The Kendrick gazette. [volume] (Kendrick, Idaho) 1892-1968, 1918-05-24

(Prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture.)
The spraying of trees during winter
and spring, or when they are in a dor
mant condition, is directed largely
against scale insects, especially the
San Jose scale. There are two prin-
cipal advantages in spraying at this
time: (1) The absence of foliage per-
mits Of more thorough applications,
and (2) the sprays may be used much
stronger than during the growing
season. Contact sprays are employed,
as l~ime-sulphur solution, fish-oil and
other soap washes, kerosene and crude
petroleum emulsions, miscible oils, and
the like. The prime essential is thor
o~ughness in making applications, SO as
to ' every part of the tree, because
in general only those insects actually
hit with the spray are killed.
Applications may be made in late
fall as o o as most of the leaves have
fallen, at favorable times during the
winter when the temperature is above
the freezing point, or, preferably, in
the spring shortly before the buds are
due to swell. There is probably less
danger to fruit buds and twigs from the
use of sprays in the spring than at 9th
err times. Better results follow spray.
ing with l~ime-sulphur solution in late
spring than in late fall or during the
winter, since this insures some spray
on the trees during early summer,
which is of value in killing any young
scales, the offspring of adults, which
may have escaped destruction.
Important Orchard Work,
Spraying dormant trees for the San
Jose and other scales and for other in
sect pests has come to be a very inn
r~ortant part of orchard work, especial
ly in the East and on the Pacific slope,
and in general it is possible so to time
this work that a single application will
reach most of the troubles comfortable
by dormant-tree sprays. Other things
being equal, the insecticide having the
greatest range of usefulness should be
employed. Of the several dormant.
tree sprays, the standard l~ime-sulphur
solution is the one most generally used
against the San Jose scale, and it is
equally effective against several other
insects which may coeXist on the trees
1t is an excellent fungicide, and. aside
from the inconvenience experienced in
it's preparation and it's diSagreeable
character, it furnishes an ideal spray
for dormant trees. Abundant expert
ence ha. shown it to be an effective
remedy in the control of the San Jose
scale under all conditions, and for most
other diaspine scales, as the cherry
scale, the European fruit scale, and
reasonably so against the oyster-shell
scale, and the scurfy scale. Lecanium
scales, such as the terrapin scale and
the brown apricot scale, are more eff
fectively controlled by mineral-oil
sprays. The thorough treatment
each year, therefore, with lime
sulphur solution will keep well under
control the more important scale-in
sect pests of the orchard.
There are certain other troubles con
trolled by the d~ormant-tree sprayings
with sulphur solution. 1t has beer
lOuIlu tllttllNt III uNSlloyihS SSSo "
the pear-tree psylla and has long beer
known as effective against the pear
leaf blister mite. The red spider ant
eggs of the clover mite and othel
mites are probably also destroyed. Ii
California, if applied in late spring, thu
%lime-sulphur solution has been fount
effective in destroying the Peach twig
borer. Entomologists are not agreed
as to the benefit from lime-sulphu
spraying in the destruction of eggs o
apple aphids, and other plant lice, Blu
its value in this connection is perhap
not important. In practice, therefore
the plan should be to make n thor
ough application of lime-sulphur solu
ton to orchards each spring as a gen
eral treatment for the control not onl,
of the San Jose scale but of man,
other scale insects and other pests.
Homemade Concentrates.
Several years ago the cooked lime
sulphur wash IA used largely for tn
control of the San Jose scale but ha
now been generally superseded by tn
commercial or homemade concentrate.
. Since inquiry occasionally is receive
as to its preparation, the formula an
method of making are given below:
Stone lime, pounds .................N or 2
Sulphur commercial ground,
pounds or 1
! Watar to make .................. or 5