TQTT 



BETTER FRUIT 



P^^g'-' 55 



SULPHUR SPRAYS FOR BLISTER MITE EFFECTIVE 



Summarized by T. H. HALL, from Bulletin by P. J. PARROTT, N. Y. Experment Station, Geneva, N. Y. 



FIVE years ago the blister mile was 

 almost unknown to apple growers of 

 Western New York. Today it is second 

 only to San Jose scale as a topic for dis- 

 cussion where orchardists meet. The 

 damage caused by this pest has undoubt- 

 edly been overestimated in some cases; 

 the danger from it is not to be compared 

 with that from scale, but the peculiar 

 spotting of the leaves and their unhealthy 

 yellow appearance cannot fail to attract 

 attention in any af¥ected orchard. Prema- 

 ture dropping of the leaves must diminish 

 the vigor of the tree and lessen its pro- 

 ductiveness the second season, if not the 

 first, and the reduction in size of the 

 fruits and their distortion when directly 

 attacked by the mites are very evident 

 damages. The mite has spread rapidlj' 

 in the past three years and is now cjuite 

 common in orchards generally through- 

 out the principal apple-growing counties 

 of Western New York. It is impossible 

 to estimate closely the damage done by 



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the mite, since injuries from other causes 

 like poor drainage, insect attacks, unfav- 

 orable weather and spraying mixtures are 

 mistaken for work of the mite or com- 

 bined with it. Alany careful fruit men, 

 however, believe that their orchards have 

 been, or are liable to be, so much injured 

 by the pest -that they must adopt some 

 repressive measures against it. In Bulle- 

 tin No. 283 the effectiveness of oil emul- 

 sions, miscible oils and sulphur washes 

 against the mites was clearly shown. 

 The present bulletin is to emphasize the 

 merits of the sulphur wash, in particular, 

 for this purpose, and to confirm the belief 

 that spraying is desirable, practicable, 

 cheap and effective as a means of control 

 of the mites. 



Four orchards were treated in the 

 planned experiments, one of which was 

 owned by the station and three by others 

 who co-operated in the tests. Experi- 

 ments were also made, not under station 

 direction, by owners of eleven other 

 orchards. These volunteer experiments 

 are especially valuable as showing the 

 practicability of treatment for the mites. 

 Each of these orchards was quite ser- 

 iously infested before treatment and in 

 each case the result was such decided 

 lessening in numbers of the mites that 

 the injury to foliage or fruit was reduced 

 to a minimum. 



In the station orchard comparison was 

 made between sulphur washes (both 

 home-made and commercial prepara- 

 tions), miscible oil and kerosene emul- 

 sion. These tests were made both on 

 parallel plats through the orchard and on 

 parts of individual trees treated by thirds, 

 fourths or fifths, as necessary to accom- 

 modate the mixtures compared, reserving 

 a check section on each tree. Fall and 

 spring spraying were also tested side by 

 side. 



In none of the other orchards was the 

 treatment so varied, but in twelve of the 

 fifteen the lime-sulphur wash was given 

 a good test with excellent results; in the 

 other three, miscible oils or kerosene 

 emulsion were used. In most if these 

 orchards unsprayed areas or trees were 

 left, and on these or on the orchards of 

 neighbors the work of the mites was 

 much more noticeable than on sprayed 

 sections. On treated trees, as a rule, 

 only scattered leaves showed spotting, 

 the main body of the foliage was green 

 and vigorous, and in some . cases the 

 leaves were apparently larger than those 

 on unsprayed trees. Pimpling and dis- 

 tortion of the fruit were almost wholly 

 prevented. The spraying often improved 

 the foliage to such a degree that the 

 contrast between treated and check areas 

 was plain, even at considerable distances 

 from the orchards. 



In some cases where comparisons were 

 made, particularly in the station orchard, 

 little difference in efifectiveness was to be 

 detected between the different sprays. 

 Marked differences were found, of course, 

 in the effect in the various orchards; but 

 these variations were usually due to the 

 diverse standards of spraying held by 

 those who made the applications. In one 

 case only about one and one-half gallons 



of wash was applied to a tree, in others 

 five, while in most cases seven or eight 

 were thought necessary for good treat- 

 ment, and in one case ten gallons was 

 used. Even with the minimum applica- 

 tions decided reduction of the mites was 

 secured. 



A new feature in these tests was the 

 use of concentrated sulphur washes, both 

 commercial and home-made. These com- 

 pared favorably with the ordinary boiled 

 washes, and they possess some merits 

 which recommend them. The home-made 

 concentrated wash, in particular, should 

 be widely tested by orchardists for the 

 mites. Its advantages are two: It may 

 be prepared in concentrated solutions to 

 be diluted as needed, and it has no coarse 

 sediment to clog the nozzles and to cause 

 the rapid wearing out of the packing, lin- 

 ing and other parts of the pump. This 

 mixture and the commercial preparations 

 now enable many of our fruit growers to 

 use a sulphur wash, who for the reasons 

 given have refrained from using this 

 spray as prepared by the old method. 



The formula for boiled lime-sulphur 

 follows: Lump lime, 20 pounds; sulphur, 

 15 pounds; water, 50 gallons. Place the 

 lime and sulphur in the cooking recep- 

 tacle containing about fifteen to twenty 

 gallons of water. Stir the mixture fre- 

 quently and boil for one hour. Add water 

 to make the required amount of wash and 

 strain through a fine brass-wire strainer 

 into the spraying tank. Applications 

 should be made while the wash is warm. 



Home-made concentrated lime-sulphur 

 wash: Lump lime, 60 pounds; sulphur, 

 125 pounds; water, 50 gallons. Slake the 

 lime in the cooking receptacle and stir in 

 the sulphur, which has been made into a 

 thin paste with water. Add enough water 

 to make about forty-five gallons of the 

 mixture, which should be boiled for one 

 or more hours. After the cooking is 

 completed allow the wash to stand until 

 the sediment has settled to the bottom, 

 wdien the clear, brownish liquid should 

 be drawn off. To this add water, if 

 needed, to make the required fifty gallons 

 of concentrated solution. 



For use, dilute the concentrated sul- 

 phur solution at the rate of five gallons 

 of the liquid to forty-five gallons of 

 water. To every barrel of fifty gallons 

 capacity of the diluted spray add from 

 ten to fifteen pounds of lime, made into 

 a paste. The addition of the lime is not 

 necessary, but by its use the trees are 

 given a whitewashed appearance, which 

 enables the farmer to judge better of the 

 thoroughness of his spraying. This mix- 



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 SUPPLY HOUSE 



FRANZ 

 HARDWARE CO. 



Hood River, Oregon 



WHEN WRITING AnVERTISERS MENTION BETTER FRUIT 



WHEN WRITING ADVERTISERS MENTION BETTER FRUIT 



