The Chayote: Its Culture and Uses. 
7 
lation. The best results are obtained if seed chayotes are stored at a 
temperature that does not fall below 45° or rise above 60° F. The 
optimum storage temperature for chayotes is between 50° and 55° F. 
Shipping. —Chayotes that are to be shipped should be handled 
with the same care as those for seed. It has been found possible to 
ship them satisfactorily in tomato crates, with or without wrappers 
(Fig. 3), but because of the added protection given by the wrappers 
and their tendency to prevent too rapid loss of moisture by the 
chayotes it is believed advisable generally to wrap the fruits, even 
with this type of crate. Ordinary orange crates or tangerine crates 
have proved quite satisfactory in cool or moderately warm weather 
and are economical because of the close packing of the chayotes that 
is possible. During weather of moderate temperature, if speedy de¬ 
livery is not important and the time for the journey does not exceed 
16 or 18 days, chayotes usually may be shipped with safety by freight. 
In hot or cold weather all long-distance shipments should go by 
express. 
Diseases and insect and other pests. —Chayotes are sometimes at¬ 
tacked by fungous diseases,* particularly following periods of exces¬ 
sive rainfall. No satisfactory control measure is known. Bordeaux 
mixture has been used with apparent success in checking fungous 
attacks, but it is not recommended as an absolute control measure. 
If the land drains poorly, an effort should be made to relieve the 
ground about the plant of an excess of moisture. 
The pickle worm ( Diaphania nitidalis) which attacks the fruits 
may be held in check by spraying with a nicotine preparation. The 
squash ladybird ( Epilachna borealis ), a leaf-eating insect, proves 
a serious pest in certain regions. Both the striped and spotted cu¬ 
cumber beetles ( Diabrotica vittata and D. duodecimpunctata ) also at¬ 
tack the foliage of the plants and may do considerable damage. 
These insects may be controlled by the use of a spray of arsenate of 
lead. Satisfactory results are obtained in combating fungous dis¬ 
eases and leaf-eating insects if arsenate of lead is added to Bordeaux 
mixture in the proper proportion. Pocket gophers, called locally 
salamanders, are reported to do considerable damage to the roots 
of chayotes in certain parts of the South. Ground moles often do 
much damage by tunneling among the roots in search of insects and 
worms. The winter mulch is often found to harbor insects and 
field mice, both of which are likely to injure the roots or young 
shoots. It is sometimes necessary to remove the mulch except in 
frosty or freezing weather, in order to prevent such injury. 
In soils where the root-knot nematode ( Heterodera radicicola) 
abounds, the chayote roots become badly infested, and the plant is put 
under a serious handicap. It has been found that keeping an abun¬ 
dance of manure or fertilizer available for the plant enables it to 
withstand the nematode attacks very much better than it otherwise 
could. The chayote seems to withstand these attacks for one or two 
years as well as any other susceptible truck crop commonly grown in 
the South. 
USES OF THE CHAYOTE. 
Although the chayote is esteemed in this country chiefly for its 
fruits, in certain regions every part of the plant is utilized. 
