Page 8 



BETTER FRUIT 



The Peach and Prune Twig Borer 



By Claude Wakeland, Entomologist, University of Idaho 



THE peach and prune twig borer 

 which annually causes severe in- 

 jury to peaches, prunes and apricots 

 can be easily controlled with lime-sul- 



phur solution when applied to the trees 

 just before the blossoms open. The 

 borer passes the winter as a tiny, 

 brown worm in the crotches of the trees 



"—and it's a real box too " 



boasts the boss packer 



"for it's made by the Bloedel Donovan 

 Mills. They use the best selected spruce 

 and hemlock shooks. The quality of the 

 box means a lot in preventing shipping 

 losses." 



Standard apple boxes, crates and cases 

 of selected materials, carefully con- 

 structed. 



Our large and complete stock enables us 

 to make prompt shipment. Write for 

 price lists. 



Bloedel < ^^ > Donovan 



Lr-u-mloe-r* lyTillfi 

 1018 White Blag. Seattle TJ.g.A. 



April, 1921 



and emerges to begin boring into the 

 tips of the trees about the time the blos- 

 soms have opened. 



Like most of the injurious insects 

 in the United States, the twig-borer is 

 not a native but was introduced into this 

 country from Western Asia. It has 

 been known in the United States since 

 1860 and now has a wide distribution. 

 While it feeds more generally on the 

 peach than on others of the stone fruits, 

 it attacks also apricots and plums and 

 is of particular importance in Idaho be- 

 cause of the loss it causes prune grow- 

 ers. 



Cause of Injury 



INJURY is caused by the larvae or 

 worms of the borer. • These hiber- 

 nate in small, silk-lined cells just be- 

 neath the surface of the bark in the 

 crotches of branches and twigs. In 

 the fall they may be easily located by 

 the presence of little mounds of borings 

 over the entrances of their burrows. 

 After larvae have ceased activity in the 

 fall and the borings are destroyed or 

 rubbed off, they are difficult to dis- 

 cover and the orchardist who would 

 find them is likely usually to have con- 

 siderable digging around in the crotches 

 if he observes them. 



At about the time peach buds begin 

 to show pink in the spring the over- 

 wintering larvae become active, work 

 themselves out of their silk-lined cells 

 and make their way to the twigs where, 



POTASH PAYS 



YIELD, size, flavor, and shipping 

 quality of fruits are dependent on the 

 kind and amount of plant food available 

 to the crop. 



With the right kind of fertilization riper 

 fruits can be harvested and shipped, and 

 still reach the consumer in satisfactory- 

 condition. 



The improved flavor, odor, and appear- 

 ance of such fruits help sales in whole- 

 sale and retail markets. 



The fertilizer for fruit should be well 

 balanced, and contain from 7 to 10 per 

 cent, of Potash. 



SOIL & CROP SERVICE, POTASH SYNDICATE 



H. A. HUSTON, Manager 

 42 Broadway New York 



WHEN WRITING ADVERTISERS 



BETTER FRC1T 



