The spotted cucumber beetle. 



If seedlings are being damaged by the 

 beetles as they come through the soil, 

 apply a band of insecticide on the soil 

 along the rows. If dieldrin is used, 

 watch the field for a possible increase in 

 spider mites. 



Spider Mites 



Spider mites (red spiders) are so 

 small they are hard to see with the 

 naked eye. but their webbing is con- 

 spicuous when they become numerous. 

 They injure the foliage by removing the 

 chlorophyll ( green coloring ) from the 

 leaves. This lowers the quality of the 

 melons; if damage is severe, it will ex- 

 pose the melons, causing sunburn 

 damage. 



• Control. — Spider mites have 

 several natural enemies that often keep 

 them in check. Do not apply insecti- 

 cides if you see only a few webbings, 

 but make frequent observations. If the 

 webbings become numerous, and con- 

 trol seems necessary, apply demeton. 

 A dust containing parathion and ovex is 

 also effective. Parathion alone can be 

 used, but it does not kill the eggs and 

 must be repeated 2 or 3 times at weekly 

 intervals. 



Whatever insecticide is used, watch 

 the field and repeat applications when 

 needed. The first application may kill 

 the natural enemies of the spider mites. 

 The mites may increase rapidly unless 

 applications are repeated or a long- 

 lasting insecticide is used. 



Demeton enters the plant tissue and 

 kills mites for some time after appli- 

 cation. Ovex kills the mite eggs and 

 thus extends the efficiency of the para- 

 thion-ovex dust. Applications of deme- 

 ton or parathion-ovex therefore do not 

 need to be made as frequently as appli- 

 cations of parathion alone. 



APPLYING INSECTICIDES 



Dusts 



You can apply dusts by ground equip- 

 ment or by aircraft. Use them at the 

 following strengths : Parathion or diel- 

 drin, 2 percent: malathion, 5 percent; 

 ovex, 7.5 percent; cryolite, 50 percent; 

 and parathion-ovex mixture, 2 plus 7.5 

 percent. With ground equipment, use 

 15 to 20 pounds of dust per acre. With 

 aircraft, use 25 pounds. 



Several kinds of power dusters may 

 be used for ground application. Some 

 are tractor mounted; they utilize a 

 power takeoff. Other dusters are 

 equipped with an auxiliary motor. 



Drive slowly when dusting. The air 

 velocity at the nozzles should be high 

 enough to force the dust throughout 

 the foliage but not so high that it will 

 blow the dust from the leaves. Use a 

 lightweight canvas drag behind the 

 duster to check the drift of the dust. 



Don't dust when the wind velocity is 

 more than 5 miles an hour, lou can 

 test wind speed by tossing a handful of 

 dust, or by blowing smoke, into the air. 

 Walk downwind with the cloud of dust 

 or smoke. If you can keep up with it 

 at a slow walk, the wind speed is about 

 2 miles an hour. If you have to walk 

 fast, the wind is blowing about 4 miles 

 an hour. If you have to run to keep up 



