THE LESSER BUD-MOTH. 



13 



perimental spraying against the lesser bud moth in 1913. Previous 

 to that year the orchard had been badly neglected, not having been 

 cultivated, pruned, or thoroughly sprayed for several years. The 

 owner reported that no crop had been harvested from the orchard 

 during the preceding eight years, although it is not known that this 

 was due to the work of the lesser bud moth. However, last season it 

 was noted by the senior author that almost every bud was infested 

 with this insect, resulting in a total loss of the crop. The experi- 

 mental spraying was done with a gasoline-power sprayer equipped 

 with nozzles of the Vermorel type. The orchard was divided into 

 six plats, each containing not less than 14 trees. The treatments and 

 dates of application are shown in Table VI. 



Table VI. — Treatments and dates of applications of sprays for the lesser bud- 

 moth, Mr. W. H. Woodruffs apple orchard, Benton Harbor, Mich, 1913. 





Treatment at — 



Plat No. 



First application, Apr. 7. 

 (Trees dormant.) 



Second application, Apr. 12. 

 (Buds swelling.) 



Third application, Apr. 29. 

 (Cluster buds open.) 



I 



II 



Lime-sulphur solution (1 : 8). . 

 Lime-sulphur solution (1:8) 



Soluble-oil solution (1 : 15) 



Blackleaf 40 



None 



None 



None. 



Lime-sulphur solution (1J : 50). 

 Do. 



III 





IV 





Do. 



V 



None 



Arsenate of lead (2 : 50) 



Lime-sulphur solution (1 : 50) 

 and arsenate of lead (2 : 50). 



VI 



Check (nnsprayed) 











As the trees in this orchard were too large for counts to be made 

 of the infested and uninf ested buds, the results were determined only 

 by observation and by comparing the amount of the fruit that set on 

 the sprayed and unsprayed trees. While the infestation was not as 

 heavy in this orchard this year as last, the larvae were numerous 

 enough materially to affect the crop, and at the time of blossoming 

 quite a contrast could be noted between certain sprayed plats and the 

 unsprayed plat. 



Entirely satisfactory results were obtained on Plat I, which re- 

 ceived only an application of lime-sulphur solution at the rate of 1 

 gallon to 8 gallons of water when the trees were in the dormant state. 

 Only a few larvse could be found on these trees at blossoming time, 

 and there was practically no loss of fruit from their work, the trees 

 bearing a good crop. Plat II received the same treatment, with the 

 exception of an additional application of lime-sulphur solution at 

 the rate of 1J gallons to 50 gallons of water when the cluster buds 

 opened. The results were the same as on Plat I. Plat III, sprayed 

 in the dormant state with soluble oil at the rate of 1 gallon of the oil 

 to 15 gallons of water, and Plat IV, receiving a dormant application 

 of blackleaf 40 at the rate of 1 gallon of this insecticide to 800 gal- 

 lons of water, gave no noticeable results. Both of these plats re- 



