So six of the listed recommendations have been 
eliminated. Now, let’s go a step further. Some of 
the remaining products have a Safety Factor of ‘‘4’, 
indicating that a residue problem is involved. How- 
ever, as cucumbers can be thoroughly washed before 
marketing, it is possible (and in fact it has been 
commercial practice), to use products of that nature 
until a reasonable time before picking. So the logical 
choice in this instance assuming that market prices 
are favorable, would be Kilgam Dust-114% or Isotox 
Wettable No. 250. Incidentally, cucurbits apparent- 
ly are not affected by the odor or flavor of the two 
materials. 
As the “C.F.” rating of the two materials also shows 
a plus, control of other insects, such as striped or 
banded cucumber beetles and various worms can be 
expected. Kilchlor Dust-5°% and Synchlor 50-W 
would be the next choice. You will note that the 
material cost per acre is lower, while the “C.F.” 
factor is rated at 2+, which again indicates toxicity 
against other insects usually found on cucumbers. 
If, however, it should become necessary to dust or 
spray during picking time and poisonous residue 
cannot be tolerated, then the nicotine dusts or sprays, 
e.i. Black Leaf-10 Dust, Nicotine-4% Activated Dust 
or Black Leaf 40 should be chosen. All of these ma- 
terials carry a Safety Factor rating of “3”, which 
means that no residue problem is involved, as 
nicotine on foliage or fruit dissipates in a very short 
time. However, weather conditions must be favora- 
ble when applying these materials, in order to pro- 
duce complete kills. Other insects infesting cucum- 
bers are little, if any, affected by their application. 
Next we look and see what we can do for our 
tomatoes. As long as no fruit is on the vines, we can 
ignore the Safety Factor ratings of ‘3’, 4’, ‘5’, “6” 
and “7”. So we can pick a compound that has the 
lowest “E.F.” rating along with the best “C.F.” 
rating. As worms are usually present (tomato fruit- 
worm, pinworm and army worm), we want to use a 
material that is also effective against them. Obvious- 
ly, Kilhex Dust-114% and Gamtox Wettable would 
be the logical materials to be used, as the material 
cost per acre is relatively low and the “C.F.” factor 
rating of 1+ indicates excellent control of aphids as 
well as the other insects that may be present. 
Suppose, however, that the vines bear some mature 
or nearly mature fruit. In that case we would have 
to eliminate materials having a Safety Factor rating 
of “4” and “7”. This leaves us only the nicotine 
dusts or sprays and rotenone. So, the final choice 
would have to be made from one of these materials. 
As a final example, let’s consider the potato aphid 
problem. A reference to the table showing ratings 
of factors, we find that any material marked with a 
Safety Factor rating of “7’’ cannot be used on 
potatoes because of the probable contamination of 
the tubers, even though tubers may not be present 
at the time of application. Any one of the remaining 
materials listed can be used with comparative safety. 
In the Homestead area, Kilphene 10 Dust and Alltox- 
Wettable No. 400 have been used last year with con- 
siderable success in the control of various insects 
infesting potatoes. (See page 65 under Toxaphene). 
In summarizing, let us state that although an at- 
tempt has been made to provide a workable method 
for determining the proper type of insecticide to be 
used on various crops and under various conditions, 
it should be remembered that circumstances may 
develop which require special recommendations. 
Established local practices endorsed by experiment 
stations, county agents and other legitimate agencies 
will in some cases dictate the final choice of certain 
insecticides, when they are to be used under critical 
or unusual conditions. 
Another problem of course arises when combining 
one insecticide with another, or with a fungicide. 
Many of such combinations may be entirely com- 
patible, while some are unpredictable as far as de- 
sired results are concerned. (See “Safe Combinations 
of Insecticides and Fungicides on next page). In 
the case of questionable combinations, we advise the 
growers to contact their nearest experiment station 
or any of our stores for guidance in such matters, or 
write to The Kilgore Seed Co. Laboratory, P. O. 
Box 6085, West Palm Beach, Florida. 
SANITATION 
The practice of sanitation is of such vital import- 
ance, that no grower can afford to ignore the subject. 
Yet, in many cases, serious losses result from a com- 
plete neglect of a few simple rules. Diseases will 
spread readily froin sick to healthy plants by various 
means, depending upon the nature of the disease. 
Spores of many species of fungi are air or wind 
borne, while others may be scattered over fields in 
water, due to rain or irrigation. Insects play an im- 
portant part in the dissemination of diseases, par- 
ticularly those of the sucking type, such as aphids, 
thrips, etc. Certain cultural operations, as pruning, 
picking, transplanting, etc., are greatly responsible 
for the scattering of diseases, especially those caused 
by bacteria and viruses, mosaic being a specific ex- 
ample of the latter. 
Considering the methods of dissemination men- 
tioned, it becomes obvious that the source of the 
disease should be destroyed, if at all possible. 
Affected plants, as well as dropped, decaying fruit, 
should be removed from the field and burned. Culti- 
vation should be clean and frequent. Mechanical 
injury of plants by plowing, spraying or picking 
operations should be avoided as much as possible. 
Crop rotation is essential, provided that no other 
crop affected by the responsible diseases is grown 
for several years. ‘This method often proves cheaper 
than an attempt to control the disease chemically. 
As weeds serve as host plants to many insects, which 
may be carrier of fungi, viruses, etc., the necessity of 
their eradication certainly becomes evident. When- 
ever practical, soil moisture should be kept fairly 
constant. Corrective measure should be adopted 
where soils are either too acid or too alkaline. 

General Offices and Mail Order Department, Plant City, Florida 51 
\STRIEUTOR. 
