DWARFING OR INJURING THE BUDS 331 



The Flower Thrips (Euthrips tritici Fitch) 



In the Southwest the opening flower and fruit buds of various fruit 

 trees are subject to serious injury by minute, slender, active insects which 

 enter them in large numbers and suck the juices of the tender, growing 

 parts. The adults have two pairs of narrow, fringed wings. The 

 younger stages are wingless, but do equal damage with the adults. 

 The injury is sometimes so severe that young trees are killed. 



An effective remedy is thorough spraying with tobacco extract. 

 Distillate oil emulsion may be added to this, as recommended for the 

 pear thrips. The Flower Thrips is illustrated on page 26. 



The Peach Bud Mite (Tarsonemus waitei Bks.) 



Young peach trees in nurseries sometimes suffer severe injury to the 

 terminal bud or shoot, due to the work of an exceedingly small, eight- 

 legged mite. The main shoot dies, or fails to develop, and the tree 

 then puts out several new shoots below, destroying its symmetry and 

 rendering it worthless for transplanting. 



Some of the mites hibernate under bud scales, but it is possible that 

 others may spend the winter on some other host plant. 



Careful pruning will help the tree to overcome injury and send out a 

 new terminal shoot. Lateral buds that start up should be removed, 

 in order to avoid a bushy top. Spraying with self-boiled lime sulphur 

 early in the growing season may kill most of the mites. 



The Grape-blossom Midge {Contarinia johnsoni SHng.) 



The flower buds of early varieties of grapes sometimes fail to develop 

 properly through the work of this tiny insect. Buds attacked show an 

 abnormal swelling or redness, and only occasional berries will set, so 

 that the bunches of fruit will be straggling, if not entirely wanting. 



The injury is due to the larvae of a minute midge that appears just 

 as the buds are beginning to swell and lays its eggs in the opening ends. 

 After three weeks the larvae are full grown, drop to the ground, and 

 remain there until the following year. 



Spraying with tobacco extract when the buds first begin to swell 



