Can San Jose Scale Spread From Infested Fruit? 



FN the November issue of The Cana- 



Udian Horticulturist it was pointed 



^out that there is no danger of San Jose 



Scale spreading to orchards from in- 



jfested fruit. Many prominent ento- 



aologists expressed their opinions. As 



^he question is one of great importance 



Ito fruit growers, a number of others 



rere asked to contribute their views. 



A Seedling Gooseberry 



OriginMed and grown by P. Barrett, Tniro, X.S. 



I See page 4. 



f The State Entomologist for Connec- 

 ticut, Dr. W. E.Britton, wrote: "It seems 

 to me possible for the scale to be spread in 

 this way, and yet I cannot name a single 

 instance on record where it has actually 

 happened. As a matter of fact, in can- 

 neries the waste is utilized in such a 

 way that there would be no danger. 

 In some cases, as you know, the cores 

 and parings are used for making jelly, 

 and are either cooked or subjected to 

 great pressure, perhaps both, so that 

 no insects would come through the 

 process alive. If a person should throw 

 an infested pear or apple into the 

 branches of a fruit tree, crushing the 

 fruit so that portions of it were left 

 ' pon the branches, newly hatched 

 scales would doubtless become estab- 

 lished upon the tree: but this is about 

 the only way in which it seems pos- 

 sible for infested fruit to be dangerous. 

 This is probably not liable to happen." 

 Prof. H. T. Fernald, Associate En- 

 tomologist, Agricultural Experiment 

 Station, Amherst, Mass.: "I do not 

 know of a single case where trees have 

 ever become infested with the San 

 Jose scale from infested fruit, though 

 this has been shipped to all parts of 

 this country and abroad for a number 

 of years. It is evident that the scales 

 themselves on the fruit cannot change 



their location, and the only danger 

 would be that crawling young coming 

 from these scales might be brought in 

 contact with plants upon which they 

 could live; but these young can travel 

 only a very short distance, and if we 

 remember that purchased fruit is 

 rarely eaten where there are fruit 

 trees, and that parings and refuse 

 from infested fruit would stand very 

 little chance of being deposited close 

 to such trees, we can see at once that 

 the chance of infesting such trees is 

 exceedingly slight, and indeed may be 

 entirely ignored in practice. 



"The only way in which I should 

 feel at all certain of succeeding in in- 

 festing fruit trees by means of in- 

 fested fruit would be by securing well- 

 infested samples of the fruit and care- 

 fully fastening these on small branches 

 of living trees, and this too during 

 the spring, summer or early fall months 

 rather than during the season when 

 infested fruit is most likely to be 

 available for such a purpose. From 

 these standpoints, my answer to your 

 question would be that there is very 

 little danger of the scale ever being 

 disseminated by means of infested fruit." 



Prof. C. D. Jarvis, Horticulturist, 

 Agricultural Experiment Station, Storrs, 

 Conn.: "There is little danger in dis- 

 seminating San Jose scale by the im- 

 portation of infested fruit. My be- 

 lief is based upon a knowledge of the 

 habits of the insect. The young in- 

 sect, after moving around for a few 

 hours, or at most for a dav or two, 

 settles down, secretes its waxy scale 

 and never leaves that position. It is 

 possible that 

 when "har- 

 vested, the 

 fruit may 

 carry some of 

 the young 

 m o V i n g 

 scales, but by 

 the time it 

 reaches its 

 destination 

 they will have 

 become fixed. 

 It is quite 

 probable that 

 the scale con- 

 t i n u e s to 

 breed while 

 the fruit is in 

 storage or 

 during trans- 

 po r ta tion. 

 Assuming 

 this to be 

 true, the only 

 danger lies in 

 the disposi- 

 tion of the 



parings. If they should happen to be 

 deposited near any of the host plants 

 of the insect during the breeding sea- 

 son, there is a possibility of its getting 

 a foothold. In view of the lateness of 

 the season, and in view of the very 

 delicate nature of the young insect, 

 its survival is extremely doubtful." 



Prof. Leonard Haseman, Assistant 

 Entomologist, College of Agriculture, 

 Columbia, Mo.: "While it can readily 

 be seen that under perfectly favorable 

 conditions some scales could be shipped 

 long distances and transferred to fruit 

 trees where the fruit is used, it is not 

 at all Ukely that any would spread in 

 this way. It would be necessary for 

 the fruit to contain full-grown females, 

 and where the fruit is used the peel- 

 ings would have to be thrown where 

 the young could readily crawl to the 

 trees or other shrubs on which they 

 could feed, as the period of activity 

 of the young is not over forty-eight 

 hours. In general the peelings and 

 cores of apples and pears are thrown 

 into refuse barrels and used for food 

 for hogs and the like. Considering 

 everything, there need be no fear 

 concerning the spread of this pest 

 upon fruit. In every case of which 

 we have a record in this state, the 

 spread has been entirely through in- 

 fested nursery stock." 



The state entomologist for Minne- 

 sota, Mr. F. L. Washburn, expresses 

 his opinion as follows: "I regard the 

 presence of San Jose scale as a greater 

 or less menace under almost any con- 

 dition. While fruit peelings infested 

 with San Jose scale, thrown out on the 



Do You Like Grapes ? 



photograph taken in his garden at Hespeler. Ont., in September, 1907, by Mr. G. W. Tebbs, 

 Director, Hesi)€ler Horticultural Society. See page 2. 



