February 7, 1920 



HORTICULTURE 



113 



THE ROSE MIDGE. 



How It Works and How to Control It. 



Mr. Wni. A. Ross of the Ontario 

 Experiment Station has issued a 

 warning to Canadian florists on the 

 subject of the rose midge, which he 

 claims was introduced from the 

 United States about 1914. He says: 



The experience of florists in On- 

 tario and in tho United States indi- 

 cates that this insect, when present, 

 is the most destructive pest with 

 which the rose grower has to contend. 

 Last year in one Ontario greenhouse 

 its depredations caused a loss of 

 $12,000, and in another $6,000 to $7,000. 



Nature of Injury. 



When abundant, the larvae of the 

 midge— very small whitish maggots- 

 may be found feeding on any succu- 

 lent part of the rose bush, as, for in- 

 stance, at the base of the flower buds, 

 within the buds, on the upper side of 

 tender leaves and on leaf petioles. 

 However, the favorite and usual point 

 of attack is on the young shoot in 

 the axil of a leaf petiole. Infested 

 shoots grow crooked and, as a gen- 

 eral rule, wither and die. Affected 

 flower buds, when not killed outright, 

 may be so disfigured as to be unsale- 

 able. 



Fortunately for the florist, the 

 midge remains quiescent in the soil 

 during the winter, when the most 

 profitable crops are grown. Perpetuals. 

 witb strong terminal shoots like those 

 of Killarney, are practically immune. 

 All the Polyantha, Bourbons, Hybr.d 

 China, Noisette and Wichuraiana 

 roses appear to be immune. In green- 

 houses Ophelia and Milady roses are 

 by far the most susceptible varieties. 

 Russell, Stanley, Richmond, Shawyer. 

 Hoosier Beauty, Columbia, Sunburst, 

 are attacked to some extent, and here 

 again Killarney appears to be partly 

 immune. 



Life History. 



The adult insect Is a fragile, two- 

 winged fly, less than one-sixteenth of 

 an inch in length. The female de- 

 posits her eggs between the folded 

 leaves of the leaf buds, to some ex- 

 tent in the axils of tender leaves and 

 between the sepals and petals of the 

 blossom buds. Under greenhouse 

 conditions the eggs hatch in about 

 two days. The maggots, as pre- 

 viously sta,ted, feed on the tender 

 tissues of shoots and buds, and be- 

 come mature in from five to seven 

 days. They then drop to the soil, 

 change to the pupal stage, and 



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emerge as adult flies in about six 

 days. 



The midge is most abundant and 

 destructive during summer. With the 

 coming ot autumn It declines in num- 

 bers, and by November wholly dis- 

 appears from the rose plant. It re- 

 mains dormant in the soil throughout 

 the cold winter months, and does not 

 reappear again until early March. 



Control. 



The only method of controlling this 

 insect, which has been tested on a 

 commercial scale, and found effective, 

 is: Nicotine fumigation and tobacco 

 dust treatment. Break up the lumps 

 and level the soil to as great an extent 

 as possible. Cover the beds with a 

 coat of tobacco dust, one-quarter-inch 

 to one-half inch thick. Spray the earth 

 walks with kerosene or kerosene 

 emulsion. Fumigate nightly with 

 tobacco smoke until all adult midges 

 disappear. 



Kerosene (coal oil), 2 gallons. 



Rain water, 1 gallon. 



Soap, % lb. 



Slice the soap, dissolve it in boJ- 

 ing water; pour the kerosene into the 

 hot soap solution and churn the whole 

 vigorously with a syringe or pump 



for about five minutes until a thick 

 creamy emulsion is produced. For 

 use, dilute with nine parts of water. 

 Prevention. 

 In order to prevent the further 

 spread of this insect, and this at pres- 

 ent is our chief object, florists should 

 be guided by the following recom- 

 mendations: 



(1) Whenever possible, growers 

 should propagate their own roses. 



(2) New stock should be obtained 

 from non-infested greenhouses. 



(3) Rose plants and scions pur- 

 chased through commission houses or 

 from places not known to be free of 

 midge, should be imported before the 

 end of February. This recommenda- 

 tion is made because such stock, pro- 

 vided it has been planted in Novem- 

 ber or December, will not have been 

 exposed to Infection. 



(4) Greenhouse grown roses, 

 brought in later than February, 

 should be carefully examined for Rose 

 Midge injury, and any infested plants 

 should be destroyed. In addition to 

 this, the soil should be washed o£f 

 the roots of the plant and should 

 then be thrown into the furnace or 

 scalded with hot water or steam. 



