124 THE STRAW r.RRK\- WEEVIL IN MINNESOTA 



were found in the tanglefoot and none were ol)ser\ed on the fence. 

 Buds were not found cut within the enclosure until June 20, when 

 most of the blossoms had already opened. 



Covering the Beds. 



Covering- the beds with light muslin, as achised, was found 

 unsatisfactory. The berries did not ripen so early, and in fact the 

 plants were in poorer conditit)n than in the check plot, llie muslin 

 had to l)e kept on more than i\\e weeks because the cold rainy 

 spring prolonged the blossoming- season. 



Cropping Systems. 



The one-crop system. — Since the weexil passes the winter in 

 the strawberry beds, at least in Minnesota, and does not disperse 

 readil}', the older beds are more severely infested than the newer 

 ones. It follows, therefore, that severe injury may be avoided by 

 using- the one-crop system. This fits in with the general methods 

 of controlling- the insect pests of strawberries as noted by Crosby 

 in his book on Fruit Insects. 



"Strawberry growing- is more akin t(> the raising of iield crops 

 than to the cultivation of other fruits. Likewise in the control 

 of strawberry insects, less reliance is placed on spraying and more 

 attention is given to crop rotation. The one-crop system of straw- 

 berry culture as now practiced b}- the majority of commercial grow- 

 ers, greatly simplifies the ])roblem of insect control." 



Professor A. E. Wilkinson writes as fcdlows in his book on 

 "Modern Strawberry Growing." 



"Generallv a grower will practice rotation of crops, taking but 

 one crop from his l)ed and setting out another on an entirely new 

 piece of land, believing that what little saving there may be in 

 renewing the old bed will be greatly cotmterl:)alanced by the larger 

 size of the fruit, freedom from insect pests and diseases, and better 

 physical and chemical conditions of his soil." 



In addition, the beds do not get weed) under the one-crop 

 system and a cro]) of fodder corn may be ol)tained. The lieds should 

 be plowed deeply immediately after picking, to bury the weevils 

 and larvae in the buds. It would also be advisable in re])lanting to 

 select plots as far away from the old beds as possible, since the 

 weevils do not migrate rapidly. This is difficult on the six or 

 seA'en.-acre farn-is at Hopkins, and is one reason why the weexils 

 are a1)un(lant. Where the wee\ils arc particularly abundant the 

 one-crop system should be practiced until their numl)ers are con- 

 siderablv diminished. 



