Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-05-02
ORCHARDS AND VINES.
CAUSE OF APRICOT AND OTHER
TREES DYING.
The Branch and Twig Burrower-
Various Correspondents Answered
Attention to the Red Scale.

Attention the tSeu scale.
Written for the RECORD, UNION by Matthew
Cooke.
CAUSE OF FRUIT DYING.
George S. Edwards, Of Santa Barbara,
writes as follows:
Matthew Cooke-DEAE SIR: Having noticed
your article in the RECoPp-U:IoN on the disease
servations on the subject and hear from you if
not too much trouble l have an orchard of
some ] 20 trees, about one-half on upland, the
rest on bottom land, formerly covered with live
oak timber. The land is adjoining. Those on
up land grow more slowly than those on the
flat, but have never lost any by death Those
on the bottom die at the rate of from Is to 20 per
cent. yearly. and IN so doing act very much rs
you described. The first lot | planted were
budded on peach, but the dead ones replaced
with trees budded on apricot roots, with the
same result. So far as | can discover they die
the worst whore the timber was the thickest.
| have noticed other orchards and on land that
has not been covered with timber. the trees do
vel, especially il nottoo sandy. l have prunes,
nectarines, peaches, pears and walnuts in the
same orchard, and they all act the same except
the pears. l have not lost any pears and the
other trees do not die so rapidly as the apricots.
1t is needless to say that have stopped planting
apricots. If not too much trouble / should like
TO hear from you. Yours, respectfully,
GEo. S. EDWARDS.
REPLY: I intend to begin about May
10th further investigations of the cause of
the apricot and other varieties of fruit
trees especially the stoned fruits dying,
as found in many orchards this spring, and
will be pleased TO receive communications
from all sections of the State where trees
have died. noticed in your section of the
State last July some prune trees that were
diving; also some walnut trees, that por-
ton of the branches were diving. On ex-
animation | found the prune trees, which
were about five years planted, had been
grated upon apricot roots the trunk of
the prune above the graft Joint was from
five 10 six inches in diameter. The apricot
root was carrot-shaped, and below the
graft joint was about three inches in dia-
meter. The tree had bloomed and set
very large crop Of fruit in the spring In
the latter part of June the foliage began to
wither, and the fruit to turn yellowish
color. By digging the apricot root was
found to be rotten the prune wood seemed
perfectly sound. The foliage of a portion
of the branches of some large walnut trees.
which were heavily loaded with fruit, was
withered and the branches apparently dy-
ing. Upon digging around the tree it was
found that portion of the bark below the
surface OF the ground had been destroyed,
and III consequence the roots below and the
branches above this wound were diseased.
In the spring of 1888 fruit-gro at
Oroville, Butte county, planted 100 apricot
trees. They made fine growth until
August or September 1884, when they APP
pearcd sickly, and in q short time nearly
all had died. On examination of one of
the trees forwarded me l found wound
in the wood about eight inches above the
ground, similar to that made by the female
cicddG, in which she deposits her eggs On
the return of the elaborated sap in 1884 it
escaped at this wound and eventually
girdled the tree by destroying the cam
blum layer, thus preventing the sap from
reaching the roots, and causing the death
of the tree.
AT present, in a small orchard in this
vicinity, containing 400 trees, which made
a good growth last year-including april
cots, peaches and plums-nearly the entire
number are dead. In some localities which
| have visited lately there are no signs of
disease amongt the fruit trees.
From what / have learned from the lin
tied investigations made, predict that
remedy will be found in the selection of
proper grating stock, the methods of graft
edge of the chemistry of the soil Oh which
orchards containing hundreds of acres,
planted on lands on which there was very
large oak trees yet the trees are healthy
and include apple, pear, prune plum, april
cot, peach, nectarine, cherry and almond.
In other sections orchards planted on hog
wallow lands, where there was no timber,
the apricot trees are failure, large per-
centa5e of them dying this season.
BRANCH AND TwIG BORROWER.
EDS. REcoRD-UNfoS: send you small box
with some bugs in. Please inform me what
they are, and if there is any remedy for them.
Respectfully, K. II. CRANE
Petaluma, April q, 1852
REPLY The beetles you send are known
to scientists as the Pol4caon Conf0rt,ls, but
are commonly known as the branch and
twig turnover. They attack the pear,
cherry, apricot. peach and olive. When
the buIrow is made the branch breaks off
by the winds, or if not broken off, the bur
row fills with water from the rains and de- |
stroys the branch. The only remedy known !
at present, is to use strong solution of
soap and sulphur-one pound of
the mixture to each gallon OF water used !
by spayging the tree before the attack will |
prevent the beetle from commencing its |
work. When found at work hand picking |
and pruning out and burning the in |
tested wood should be resorted to. AT pres |
ent there is but little known of the natural |
history of this pest. 1t is supposed that |
the female deposits her egg in the bark of |
forest trees, where the insect passes the |
Iarva and pupa stages of its existence |
Only the perfect insect, such as you send, |
have been found upon fruit trees.
BRIEF ANSWERS AND NOTES.
J. II. b. Ukiah: The specimen you send |
IS rare species, and being an addition to |
the catalogue of pests of the orchard, | !
have sent it East for Identification as to |
species and will notify you of reply when
received. Try and learn its natural history
if possible.
r. c. CoLToN, San Bcrnardino county |
Will you be so kind as to send me a little
IF the herb you speak Of You may have
found not only an effective remedy but a
cheap one for the Aphid@.
ALEx. LONG, Vacayille Letter at hand
Specimens not yet received. VIII forward
'eply upon their receipt.
SAN JOSH ScALE Observation-Disclosures
received this week show the lary;e are
Matching. Now is the time to use whale
)iI soap and sulphur mixture. Take one
pound TO each gallon of water used. By
keeping a close watch and repeating the
spraying, this scale can be effectively over
;ome IN the summer season.
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