Leaf Hoppers Affect Leaf Activity 



If an apple leaf" shows the characteristic mottling due to leaf 

 hoppers, v»'e can be sure that it is not producing a normal amount of starch. 

 Lack of size and color in apples may be traced directly to a heavy leaf 

 hopper infestation. Careful studies have recently been made at Ohio State 

 University to shovi the effect of leaf hopper activity on the functioning 

 of apple leaves. A heavily infested leaf after seven days of leaf hopper 

 attack v:as producing ci5% less starch than a normal leaf. As a result of 

 this study the workers conclude that a 20-50^o reduction in daily food manu- 

 facture by an apple tree, beginning early in the season, can appreciably 

 reduce the total amount of food which goes to increase size and color of 

 the fruit, and at the same time form fruit buds for the following year. 



Leaf hoppers can dart forvjard, shift to the right or left, back 

 up and dodge as cleverly as any insect in the orchard. This characteristic 

 makes it difficult to hit them v.dth spray material since they usually dart 

 to the leeward side of the branch or leaf when spray is directed at them. 

 A spray intended for leaf hopper control must be directed upward to cover 

 the lower sides of the leaves. Otherwise the investment in spray material 

 is largely wasted. 



Codling Moth One of Oldest Insect Pests 



Qg^^Q^ abou-TSOO B.C. and Pliny in the first century A.D., wrote 

 about "wormy apples." These apples were doubtless infested with codling moth. 

 In 1635 a Dutch scientist v/rote a treatise on codling moth and drew pictures 

 of it in various stages of its development. Under one name or another the 

 codling moth has plagued human apple eaters since the dawn of history. The 

 native home of the codling moth was southeastern Europe but early in the 

 19th Century it set out to see the world. ITithin that century it spread 

 over Europe and into Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, South Africa, and 

 North and South America. It was first reported in the United States as in- 

 festing apples and pears in 1819 near Boston. By 1860 it was attacking fruit 

 in lovra, and in the spring of 1874 it appeared in California. It is now one 

 of the worst fruit pests in every apple producing area. 



Try This wi th Your Soil Auger 



Fn' a recent issue of "The Soil Auger," A. B. Beaumont makes this 

 suggestion: "Find a slope of 5% or greater, 300 feet or more long, which is 

 known to have been under cultivation for a number of years. It need not have 

 been cultivated recently. Take borings near the top v;here erosion would be 

 expected to be severe and note the depth of the top soil, which can be de- 

 termined in most of the upland soils of Massachusetts by sharp changes from 

 dark brown to yellowish brovm. Do the same at the foot of the slope. V'hat 

 depth of top soil do ycu find at each place? Many tests of this kind in 

 Massachusetts have shown the top soil on the upper slope to be 3 to 7 inches 

 deep; at the base 3 to 5 feet deep." This suggests not only an urgent need 

 for erosion control but for a different fertilizer program at the top and at 

 the bottom of the slope. 



New Soil Conservation Bulletin 



^Con"s'ervatToir'of~Mas"sachusetts Soils" by Beaumont and Kucinski, is 

 just off the press. If interested, ask for Leaflet ^^193. This publication 

 covers kinds of erosion, distribution of erosion, factors affecting water 

 erosion, wind erosion, methods of soil conservation, and influence of organic 



