248 FRUIT INSECTS 



Frequent and thorough, though shallow, cultivation during 

 the period that the tender and helpless pupae are in the ground 

 is of great value. If their cells are broken open, the pupae are 

 either killed at once or soon fall a prey to their natural enemies, 

 principally ants and beetle larvae. To obtain the best results, 

 cultivation should be continued for about a month or six weeks 

 after the grubs begin to go into the ground. In the North 

 this will be from about July 10 to August 10, while in the South 

 it is somewhat earlier. As most of the pupal cells are within an 

 inch or two of the surface, the cultivation may be quite shallow, 

 but it should be thorough, and care should be taken to stir the 

 ground close under the trees where most of the pupae lie. Most 

 growers in the North do not favor cultivation of orchards after 

 August 1, but where the curculio is abundant, the cultivation 

 should be continued as late as possible without interfering with 

 the maturing of the wood and fruit. 



Jarring. 



For many years this was the most satisfactory method of 

 fighting the curculio on plums and peaches, but is now rarely 

 practiced in commercial orchards. If the tree is suddenly 

 jarred with a padded mallet, the beetles will loosen their hold, 

 contract the legs and fall to the ground, feigning death for a 

 considerable time. Where only a few trees are to be treated, 

 the beetles may be caught on a large sheet spread beneath the 

 tree. Where the ground is fairly smooth and where the trees 

 are headed high enough, the work may be done more quickly 

 and easily by using a wheeled curculio catcher, as described 

 under quince curculio, p. 240. These machines have been 

 used for many years by the plum growers of western New 

 York. In the extensive Georgia peach orchards jarring has 

 been practiced on a large scale. There the curculios are caught 

 on sheets stretched on light frames, 12 feet long by 6 feet wide. 

 Two frames are held under the tree by four persons, while the 

 fifth jars the tree with a padded mallet. When the end of the 



