The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1902-07-19
Directions for the Treatment Of Trees
and Plants That Have Been In
jured by ihe Periodical Cicada.


The considerable injury that is coming
to the office of the State Entomologist in
regard to the injury occasioned by the
seventeen year locust, Cscoda sepiea-
decin) in the course Of its egg laying, in
dicates more or less general demand for
information on the proper treatment Of the
injured plants.
As is quite generally known, the in
jury occasioned by the female cicada con-
sists in the Sitting of the twigs and branches
for the purpose of laving eggs. On large
trees, the result, while quite marked is in
effect more or less severe pruning of the
terminals, and but little serious injury is
likely to result.
On trees planted last fall and spring, or
trees that are in their second or third year,
the injury may be much more severe.
Here the branches designed as frame
work for the future tree are yet compara-
lively small, and the cuts made by the
ovipositor of the female may SO weaken
them that if they do not break off during
the course Of the summer the wound will
prove serious source of weakness in the
future tree and afford an entrance for
vaious wood boring larvae and germs OF
decay.
The cicada has been quite abundant in
the following counties of Maryland the
present year: Allegany, Baltimore, Car
roll, Cecil, Frederick, Hartford, Howard,
Montgomery, Washington and the upper
northern portions of Prince Georges and
Anne Arundel. Throughout this terri
tory, numerous cases of severe injury to
peach and apple orchards have been re-
ported, and the damage has been worst in
orchards more or less surrounded by or adj
jacent to woods.
The work of correcting the injury oc
casioned by the cicada should be begun at
once, as the insects have now quite dis
appeared. The injured trees should be
carefully pruned, removing as much as pos
sible all injured wood. This is very i'm
portant in young peach and apple trees,
where the branches designed for the frame
work of the tree have been seriously hurt.
1t will also be necessary to provide for a
new frame work, to considerable extent,
as the future branches, thus injured by
the cicada when small, would probably
break down under the weight of the fruit
or from high winds.
No specific directions can be given in
pruning, as each tree presents different
problem. In general, however, on young
trees, where pruning is particularly neces-
sary, the injured twigs and branches up to
the size of ones little finger, should be
cut off, as the slits made by the insects
are sufficiently deep to have penetrated
nearly to the centre of twigs of this size
Such injury would hardly heal over in
such way as to may anything like sat-
| isfactory branch. This is particularly true
of the peach, the wood Of which is COM
paratively brittle.
To sum up, in pruning the young trees,
| the effort should be made to remove the
injured wood and at the same time to pro-
vide as much as possible for future
symmetrical tree. In case of trees recently
planted, as the past fall or spring, it will
frequently be found advantageous to cut
these down below the injury on the stem,
and allow new shoot to start out. Trees
pruned at this time will shortly push out
new branches, and by another year will
probably not be much the worse on account
of the visitation of the locusts.
A. L. QUAINTANcE,
State Entomolgist.