Page 40 



BETTER FRUIT 



June 



ORCHARD SPRAYS AND SPRAYING SUCCESSFULLY 



KNOWLEDGE of a multiplicity of 

 spra3's is not essential to success 

 in spraying. Equipped with an 

 understanding of the range of usefulness 

 of three or four standard sprays, with a 

 determination to do thorough work, one 

 is as well fortified as may be against 

 orchard pests and diseases. 



While it is true that most growers 

 of experience understand the general 

 theory of spraying it is considered desir- 

 able for the benefit of the novice to 

 emphasize certain fundamental princi- 

 ples, a knowledge of which is essential 

 to the proper selection and use of reme- 

 dies for orchard diseases or insect pests. 



It should first be thoroughly under- 

 stood that spraying is not a cure all. 

 There are many diseases and some insect 

 troubles of the orchard for which spray- 

 ing is of no value, either as a preventive 

 or cure. 



Fortunately most of the important 

 orchard pests and diseases may be held 

 under control by proper spraying. It is 

 important to note, however, that in order 

 to do effective spraying against any pest 

 it is essential that the proper spray be 

 used at the proper time for that particu- 

 lar pest. A. spray which is effective 

 against one pest may be totally ineffec- 



BY A. B. CORDLEY AND H.S.JACKSON 



live against another, even if applied at 

 the proper time. The proper spray for 

 any pest applied at the wrong time is as 

 useless as no spraying at all. 



It is, therefore, of prime importance 

 that every grower should know what 

 diseases and insects are prevalent in his 

 district, that he be able to recognize 

 them when he sees them and practice the 

 proper methods of control. 



The proper time at which a spray 

 should be applied and the proper spray 

 to be used is determined by the life his- 

 tory of the organism causing the trouble, 

 whether it be an insect or a fungus, or 

 bacterial disease. 



It is not the purpose at this time 

 to discuss the life history of orchard 

 pests, but rather to give general direc- 

 tions for the preparation and use of the 

 common sprays. 



Under the head of insecticides are 

 included those sprays used primarily to 

 combat insects. To understand the gen- 

 eral principle which underlies the selec- 

 tion of the proper remedy to be used for 

 any particular insect one has only to 

 know that nearly all insects may be 

 divided for practical purposes into two 

 great groups, viz.: Chewing and suck- 

 ing insects. 



Copyright 1910 by R. M. Kellogg Company. Three Rivers, Michigan 

 KELLOGG THOROUGHBRED ]!ERRIES, -AS GROWN BY EARL WING, MICHIGAN 



Food Poisons — For combating chew- 

 ing insects, that is, those which actually 

 chew and swallow the tissues of the 

 plant on which they feed, a poison must 

 be used. The surface of the parts of the 

 plant on which such an insect feeds 

 must be coated or sprayed with some 

 poisonous substance which will not 

 injure the plant yet will kill the insects 

 which feed upon the parts thus coated. 



(a) Arsenate of lead is now the chief 

 poison used in spraying for the codling 

 moth. Many commercial brands are to 

 be had, and so far as our observations 

 go all are reasonably pure. The various 

 brands may. however, be arranged into 

 two more or less definite groups, which 

 may be termed the acid arsenates and 

 the neutral or normal, or Ortho arsen- 

 ates. While the evidence is not con- 

 clusive it appears to be true that the 

 acid arsenates cannot so well be used 

 with the lime-sulphur solutions as can 

 the neutral arsenates. 



Most manufacturers advise the use of 

 three pounds of arsenate of lead to fifty 

 gallons of water. The Washington 

 Experiment Station has demonstrated 

 that in the dry climate of Eastern Ore- 

 gon one pound to fifty gallons gives 

 equally good results in controlling cod- 

 ling moth. We have found that two 

 pounds are sufficient in the Willamette 

 Valley. 



If it is desired to use a combined 

 insecticide and fungicide arsenate of 

 lead may be added to bordeaux or lime- 

 sulphur solution in the same proportion 

 as when water is used. 



Contact Insecticides — For combating 

 sucking insects, that is, those with suck- 

 ing mouth parts which pierce the plant 

 upon which they feed and suck juices, a 

 spray must be used which will kill such 

 insects by acting externally on their 

 bodies, since they secure their food from 

 beneath the surface and cannot be made 

 to eat the poisons. A spray of this sort 

 is known as a contact insecticide. 



(b) Kerosene Emulsion — Kerosene 

 oil, or coal oil, is a powerful insecticide. 

 The undiluted oil is, however, liable to 

 seriously injure plants to which it is 

 applied. This difficulty is overcome by 

 forming an emulsion with some sub- 

 stance that it may be readily diluted with 

 water. Soap is most commonly added 

 for this purpose as follows: Kerosene 

 oil, two gallons; hard soap (preferably 

 whale oil), half pound; water one gal- 

 lon. Dissolve the soap in the water by 

 boiling. Add the suds, boiling hot, to 

 the oil. Churn the mixture violently 

 with a spray pump until it becomes a 

 thick, creamy mass. If perfectly emulsi- 

 fied the oil will not rise to the surface 

 even after standing an indefinite time. 

 Such an emulsion may be used imme- 

 diately or kept as a stock solution. 

 Before using dilute one part of the stock 

 emulsion with eight or ten parts of 

 water. This will be found to be an effi- 

 cient remedy for green aphis, woolly 

 aphis, red spider, mealy bugs and cer- 

 tain scale insects. 



