5 

 United States National Museum, as Telenomus (Prophanurus) sp. The extent 

 of the work of this tiny benefactor is evident from the following records of 

 rearings. 



Table III. — Parasitism of Squash Vine Borer Eggs. 



Cultural and Hand Methods. 



Insecticides have heretofore been considered useless in the control of the squash 

 vine borer, and consequently many cultural practises and hand methods have 

 been advanced for the purpose of lessening the severity of the attack. A few 

 of these are applicable under Massachusetts conditions, and are here discussed. 



Trap Crops. — Winter squash, summer squash, pumpkins, melons, and cucum- 

 bers seem to be visited in the above order of preference by the egg-laying 

 moths. Plantings of Avinter squash or summer crooknecks may draw the 

 moths away from other cucurbits, and when used for this purpose should then 

 be destroyed before the borers in them become full grown. 



Fall Plowing. — Although many larvae doubtless penetrate below the plow 

 line before spinning their cocoons, others are turned up, crushed, or exposed 

 to the winter weather when squash fields are plowed in the fall following the 

 removal of the crop. 



Fertilization. — Mlany farmers seek to grow squashes on poor land with no 

 application of fertilizer except in the hill. Borer damage is sometimes greatly 

 enhanced by this practice. A note made by the Avriter in 1920 shows the effect 

 of adequate fertilization, and is here quoted : 



The history of the squash crop this year is a good illustration of the effect of 

 proper preparation of the land and care of the crop during early growth in 

 offsetting the attack of the squash vine borer. The experimental plot was a 

 sandy loam. . In the spring a thirty-inch stand of rye had been plowed under. 

 Lime was applied at the rate of three thousand pounds per acre, and a 4-8-4 

 fertilizer at the rate of fifteen hundred pounds per acre. At planting, double 

 furrows were opened up ten feet apart, and a good big forkful of manure 

 was dropped every eight feet in the furrows. Over this manure, the seeds were 

 planted. From the time the plants appeared until the runners closed the spaces 

 between the rows, the ground was kept mellow by frequent cultivation. Before 

 the plants started to run they were thinned to two plants in each hill. High 

 fertilization and mellowness of soil promoted vigorous growth and the formation 

 of secondary roots from the nodes of the runners. This formation of secondary 

 roots was favored also by the unusually even distribution of rainfall throughout 

 the summer. The importance of these secondary roots can be judged by the 

 fact that every plant in the field was infested Avitli borers, and the great 

 majority suffered a complete rotting off of the main stem as a result. In spite 

 of this, the harvest of squashes was declared to be satisfactory. 



Covering tJie Runners. — Some growers make it a practise to insure the 

 " striking " of secondary roots by covering the runners wT.th earth at about a 

 foot from the base of the plant. Fertilizer is sometimes added at these points. 

 This practise is a useful one, and often serves to reduce materially the amount 

 of damage done by the borers. 



Cutting out the Borers. — The practises mentioned above, while they often 

 aid in mitigating the severity of the squash vine Ijorer attack, have no direct 

 effect upon the borer itself. The best method heretofore practised for actually 

 killing the borers has been the custom of cutting them from the vines. Slitting 



