Lincoln County times. (Jerome, Idaho) 1911-1919, 1912-02-08
The Care Of the Orchard


then spray again two or three times
for the second brood. If the orchard
closes the season with only two or
three per cent wormy or even five per
cent, it will be fairly safe to cut the
early sprayings down to one and then
watch for the movement of the worms
as before to see if later sprays should
be given.
Don't leave this car with the idea
that / have said that one spraying
will control the codling moth. |
know dozens of orchards that have
not been sprayed more than once
year for four or five years, but be-
fore that time every one of those or
chards was sprayed from three to five
times and was banded, in order to
get the worms down to number
where it would be safe to stop with
one spraying. Any method of spray
ing which reduces the number of
worms in the orchard each year be-
low that which occurred there the
previous year is successful. Any
method of spraying which allows the
worms to increase in an orchard or
which only holds them stationary
when they are destroying from 10 to
20 per cent of the apples, is failure
as far as western conditions are con-
cerned, because that 10 to 20 per cent
that is destroyed will be the largest,
finest, and most highly colored fruit
on the tree, while the little, inferior,
uncolored, nubbins that grow down
underneath will be the ones that will
be free from worms.
In a good many sections in this
state considerable trouble was expert
encal this past season with the
worms and many an orchardist that
felt that he had solved the problem
with spraying before this season is
alarmed at the number of worms in
his crop this year, and is looking
around for a reason for the increase.
Most of them, however, are looking
in the wrong direction for the cause.
Some think the pump was no good,
others are sure the poison was no
good, but / have discovered no one
as yet that has even suggested that
the man was deteriorating, and yet
the fact remains, that very large
percentage of our growers have be-
come over-confident in the past two
or three years.
The codling moth runs in cycles of
destructiveness-a do all other in
sects. Some years it will be worse
"a good deal worse-than others.
Eight or nine years ago the average
/, of the orchards of the state was two
, TO three worms to an apple. Two or
? three years ago, as the result of a
, cobination of almost universal spray.
= ling and certain unfavorable climatic
conditions, that number was reduced
to the minimum. At the same time
the number of sprayings was also re.
duced the bands were left off, the
codling moth began to increase in
! numbers, and an exceptionally favor
= able season for their multiplication
t resulted in heavy damage last year
2 And yet, last year there were dozens
2 of orchards in the state of Utah that
! went through the season with a single
e spraying and one would have tc
J., search some time for a wormy apple
{ in the orchards. l think, however
S that this lesson will have a good eff
S feet in the end-better put on an ex
y ira spray and work on the bands
J. when they do not appear to be doins
}, much good than to repeat the expert
$ ence of the past season. There is nj
e profit in wormy apples, and there i:
b no satisfaction in them either.
e Go be Continued