BLUEBERRY CULTURE 15 



A shoot is girdled in two places about one-half inch apart and an egg is deposited 

 in a slit in the bark between these girdles. The tip of the shoot is killed by the 

 girdling, turns brown, and often breaks off at the top girdle. 



When the egg hatches, the young larva bores down the center of the shoot. 

 This it continues to do for two or three years and may even get down into the 

 roots. The infested stem usually dies. If the borer gets into the roots, it 

 weakens the whole plant causing the leaves to turn a yellowish or reddish color. 



This insect can be largely controlled by breaking or cutting off the dead tips 

 during the summer. Pickers can do this during the picking operations. If the 

 egg has hatched and the larva has started to bore, the shoot should be cut off 

 below the lower end of the tunnel. Infested stems missed during the summer 

 will usually be found during the pruning operations the following winter and 

 can be removed then. Since the larva is a legless grub and cannot crawl back 

 to the bush, the infested shoots may be dropped on the ground. If borers have 

 gotten into the roots, a piece of baling wire shoved down the tunnels will kill 

 most of them. 



The red-striped fireworm, Gelechia trialbamaculella Cham., does some damage 

 to blueberries at times. The larvae, which are pale green when small, develop 

 reddish brown stripes along the back and sides as they grow older until they 

 appear to have a solid color unless closely examined. These worms fasten two 

 or more leaves together and feed between them (Fig. 7). They make a tubular 

 case of silk covered with brown castings. The injury to older leaves is slight, 

 but the stunting of succulent new shoots due to the work of these worms on the 

 terminal leaves is more harmful. A thorough application about August 6 of the 

 following spray will control this pest very effectively: 



40 per cent Nicotine Sulfate 1 quart 



Fish-oil Soap 4-5 pounds 



Water 100 gallons 



White grubs, Phyllophaga sp., may cause injury to the newly set plants, espe- 

 cially in meadowlands. This injury may be greatly reduced by keeping the land 

 fallow or growing a cultivated crop for a year before the blueberries are set. 



The caterpillars of the gipsy moth, Porthetria dispar L., sometimes do con- 

 siderable damage but they are easily checked by spraying with lead arsenate — 

 6 pounds of dry arsenate to 100 gallons of water applied about May 20. 



Red-humped apple caterpillars, Schizura, concinna Smith and Abbot, some- 

 times feed on the blueberry. Since they feed in colonies, they can strip a branch 

 of leaves in a short time. They appear in August or September. If only a few 

 are present, they can be shaken from the bush and crushed. If they are 

 abundant, spray with lead arsenate, 4-5 pounds to 100 gallons of water. 



The cranberry spittle insect, Clastoptera saint-cyri var. saint-cyri Prov., in- 

 fests blueberries occasionally. It is a sucking insect about one-eighth of an inch 

 long, appears usually in early June, and is conspicuous because of the mass of 

 froth with which it covers itself. It can be controlled by spraying with : 



Nicotine Sulfate lj^$ quarts 



Fish-oil Soap 4 pounds 



Water 100 gallons 



Mummy berry is the most common disease of cultivated blueberries. It is 

 caused by a species of Sclerotinia which rots and mummifies the green or partly 

 ripe fruit rather badly in some years. In the late summer the dry, shriveled, 



