Milford chronicle., 1918-04-19
THE STRAWBERRY WEEVIE


The strawberry weevil has. In the past
two years. done more damage thau usual
. Sussex County. Il has been reported
from nearly al parts Of the County where
berries are grown. and has been seen
by growers who hitherto have attributed
the damage done by It TO other causes
Early berries. especially slender-stem
varieties like Klodnike and Missionary.
have suffered most. but late varieties
have not entirely escaped.
Life History.
The buds are cut by the weevil 10 pre-
vent them from opening. The egg. which
IS laid inside the bud before the stem
Is cut. matches 1t from four to seven days
and the tiny grub or larva feeds on the
pollen dust and other parts Of the flower,
which would have been lost IL the flower
had opened
The new brood. which natures In 80
days or more after egg-laying. often ap-
pears In considerable numbers, but these
beetles rarely do any damage. They are
believed TO enter winter quarters very
early, and are seldom seen again until
the following spring, when berries are |
once more in bud.
Control Measures.
Many measures have been proposed and /
tried for the control OF the weevl Sprays /
Of various kinds have been tried with lit
tie success. Lights in the berry field at
night have not materially reduced the
ranks OF the pest. Berry growers who
have been able TO place hocks Of young
chickens in the field have secured partial
protection. but in large fields this Is i'm
practicable, while in small fields distant
from buildings the danger from hawks
is considerable.
Clean fields are less injured than grassy
and weedy ones. OvergroWn ditch banks
and hedge rows seem 10 offer shelter TO
the insect. Parts OF fields near woods are
usually more severely attacked than the
rest. Old paintings. probably because Of
weeds and litter. are apt to be worse cut
than young ones. Therefore short rota- Z
tlons in which berries are frulted not
more than twice, or possibly. with some
vereties, once, are to be recommended
Varieties with imperfect flowers are
rarely cut There are few really good
berries in this class, however, and when /
-hese are planted perfect-fi -fiOwered var Z
eties, more or less susceptible 10 attack, a
must be planted with them TO insure poll
enatlon. The development OF better sorts
With imperfect blossoms should be under
AIKEN. Some varieties with thick stems
Ike Bayslde. are less cut than those with
lender stems Early varieties may suf- h
er more or less than late ones in accord !,
nee with the effect OF the weather on ).
he time Of appearance and activity Of /,
he Weevil. The weather has another !,
fleet on the amount OF cutting by ac- n
elerating or retarding the opening OF A
he blossoms. :,
Berry varieties producing large clusters
buds. like Superior. are benefited by :.
lOderate cutting. the size and quality n
elng somewhat improved. There is no !.
however. that, once started
lttfng viii stop at just the right time ~
provide the best quality without sac 20
hclng yield or earllness.
A method OF treatment that has given q
Omislng results in New Jersey as well -
Sussex County this year, consists in -
'Dlying a dust mixture TO the plants ''''
fore much injury has been done. and -
en- keeping them we'll busted until most
the buds have opened. This mixture
made up Of equal parts Of powdered
senate of lead and sulfur The fol-
wing table gives the results in New
rsey, in percentage Of buds cut:
1916 1916
sted Untreated busted Untreated
54 8 43
The effectiveness of the dust treatment
oends largely upon timllness and thor
ghness. To pay for itsel fthe dust
'uld cover all parts Of the plant, es-
Tally the buds and bud stems. before
weeAl appears in large numbers. In
ldy weather this is difficult One
wner in New Jersey says he can dust
acre an hour with cheap homemade
ter The habit Of growth Of each
Iety will also Influence the result OF
ltment, as may be judged by the po-
on Of the bud stems in the varieties
slonary and Bayside.