive Fruit Growing 



and Marketing. 



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Entered as second-class matter April 22, 1918, 



at the Postofflce at Portland, Oregon, under 



the Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. 



Volume XV 



Portland, Oregon, March, 1921 



Number 9 



Cherry 



By 



OF THE insects which attack the 

 cherry, there are none of such 

 outstanding importance as to be 

 generally recognized or as to prevent 

 the development of a fair crop of fruit 

 from year to year. As a rule, cherry 

 growers practice no definite spray pro- 

 gram for insect pest control. Neverthe- 

 less there are a number of fairly serious 

 pests that prey upon cherries. Occa- 

 sionally sprays must be applied for 

 their control or serious losses result. It 

 is a reasonable conclusion that the 

 adoption of a more comprehensive spray 

 program would be most decidedly prof- 

 itable for the majority of the growers. 



The Cherry Maggot. 



The fruit of our late varieties of cher- 

 ries, when ripe, if permitted to remain 

 on the trees for a short time, or where 

 held in storage often develop an incon- 

 spicuous shrunken brown area on one 

 side. An examination of the interior of 

 the fruit reveals a plump white maggot 

 within the decaying pulp, usually lo- 

 cated near the pit. This maggot is the 

 larva of the cherry fruit fly or the 

 cherry maggot. 



Seasonal Injury. 

 The cherry fruit maggot passes nearly 

 ten months of its existence in the soil as 

 an inconspicuous brown, capsule-like 

 puparium. The adult fly emerges from 

 the soil about the time the cherries 

 begin to show color (June 5 to 20.) They 

 are rather small, light brownish flies 

 with conspicuous black bars across the 

 wings. They "sport" about on the 

 foliage of the trees for about ten days 

 lapping up droplets of dew. Later they 

 begin egg deposition. The eggs are 

 placed under the skin of the ripening 

 fruit. The maggots, upon hatching, tun- 

 nel through the pulp, finally locating 

 near the pit. They mature in three 

 weeks or more, leave the now decaying 

 cherry, drop to the soil and transform 

 again to the brown puparium. 



Varietal Susceptibility. 

 All varieties of cherries are attacked. 

 The later black varieties of sweet cher- 

 ries as the Late Duke and Lambert and 

 seedling varieties are most heavily in- 

 fested. Often infestation is as high as 

 30 to 90 per cent of the crop. The 

 earlier white-meated varieties are much 



Insects and Their Control 



A. L. Lovett, Entomologist, Oregon Experiment Station 



more generally infested than is sup- seek suitable trees for attack. They 

 posed. In the normal season, these tunnel into the tree for a short distance 

 cherries are picked before the maggots and then commence the formation of 

 attain any considerable size and in the side galleries. The side «i\v\\M]mmi 

 white meat are so inconspicuous that galleries are used for |(\ l p|\\\\}|| 

 their presence is not readily detected. egg deposition. The |P|l) 

 Control. beetles later plant spores ||H 



r- 11 , ii i_ " u . , . , of the "Ambrosia" fun- 



Excellent results have been obtained the niaterial 



in the use of sweetened poisoned sprays whjch the , arvae £ fl 

 for the adult fruit an( , then ed with 



fl , ies - T he se sprays tne formation of other 

 should be applied as similar side gallerie s. 

 soon as the adult 0ne beetle wi „ 

 fl.es appear. It is a number f the Vgal- 

 necessary, therefore , e r j fi g extendi * he 

 to make occasional main tunne] QS requirc(L 

 field observations The larvae fped 



during early June the "Ambrosia" beds of & 



flf ,° ,f„ SenC f c 0f ^ngus growing in the p „ , 



the adult fly. (See gaIlcries . The ;. ire |<M| 



Fig. 1. Adult cherry fi S U , r . e \) A s f cond about four weeks tfJ »W,fc| 



^taMSE" - ; ,pp],Ci1 ,or \ sh ™ ld grow to maturity. Sue- f V«'( 



banded wings. be maf J ( e ab ,° u V ten cessive broods as pro- f W « 



days after the first, duced hv , hp „ (h .J fp h~ Jffl 



or even earlier if rains destroy the i 0> the adult it- iM w 



»mni mm , j .1, • J e male continue to mature %,■,)*. • 



efficiency of the previous spray. durjng , he seasQn The jgjj 



Sweetened Poisoned Spray. grubs later become qui- Fi „ 2 sho 



Lead Arsenate 3 pounds escent and transform to hole'borer 



Wafer Molasses '•■■• r 2 g allons adult beetles in the tun- "'Jury to twig. 



nels where they remain until the fol- 



Apply as a fine misty spray to the lowing spring. There is but a single 



outer foliage. Use about, a quart of generation during the year. 

 solution to the tree. 



Limited tests and the experience of Injury. 

 some commercial growers in the Cove Apparently vigorous trees suddenly 

 district of Union County indicate that exniuit signs of devitalization. Usually 

 the regular arsenic sprays 2-100 as ap- the whole tree is affected, though the 

 plied for the cherry slug, when applied att:lc, k may be confined to one side of 

 during the active period of the adult ! he ! ree or ,0 a sin § Ie ,imb - An exam- 

 fruit flies, arc very effective in the con- i na 'i°n of the affected trees disclose 

 trol of the maggot. numerous small shot-hole tunnels in the 

 tl oL * tt , r> bark. Upon examination, a small, black- 

 The Shot-Hole Borer. ish-brown, bluntly built beetle is found 



It is the exceptional cherry orchard, within the tunnel. The combined at- 



probably, in which from time to time tack of numerous beetles with their 



an occasional tree does not develop a tunnelling tends to girdle or seriously 



severe case of shot-hole borer infesta- weaken the tree. Heavily infested trees 



tion. This condition has been particu- exhibit serious symptoms. The foliage 



larly common during the past three becomes yellow, the forming fruit 



seasons, following a series of adverse shrivels and often the infested trees 



climatic factors which tended to de- succumb to the attack. 



vitalize the orchard trees. n , „ .. ,. . _ A , , 



Only Devitalized Trees Attacked. 



Description and Seasonal History. Careful studies have proven conclu- 



The shot-hole borer passes the winter sively that this serious pest does not 



as an adult beetle in tunnels formed the breed successfully in normal, healthy 



previous season in the tree. The females trees. The beetles are attracted to and 



become active in the late spring and breed successfully only in devitalized 



