Nearly all the common birds feed freely upon the cankerworm

Nearly all the common birds feed freely upon the cankerworm

Nearly all the common birds feed freely upon the cankerworm, and benefit the orchard in so doing. The chickadee is perhaps the most useful. A recent writer is very positive that each chickadee will devour on an average thirty female cankerworm moths a day; and that if the average number of eggs laid by each female is one hundred and eighty-five, one chickadee would thus destroy in one day five thousand five hundred and fifty eggs, and, in the twenty-five days in which the cankerworm moths crawl up the tree, would rid the orchard of one hundred and thirty-eight thousand seven hundred and fifty. These birds also eat immense numbers of cankerworm eggs before they hatch into worms.

Source: Agriculture for Beginners

In early summer the larvæ burrow within the earth and pupate there

In early summer the larvæ burrow within the earth and pupate there

In early summer the larvæ burrow within the earth and pupate there; later they emerge as adults (Fig. 157, d and e). You observe the peculiar difference between the wingless female, d, and the winged male, e. It is the habit of this wingless female to crawl up the trunk of some near-by tree in order to deposit her eggs upon the twigs. These eggs (shown at a and b) hatch into the greedy larvæ that do so much damage to our orchards.

Source: Agriculture for Beginners

In early summer the larvæ burrow within the earth and pupate there

In early summer the larvæ burrow within the earth and pupate there

In early summer the larvæ burrow within the earth and pupate there; later they emerge as adults (Fig. 157, d and e). You observe the peculiar difference between the wingless female, d, and the winged male, e. It is the habit of this wingless female to crawl up the trunk of some near-by tree in order to deposit her eggs upon the twigs. These eggs (shown at a and b) hatch into the greedy larvæ that do so much damage to our orchards.

Source: Agriculture for Beginners

The cankerworm is the larva of a moth

The cankerworm is the larva of a moth

The Cankerworm. The cankerworm is the larva of a moth. Because of its peculiar mode of crawling, by looping its body, it is often called the looping worm or measuring worm (Fig. 157, c). These worms are such greedy eaters that in a short time they can so cut the leaves of an orchard as to give it a scorched appearance. Such an attack practically destroys the crop and does lasting injury to the tree. The worms are green or brown and are striped lengthwise. If the tree is jarred, the worm has a peculiar habit of dropping toward the ground on a silken thread of its own making (Fig. 156).

Fig. 157. The Spring Cankerworm
a, egg mass; b, egg, magnified;
c, larva; d, female moth; e, male moth

Fig. 158. Eggs of the
Fall Cankerworm

Source: Agriculture for Beginners

The Clinton grape is most liable to injury from this pest

The Clinton grape is most liable to injury from this pest

Treatment. The Clinton grape is most liable to injury from this pest. Hence it is better to grow other more resistant kinds. Sometimes the lice attack the roots of the grape vines. In many sections where irrigation is practiced the grape rows are flooded when the lice are thickest. The water drowns the lice and does no harm to the vines.

Source: Agriculture for Beginners

Fowls in the orchard do good by capturing

Fowls in the orchard do good by capturing

Fowls in the orchard do good by capturing the larvæ before they can burrow, while hogs will destroy the fallen fruit before the larvæ can escape.

The Grape Phylloxera. The grape phylloxera is a serious pest. You have no doubt seen its galls upon the grape leaf. These galls are caused by a small louse, the phylloxera. Each gall contains a female, which soon fills the gall with eggs. These hatch into more females, which emerge and form new galls, and so the phylloxera spreads (see Fig. 155).

Source: Agriculture for Beginners

Burn orchard trash which may serve as winter quarters

Burn orchard trash which may serve as winter quarters

Treatment. Burn orchard trash which may serve as winter quarters. Spraying with arsenate of lead, using two pounds of the mixture to fifty gallons of water, is the only successful treatment for the curculio. For plums and peaches, spray first when the fruit is free from the calyx caps, or dried flower-buds. Repeat the spraying two weeks later. For late peaches spray a third time two weeks after the second spraying. This poisonous spray will kill the beetles while they are feeding or cutting holes in which to lay their eggs.

Fig. 156. The Cankerworm

Source: Agriculture for Beginners

Sometimes called the plum weevil

Sometimes called the plum weevil

The Plum Curculio. The plum curculio, sometimes called the plum weevil, is a little creature about one fifth of an inch long. In spite of its small size the curculio does, if neglected, great damage to our fruit crop. It injures peaches, plums, and cherries by stinging the fruit as soon as it is formed. The word "stinging" when applied to insects—- and this case is no exception—means piercing the object with the egg-layer (ovipositor) and depositing the egg. Some insects occasionally use the ovipositor merely for defense. The curculio has an especially interesting method of laying her egg. First she digs a hole, in which she places the egg and pushes it well down. Then with her snout she makes a crescent-shaped cut in the skin of the plum, around the egg. This mark is shown in Fig. 154. As this peculiar cut is followed by a flow of gum, you will always be able to recognize the work of the curculio. Having finished with one plum, this industrious worker makes her way to other plums until her eggs are all laid. The maggotlike larva soon hatches, burrows through the fruit, and causes it to drop before ripening. The larva then enters the ground to a depth of several inches. There it becomes a pupa, and later, as a mature beetle, emerges and winters in cracks and crevices.

Source: Agriculture for Beginners

Thus one spraying serves against both fungi and insects

Thus one spraying serves against both fungi and insects

It is best to use lime-sulphur mixture or the Bordeaux mixture with arsenate of lead for a spray. Thus one spraying serves against both fungi and insects.

Fig. 154. Plum Curculio
Larva, pupa, adult, and mark on the fruit.
(Enlarged)

Fig. 155. Leaf Galls of
Phylloxera On Clinton
Grape Leaf

Source: Agriculture for Beginners

Destroy orchard trash which may serve as a winter home

Destroy orchard trash which may serve as a winter home

Treatment. Destroy orchard trash which may serve as a winter home. Scrape all loose bark from the tree. Spray the tree with arsenate of lead as soon as the flowers fall. A former method of fighting this pest was as follows: bands of burlap four inches wide tied around the tree furnished a hiding-place for larvæ that came from windfalls or crawled from wormy apples on the tree. The larvæ caught under the bands were killed every five or six days. We know now, however, that a thorough spraying just after the blossoms fall kills the worms and renders the bands unnecessary. Furthermore, spraying prevents wormy apples, while banding does not. Follow the first spraying by a second two weeks later.

Source: Agriculture for Beginners

There are several ways of making the lime-sulphur mixture

There are several ways of making the lime-sulphur mixture

There are several ways of making the lime-sulphur mixture. It is generally best to buy a prepared mixture from some trustworthy dealer. If you find the scale on your trees, write to your state experiment station for directions for combating it.

The Codling Moth. The codling moth attacks the apple and often causes a loss of from twenty-five to seventy-five per cent of the crop. In the state of New York this insect is causing an annual loss of about three million dollars. The effect it has on the fruit is most clearly seen in Fig. 152. The moth lays its egg upon the young leaves just after the falling of the blossom. She flies on from apple to apple, depositing an egg each time until from fifty to seventy-five eggs are deposited. The larva, or "worm," soon hatches and eats its way into the apple. Many affected apples ripen too soon and drop as "windfalls." Others remain on the tree and become the common wormy apples so familiar to growers. The larva that emerges from the windfalls moves generally to a tree, crawls up the trunk, and spins its cocoon under a ridge in the bark. From the cocoon the moth comes ready to start a new generation. The last generation of the larvæ spends the winter in the cocoon.

Fig. 153. Spraying the Orchard brings Luscious Fruit
The picture in the corner at the top shows the right time to spray for codling moth

Source: Agriculture for Beginners

Orchard Insects

The San Jose Scale. The San Jose scale is one of the most dreaded enemies of fruit trees. It is in fact an outlaw in many states. It is an unlawful act to sell fruit trees affected by it. Fig. 150 shows a view of a branch nearly covered with this pest. Although this scale is a very minute animal, yet so rapidly does it multiply that it is very dangerous to the tree. Never allow new trees to be brought into your orchard until you feel certain that they are free from the San Jose scale. If, however, it should in any way gain access to your orchard, you can prevent its spreading by thorough spraying with what is known as the lime-sulphur mixture. This mixture has long been used on the Pacific coast as a remedy for various scale insects. When it was first tried in other parts of the United States the results were not satisfactory and its use was abandoned. However, later experiments with it have proved that the mixture is thoroughly effective in killing this scale and that it is perfectly harmless to the trees. Until the lime-sulphur mixture proved to be successful the San Jose scale was a most dreaded nursery and orchard foe. It was even thought necessary to destroy infected trees. The lime-sulphur mixture and some other sulphur washes not only kill the San Jose scale but are also useful in reducing fungous injury.

Fig. 150. San Jose Scale

Fig. 151. Single San Jose Scale Magnified

Fig. 152. The Codling Moth

a, burrow of worm in apple; b, place where worm enters;
c, place where worm leaves; e, the larva;
d, the pupa; i, the cocoon; f and g, moths;
h, magnified head of larva

Source: Agriculture for Beginners