HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARMERS' MONTHLY 



THE LATEST INFORMATION 

 ON THE EUROPEAN 



CORN BORER 



We Should be Prepared to Control 

 this Pest 



Scientific investigation of an economic 

 problem is well illustrated by the work 

 carried on by the government entomolo- 

 gists in Arlington, heading up the corn 

 borer investigation for New England. A 

 recent discussion of this problem has led 

 to the following infoimation : 



First, and well known to a good many 

 vegetable growers, there has been a 

 marked reduction in the infestation of the 

 European corn borers in 1923 as com- 

 pared with 1922. Everybody seems very 

 much pleased at it, and it certainly is 

 gratifying to the men who have been 

 better off than they anticipated. Why 

 have we had this reduced infestation? 



From a discussion of this pi'oblem with 

 a very well informed man, we learn that 

 there are four contributing factors: 



1. In 1923 because of the cool, dry 

 summer there has only been 60% of the 

 second brood come through as compared 

 with approximately 100% in 1921. This 

 same thing happened in 1920. It is due 

 to temperature and moisture conditions. 



In 1921 and 1922 there were two bioods 

 and a partial third brood. The second 

 brood is, by far, the more serious one be- 

 cause more numerous than the first. 



2. In 1923, 60% of the eggs have been 

 parasitized by a native egg parasite. This 

 parasite has been found killing the eggs 

 of the European corn borer for several 

 years. A careful record of this helpful 

 insect's activities shows that it is very 

 efl^ective some years, and not at all .so 

 in others. It has a rise and fall in num- 

 bers like most insect pests. The fact that 

 the cool dry summer, unfavorable to the 

 normal increase of the European corn 

 borer, occurred the same year as that of 

 the active parasitism of eggs, is a very 

 helpful incident, but not likely to be the 

 rule. 



3. The European corn borer has suf- 

 fered from the drought of 1923. Most 

 of us well realize that we have had a 

 pretty dry summer, but few of us realize 

 that it was so dry that it would dry up 

 corn borer eggs. The fact is that 11% 

 of the eggs dried up, pi-obably because of 

 the extremely dry weather and cool 

 nights. 



4. Cool weather reduced numbers of 

 the borer. The moths of the Euiopean 

 corn borer like warm weather. When 

 the temperatures are below 55' F. the 

 normal number of eggs is not laid, and 

 sometimes none at all. This year the 

 cool nights have slowed up the egg pro- 

 cesses of the mother moth so that she has 

 not done as usual in our summer season. 



TESTING FOR SMALL HERDS 



; In Linn county. Ore., a type of cow- 

 testing association adapted to dairy dis- 

 tricts having numerous small herds has 

 been projected under the leadership of 

 County Agent A. C. Hyman. 



From 1,600 to 1,800 cows can be han- 

 dled by one tester regardless of the num- 

 ber of herds. It has not been po.ssible 

 heretofore to handle more than 26 to 35 

 herds, irrespective of the number of cows. 

 With small herds the cost per cow for 

 testing has been prohibitive, so there are 

 no cow-testing associations in the Wil- 

 liamette valley and some other dairy dis- 

 tricts. 



"This new type has been used satis- 

 factorily in Whatcom county, Wash., for 

 seven months," says N. C. .lohnson, dairy, 

 specialist for the Extension service. 

 "Members are grouped in routes of about 

 200 cows each. The tester goes out one 

 day on a route and leaves sample bottles 

 with members, who take their own sam- 

 ples for one day and at the same time 

 make a record of weights of feed used 

 that day. These are gathered up by the 

 ! tester the following day and taken to a 

 j central laboratory for testing, each mem- 

 jber being sent at once a statement of the 

 I test of his cows. On the next visit each 

 member is given an up-to-date record for 

 each of his cows, showing what they pro- 

 duced, the feed consumed, the amount and 

 value of pi-oduction, and the quantity and 

 cost of feed." 



This means that there were less eggs to 

 hatch; the weather was unfavorable for 

 the hatching; the parasite was particular- 

 ly active; and the cool weather reduced 

 the efficiency of the mother moth at her 

 main job. 



Oui; Virinters kill about 81% of the win- 

 tering corn borer larvae, according to 

 records over a period of years. 



We have had a fortunate combination 

 of incidents to reduce the infestation of 

 the European corn boi-er. We hope that 

 there will be other such combinations, but 

 it is too much to believe that such will 

 often occur. It is not safe to conclude 

 that all ti'ouble from the European corn 

 borer is past when we hear from China, 

 Japan, Austria, Germany, Italy, France, 

 and even Guam, that the European corn 

 borer is a most severe pest, and damages 

 rice, Kafl"er corn, some of the small grains 

 and sweet corn very seriously, year after 

 year, and makes their production in some 

 instances quite unprofitable. We are not 

 pessimistic, but we believe in facing the 

 music. It is well for men to remember 

 this problem. 



It is good news to know that certain 

 methods of crop handling may be very 

 beneficial in reducing the infestation. 

 Massachusetts growers have been told re- 

 peatedly that cutting corn stover very 

 near the ground, and deep plowing in the 



Take Out Filler Trees Now 



You believe in pruning, don't you? 

 You prune to get more air and sunshine 

 around your main bearing limbs, so that 

 you will get more of the large, better- 

 colored fruit. Prune out your filler trees 

 as you would a crowding limb. 



Filler trees damage our orchards and 

 pocketbook in the following, very serious 

 ways: 



Filler trees shade the profitable lower 

 branches of the permanent trees almost 

 to the total elimination of spurs and 

 fruit. 



They force the permanent trees up- 

 ward, instead of allowing them to spread. 



They drain the same soil of plant food 

 that your permanent trees are trying to 

 live on, as the roots interlace for many 

 feet. 



The shade kills the fruit spurs in the 

 center of your permanent ti-ees. 



The shade of the up-growing limbs 

 causes you to take out more wood, and to 

 more or less whittle up your main 

 branches of the permanent tree to let the 

 sun through, a great deal of which 

 would not have to be done if the main 

 limbs could spread. 



Fillers increase your cost of produc- 

 tion by making the orchard difficult to 

 jwork in, by taking more spray material 

 to cover the higher limbs, and by adding 

 time to the pruning, thinning and har- 

 vesting. 



Close trees make spraying less efficient, 

 1 thereby giving you more pest-damaged 

 fruit than you otherwise would have. 



A lot of the fruit is poorly colored and 

 I brings far less when sold, just from lack 

 of sunshine. 



All of which means that your filler 

 I trees have done all the "filling" necessary 

 I when you have to start cutting back the 

 branches to keep them from interfering. 

 You planted the filler trees for a pur- 

 pose. If you are a good manager, the 

 tree has fulfilled that purpose and is now 

 more of a hindrance than a help. If you 

 weren't a good enough manager to get all 

 Continued on page 9, column 2 



fall will do much to reduce infestation the 

 i following spring. This absolutely holds 

 true. Cleaning up boarders and refuse 

 in which the corn borer might winter, 

 and burning material, helps very con- 

 siderably. 



The proper dates foi- i)lanting are an 

 important factor. Sweet corn growers 

 have noted that certain plantings of corn, 

 ! during the summer have little infestation, 

 while others are seriously infested. The 

 same thing will work out for field corn 

 growers. We hope to have some informa- 

 tion gained through a study of the agro- 

 nomical phases of this problem, which 

 will be very helpful to the farming in- 

 dustry of Massachusetts. 



