-3- 



colonics for pollination. In addition to the county associations, there is a 

 state Federation of Beekeepers Associations whose secretary is Wallace Parker of 

 West Boylston. The Chief Inspector of Apiaries, Milo Bacon, 41 Tremont Street, 

 Boston, may be able to provide names of beekeepers who will supply colonies. If 

 you need bees, act now. 



F. R. Shaw 



I I I I I I I I I I I I ( I 



WATCH OUT FOR THE STRAWBERRY WEEVIL IN 1960 



The strawberry weevil, which has been a pest on Cape Cod, caused some damage 

 to strawberries in western Massachusetts in 1959. In view of the mild winter we 

 have had, growers should be on the alert for the strawberry weevil this season. 



The weevil is a small, reddish-brown or black beetle, about 1/10 of an inch 

 long, with the head prolonged into a slender curved snout. Just before bloom, 

 the weevils leave their overwintering quarters in hedgerows and woodlands and 

 move into strawberry plantings. They lay their eggs in the buds. The stems of 

 the buds are then cut so that they hang by a mere thread or fall to the ground. 

 The developing larvae feed on pollen in the unopened buds. 



The strawberry weevil is controlled by making two pre-blossom applications 

 of an insecticide. The first when the buds in the clusters start to separate and 

 the second when the earliest blossoms open. The beetles are most active when 

 temperatures reach 70° or higher so it is most important to apply an insecticide 

 just before or at the beginning of a period of high temperature. 



Effective materials, in dusts or sprays, are DDT or methoxychlor . Use a 5% 

 methoxychlor or DDT dust or a SOX wettable powder of either material at the rate 

 of 2 lbs. per 100 gallons of water. Since DDT and methoxychlor favor increases 

 in mite populations, a miticide such as Kelthane should also be included in these 

 sprays or dusts to prevent this mite build-up. Consult the 1960 Strawberry Pest 

 Control Chart for further details. 



W.D. Tunis 



I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 



STRAWBERRY PLANTS AND BERRY PRODUCTION 



(Talk presented by Roger Lewis, Andover, Massachusetts at the Small 

 Fruit Meeting held on University of Massachusetts campus in January, 1960) 



The experiences of many growers during the 1959 season convinced me that we 

 should place more emphasis on some simple practices in strawberry growing. 



A grower near me picked a bumper crop of berries on 1/2 acre of land. He re- 

 ceived at wholesale fifty cents or more a quart- for all his crop. This crop was 



