The Springdale news., 1916-02-11
ORCHARD AND GARDEN CROPS.
No. 4. Fighting insects and Diseases.
by J. s. hnox, Extension Horticultur
ist. University Of Arkansas.

fst, University of Arkansas
The man who expects to grow a
first class crop of fruit under pres
ent conditions must be prepared to
fight the various kinds OF insects and
diseases that attack the crop Every
year there are thousands OF orchards
over the country being killed or dam
aged to such an extent that they Will
neyey yield profitable crop to the
owner. just because he has not used
the proper precautions to keep these
diseases and insects under control.
Kinds of Insects All of the Or
ehard insects come under one of two
heads. First there Is type of insect
which takes its food supply from the
plant by means of sharp beak or
proboscis like that of the mosquito.
In order to control insects of this
type It is necessary to spray with
some strong solution which when 1t
comes in contact with the body of the
insect will stop up the breathing pores
and thus cause death Insects belong
Ing 10 this scale are San Jose Scale.
Aphids of various types, Oyster Shell
Scale, Harlequin or cabbage bugs and
some Of the Squash bugs The sec
ond Kind of insects take their food
supply by eating portions of the fruit
or leaves and this type of insect is
killed by spraying with poison such
as lead arsenate or Paris green This
kind of insect is much more apt to be
noticed than the other because the
damage it does Is much easier seen
Than is that of the sucking insect
However. either type of insect can
and often does enough damage TO pre-
vent the growing of first class fruit.
This is especially true In orchards
where no effort Is made to control
them. Among the insects which take
their food by eating the fruit or the
leaves are Cooling moth, canker
worms, webb worms, caterpillar, cur.
eulios and others
Kinds of Diseases: There are hun,
dreds of different diseases that attack
the different kinds of plants, but only
comparatively small number do any
serious damage to the fruit crop and
often two or three OF these can be
controlled by the same kind of spray
material. Among the most serious
diseases attacking the fruit crop are
bloteh, scab, bitter rot, rust, brown
rot of stone fruits, and black rot and
mildew of grapes The most serious
diseases of the tree itself are cankers.
rust, blight, leaf spots, crown gall,
root rot
Spray Materials: There are as
many different kinds OF spray ma
terial on the market as there are dis
eases to control, yet there are com
partively few of these which are used
to any great extent in our orchards.
Lead arsenate either in the form of
paste or powder is the principal poi,
son used. However. Paris Green is
used to considerable extent in some
instances. Bordeaux mixture, which
is a solution made of lime and cop
per sulphate or blue stone, is one OF
the best fungicides, and lime sulphur
a solution of lime and sulphur of diff
ferent proportions is used both as an
oil emulsion is a solution of coal OIL
soap and water Of varying proportions
is also quite commonly used as an
insecticide as well as are various
kinds OF tobacco preparations.
Spraying: For best results spray.
ing must be thoroughly done. The
spray is only preventive al best and
does not replace or cure damage al
ready done 1t protects only the part
of the fruit or tree which Is covered
by the solution. hence the Importance
OF thoroughness II one leaves only
a portion Of a twig Uncovered when
spraying for San Jose Scale. this
small limo will be the means of
spreading the scale over the whole
tree before the year is over and pos
sibly get It started on other trees
Sometimes several sprayings may be
necessary in order to eradicate a dis.
ease or insect and this is not !nsre-
auently the case with the most com
mon OF the orchard pests Some of the
orchardists spray from five to eight
times each year for scab. bitter rot
cooling moth, etc In order to have
the desired effect, the spraying must
be done at the proper time. Often a
days difference in time makes big
difference In the results obtained so
promptness as well as thoroughness
counts in the spraying business The
thing that appeals to every orehardist.
however is that by doing the work
thoroughly and promptly he can grow
crop of fruit that Is a credit to any
section.