Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1898-08-18
ENEMIES OF The TOMATO.
Insect Pests, Fungous Diseases and Timely
Preventive Measures.


Preventive Measures.
An insect pest of the tomato, which |
frequently does great damage to the
early market crop is the tomato worm.
It is also known as the "corn worm in |
the north and the "boll worn" in the !
south. This worm bores into the ripen-
ing tomato and is thus difficult to deal |
with directly. The caterpillar that ma
lures in corn in September or early o.
tober goes under ground and changes to
pupa, passing the winter in this con-
dition. If the ground remains undis-
turbed, the moth appears in early
spring and lays it's eggs upon such
plants as it can find. and early tomato
plants are among its favorites. The cat
erpillars bore at first into the stems, but
always attack the fruit as soon as 1T is
set and continue their ravages as long
as fruit remains Because they cannot
be treated except by picking and de
stroying fruit, the only practical meth
cd suggested is to fall plow all corn
fields upon which tomatoes are to fol-
low. The fall blowing breaks up the
earthen cells in which the pupB rest
and results in almost every instance in
causing their death, The pest is not SO
serious where corn has not been previ-
ously grown, in which case the necessi-
ty for fall blowing is not SO great; still
inasmuch as the practice is a good one
in any case it is to be recommended
where trouble from this pest occurs.
Another pest, quite serious in some
sections, is the Colorado potato beetle,
which attacks the young plants as soon
as they are set and often does consider
able damage Here of course before fruit
has set, the usual remedy may be APP
plied-namely, spraying with arsenites
at the rate of one pound in rs to 100
gallons of water, in the same manner as
for the destruction of the beetles when
troublesome on potatoes. A large green
insect, called the tsphinx caterpillar,
often does considerable injury. This in
sect is an external feeder, and the sim
plest remedy is to hand pick
In the northern United States the
most destructive disease of the tomato
is the leaf spot. 1t is easily recognized
by the affected foliage becoming cover
ed with minute brown specks and final
ly drying up and falling away, leaving
the bare stems, which are also more or
less spotted by the fungus. Experiments
have shown that where this disease is
prevalent tomatoes should not be grown
continuously upon the same soil and all
stems of plants should be burned at the
close of the season.
A second troublesome disease of the
tomato is due to bacterium and is rec
ognized by sudden whiting of the foil
age, followed by a yellow color that
finally becomes brown. This disease of
the tomato was first complained of in
the south, but it is now found as far
north as Washington and may be ex-
pected as a troublesome pest by the
truckers around Philadelphia and New
York Other plants belonging to the
same family with the tomato are affect
ed with the same disease. E. f. Smith
of the department of agriculture, who
has made special study of this trou-
ble finds that it is transmitted from one
plant to another by insects, the Colo
RADIO beetle and the flea beetle being
the most active in this distribu-
ton. One of the chief preventive
measures is to protect the tomato
plants from the attacks of insects by
the use of insecticides In addition
to this any plant that shows the char
acteristic wilt should be removed and
burned, thus destroying the centers of
infection 1t is we'll to practice rota-
ton and not grow tomatoes upon or
close to land where the crop suffered the
previous year.
The fruit rot, sometimes called black !
mold, is fungous disease which usually
begins at the blossom end of the fruit.
Those varieties which have an imper-
feet blossom end are most susceptible to
it, and care should be taken to grow the
smooth fruited sorts.
The foregoing is CLEANED from val
liable bulletin on tomato growing by E.
B. Voorhees, of the New Jersey station |
In conclusion, the author states that |
fungous diseases of the tomato are found |
in all stages of the growth of the crop.
Some begin in the propagating bed and |
flourish in the field upon leaf and stem.
Others are confined to the fruit and de-
stroy the tomatoes after they are picked,
while some are usually present in the
greenhouse. They all produce spores or
minute germs that are invisible and
countless, and therefore all old vines
should be destroyed and wide rotation
practiced by the trucker.
Many growers have found it protita-
BILE, after all other precautions are
taken, to add spraying to the list of re-
quirements in growing tomatoes. For
this there is nothing superior to the
bordeaux mixture in any of its usual |
strengths.