Durango semi-weekly herald., 1907-03-28
found tender food upon which to feed


at once. q
"In the latter part OF April winged
insects appeared and a general spread
Ing OF the pest from tree to tree and
orchard to orchard took place. Multi
plicatiou was enormously rapid. The
injury continued to increase in sever
ity through the summer. Lace wings
| and syrphus fly larvae, as well as
the adults and larvae OF lady beetles,
served to do much good later in the
| season. but did not succeed in reduc-
ing the aphids enough to prevent great
| injury. Eggs of the green aphis were
| first found in the fall at Grand juno
tion on October 16. When first laid,
the eggs are green, but finally turn
to glistening black.
"Injury-They have been a great
| hindrance to the growth of young ap-
pie trees set the past spring or the
preceding year, and older trees have
not been exempt from their attacks.
| Missouri Pippin apples OF all ages
have suffered heavily, the aphis ap-
parently preferring this variety to any
| other common in the Valley of the
Grand. Badly infected trees through
the summer present most disgust
ing appearance, the aphids becoming
so numerous that the whole tree as
sumes sticky coating of the secre-
tion from the bodies of the insect.
| This honey dew secretion attracts
swarms OF flies and ants, ard the trees
often emit a very disagreeable odor.
"The effect upon the tree, IL young,
is severe retarding of its growth.
A form of injury noted this season,
thought TO be due to this insect, was
an odd and greatly deformed growth
of the fruit itself. Nero and Wine
Sap apples were found affected in
this way. The young apples, when
only from one-fourth to one-half inch
in diameter, had been SO thickly COW
cred with aphids that their growth
had been suddenly checked. Later on,
their growth had been resumed prin-
cipally from the outer end of the ap-
pie, producing what might be called a
double apple" with a construction at
the middle point. other applies were
caused to grow in greatly gnarled or
| hii'tstd ioi All Wtlc Bltdlly
dwarfed in size, seventeen Winesap
apples at harvest time being contain
ed, in one instance, within a common
match box.
"Treatment-Trees heavily infest-
ed had their leaves tightly curled,
due to the presence of myriads of
the aphids upon their under surfaces.
With the aphids thus concealed with
in the curled leaves, II was found al
most impossible to cover their bodies
with any contact spray applied. and
| the practice of summer spraying e
against them was anything but a sue
cess. Individual trees were, in cases
| cleared, but other trees near by and
left untreated usually soon reinfected
them.
Spring and early winter treatments
were also carried out in experiments
against this insect
"The spring spraying was directed
against the eggs Of the pest and gave
the best promise of its successful con
troll. In an experiment with a mum
ber of contact sprays applied April
.. just aver the eggs had begun to
hatch, it was found that the lime and
sulphur wash proved the most sue.
cessful. In this instance, fifteen
pounds of lime and fifteen pounds OF
sulphur per fifty gallons of water were
used, and practically all of the eggs
and Matched aphids were destroyed
''In December, kerosene emulsion
and soluble petroleum sprays were
given egg-covered trees, and the pei
cent of eggs destroyed at time OF
Matching this spring will be deter
mined. Further experiments for the
control of this pest are planned, in
cluding large series on contact in
secticides to be used this spring"