248 INSECTS AFFECTING TRUCK CROPS 



INSECTS -AFFECTING TOMATO 



Refer to tobacco insects in the chapter of field crop insects, 

 as several of the tobacco insects also attack the tomato. See also 

 treatment of the corn ear-worm, pages 210 and 218. 



The Stalk Borer. More than one species of this genus of moth 

 (Papaipema sp.) probably bores in the stalks of tomato, as well 

 as in dahlias, lilies, and other garden plants. Its eggs are laid in 

 the fall of the year on various weeds about the garden; the larvae 

 hatch in the spring, and first feed as leaf miners and then burrow 

 into the stalk of the plant upon which they were hatched. They 

 may migrate to other cultivated plants. They pupate in the lower 

 part of the stalk. 



Control. Since the eggs of these insects are laid by the moths 

 at the base of weeds, all weeds in the garden and in the vicinity 

 should be destroyed late in the fall by burning. Further, the entire 

 stock of weeds should be burned and not merely the tops. When 

 a tomato plant is infested, it is shown by a drooping of the affected 

 part of the plant. The affected shoot, if small, may be cut off, 

 and the borer destroyed. If the worm is in a larger stem, a few 

 teaspoonfuls of bisulfid of carbon may be injected into the opening 

 with a medicine dropper and the hole plugged with cotton, wool, 

 or soil to confine the gas. Too much bisulfid of carbon should 

 not be used on account of danger of injury to the plant stem. 



See also Chapter XIV, page 256. 



INSECTS ATTACKING GINSENG 



Ginseng is attacked by white grubs, and the reader is advised 

 to turn to the description of this pest, and study methods of pre- 

 venting injuries. (See page 135.) 



RHUBARB INSECTS 



A plant of such rapid, vigorous growth as the rhubarb is natu- 

 rally more or less exempt from injury on the part of insects. As 

 a matter of fact, the rhubarb curculio is its most serious enemy. 



The Rhubarb Curculio. This reddieh-brown snout beetle 

 (Lixus concavus Say) is about three-quarters of an inch long. 

 It injures the plant by making food punctures in the leaf stem 

 and sometimes in the leaves. Eggs are deposited in the stems of 

 rhubarb or in dock. The size and color of these insects make them 

 fairly conspicuous, and they may be hand-picked from rhubarb 

 and the weed above mentioned. 



