Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1915-10-28
FALL CARE OF ORCHARDS.
Spraying and Other Operations Efec-
tive in Bringing Many Insects and.
Scales Under Control.

Valuable work in the control of or
chard insect pests may be accomplish
ed during the fall, winter. and early
spring. Certain destructive insects
are held in check only by spraying
during the dormant period of trees
stronger washes may be used than
when the trees are in foliage. Many
insects of the orchard spend the win
ter, on the trees In the egg, larvaL, or
pupal stage, and their destruction in
the course of pruning or other orchard
work is practicable and is of much inn
portance in keeping them reduced.
SIraE Dormant Trees for Scale Insects
and Plant Lice.
rchar scale insects as a class are
best treated after the foliage has drop
ped from the trees. This work may
he done in late fall, curing I1u winter
when the temperature is above free2-
ing or in spring before the buds swell
to any extent. Spraying of apple,
peach, pear and other trees for the
san Jose scale with strong lime-sui-
phur or other suitable wash is now
very generally ~practiced by orchard
ISIS, n many persons owning but a
small number of fruit trees in the yard
also regularly spray the trees for the
control of this serious insect pest.
l.1me-sulphur concentrate is used i'll
spraying for the San Jose scale, and
may be purchased of manufacturers OF
made at home. The commercial ar
tlcle usually has a density of 80 deg.
to "a deg. as registered on a-Baume
hyGrometer. and in preparing the con-
Centrate at home effort should be made
to secure a wash of about this density.
Such a concentrate is used at the rats
of 1 part to 8 or 9 parts of water. Only
one treatment each winter is .neces-
sary to hold this pest in subsection,
hut the application must be very thor
ough, coating parts of the twiga, limbs,
and branches. This work requires a
spray pump, and these may now be
obtained for work on almost any scale,
and range in size from the so-called
bucket pump suitable for work on a
few trees in the yard to the large gas
o~line-power outfits employed in extern
sive orchards. More specific informa-
ton on the San Jose scale and the pre-
raration at home of lime-sulphur con-
centrate will be found in Farmers
Bulletin $50.
Certain other scale-insect pests
which may be present on the trees, as
the cherry scale, oyster scale, etc., are
also pretty well held in check by this
annual treatment with lime-sulphur
wash. The treatment is also effective
against the pear-leaf blister mite,
which is universally present on pears
and in some localities is a very seri-
Gus apple pest. Certain destructive
Plant lice winter in the egg stage on.
the apple, especially on the newer,
growth, and thorough lime-suiphur
spraying for the San Jose scale un-l
doubtedlY results in the destruction of
many of these eggs, though the treat
ment is not always sufficient to obvi-
ate spraying after the insects have
Matched and the foliage is putting out.
In the Middle and Southern States,
where the winters are too rigorous,
the woody apple aphis often maintains
itself in colonies here and there on
apple trees, occurring more especially
around wounds where the thinner bark
is exposed. The spraying for the San
Jose scale aid in destroying these col
onies. Spring spraying of peach as
the buds are swelling, in addition to
its destructive action on the scale in
sects mentioned, is also a very effec-
tive check to the so-called peach twig-
borer, or peach worm, which is very
destructive in California and numerous
arid valleys in the West. This spring
application of l~ime-sulphur is practi-
cally a specific for the serious fungous
disease known as peach-leaf curl. In
ome sections of the country the pear
Psylla is a very serious pest TO pears.
The adults hibernate in ~crevices and
oro IL - AA@ Arnn1 M to- - 0RfvyffU
with the first warm days in the spring.
Spring spraying Of pears for the San
Jose scale has in addition a very mark
ed value in checking the pear Psylla.
The ~so-called terrapin scale of peach
as well as Lecanium scales in general,
are not satisfactorily controlled by the
lime-sulphur spray, but should be
treated with strong kerosene emulsion.\
CT with a miscible (mixable) oil. This
is a general term applied to sew
eral commercial preparations which
are used at the rate of 1 part to 18 or
parts of water.
Destroy Wintering Stages of Cooling
Moth and Leaf Feeding CaterpillarS.
In addition to routine dormant-tree
spraying much good work may be done
in the control of the orchard period.
The cooling moth, the cause of wormy
apples passes the winter in silken CO.
coons under scales of bark, in c~revices
and in knot holes On the trunks and
larger limbs of t~hezapple. Old trees
especially should be thoroughly scrap
ed with a dull hoe or similar instru-
ment to destroy, the alternating cod
ling-moth larvae.
The apple-tree tent caterpillar WIN
ters in the egg stage on various Or
chard trees, as the apple and peach,
and e~snecialIY on wild cherries grow