16 , Farmers’ Bulletin 1294. 
i) 
stalk below the ear and especially in the short stem or shank bearing 
the ear. This injury (which of course prevents the proper food sup- 
ply from reaching the developing ear), where severe and occurring 
before the ear is well developed, frequently results in a small and 
poorly formed ear. These injuries not only reduce the supply of 
nourishment for the growing ear, but in many cases weaken the stalk 
and shank to such an extent that the occurrence of heavy winds or 
severe rainstorms subsequently results in extensive breaking over of 
the stalks and ears. The ears thus thrown to the ground may sub- 
sequently be injured or destroyed by rots and molds during ensuing 
wet weather. Severe injury to the stalk, besides weakening and pre- 
venting its proper development, offers an excellent opportunity for 
the ingress of plant diseases and various rots, molds, and fungi. In 
cases where severe injury to the tassels or male flowers has resulted 
in a large percentage of them breaking over, inadequate pollinization 
of the ears may occur and thus result in the diminishing of grain 
formation. 
The actual grain loss resulting from this indirect injury to the 
ear is difficult to estimate, as it varies greatly in different fields and 
depends upon several factors, the most important of which are (1) 
the number of borers per plant; (2) the stage of development of 
the plant when attacked; (3) the part of the plant selected for 
attack. In general, however, it may be stated that in very badly 
infested fields the indirect loss may nearly or quite equal the direct 
loss sustained by the feeding of the borers on the grain. 
EXTENT OF INJURY TO VEGETABLES, FLOWERS, AND 
FIELD CROPS OTHER THAN CORN. 
No instances of infestation in cultivated plants except corn have 
been observed to date in eastern New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and 
Michigan, although in western New York an occasional borer has 
been found in experimental areas of millet, sorghum, soy beans, 
dahlias, and cosmos. A single commercial field of soy beans was also 
found to be slightly infested. 
The extent of injury to vegetables, flowers, and field crops in New 
England as a direct result of the feeding of the borers is not severe in 
most instances. Some of these crops which are quarantined, however, 
especially celery, beans, beets, rhubarb, and spinach, suffer an indi- 
rect loss through the restriction of the area in which they may be 
marketed. This loss for individual growers has amounted in certain 
seasons to a maximum of 20 per cent of the total value of the crop. 
In many home vegetable and flower gardens, the feeding of the 
borers in potato stalks, tomato stalks and fruit, Swiss chard, pepper 
stalks and fruit, dahlias, asters, zinnias, and similar plants caused 
considerable loss in the aggregate, but the exact amount involved is 
difficult to determine. The injury to corn is, of course, the most 
important consideration in the corn-borer problem, but the extent 
of infestation in marketable products of other economic crops is also 
important, because they may contain the insect and serve to carry it 
to new areas. 
During the exceptionally favorable growing season of 1921 there 
was an increased amount of infestation and injury to some of the 
