Dresden enterprise and Sharon tribune. (Dresden, Tenn.) 1907-1997, 1918-11-08
ESTATES TO WAR ON
ORCHARD INSECTS
Joint Campaign in Mississippi, Tennessee,
Louisiana and Alabama Planned. After
San Jose Scale.

Agricultural College, Miss, Oct.
27.-A joint meeting to be partjci-
pated in by four states, Mississippi
Tennessee, Alabama and Louisiana.
for the purpose of increasing fruit
growing by the elimination Of insect
pests has already been definitely
planned and four-state "spray your
orchard" week will be carried out
by Agricultural College extension
specialists and county agents and al
lied organizations in these states
from Feb. 2 to 8, 1919, according to
an announcement here today by Oil
yer l. Snapp, extension entomologist.
This campaign is sequel to the
Mississippi "Spray Your Orchard"
week put on by the horticultural de-
partment, aided by the other extern
sion workers, and which was the first
attempt yet made to eradicate the
San Jose scale on a statewide ba-
sis. During this week hundreds of
orchards were sprayed and scores of
farmers induced to buy spray out
fits. The records show that more
spray pumps and insecticides were
sold in Mississippi last year than in
the previous years. There is no one
thing retarding the South as a sue
cessful fruit growing section so much
as the San Jose scale, which this big
united drive will attempt to eradi-
cate.
In regard to the destructiveness of
this pest, Mr.. Snapp, who has made
a thorough study of the insect and
it's prevalence in this section, says:
"By far the San Jose scale is the
most serious fruit tree pest in Mis-
sissippi. The mature scale is a very
small, grayish, circular insect, in
Testing all fruit trees that annually
shed their foliage, such as peach,
apple, pear, ounce, plum, etc. Some
attain the size of a pin-head and can
easily be seen with the naked eye
on the trunk, limbs, branches, and
in some cases, also on the leaves and
fruit.
"This insect is provided with a
thread-like beak for piercing the
tree and through which sap is taken |
into the body as food. For a while |
this will only keep down the growth |
of the tree, but as they become more
numerous the branches and finally |
the entire tree will die. These small |
insects, if not controlled, increase
very rapidly, it having been estima-
ted that one female may give rise
to many million insects in one sea-
son under normal conditions. Not |
only does this insect injure your
fruit trees by the extraction of sap,
but also the piercing of the bark by
The slender beak may often cause a
condition and the gum may |
be seen to exude from cracks in the
park.
"This pest has made fruit grow
ng practically Improbable in many
PARTS of Mississippi, because it has
lot been controlled. Probably more
rees are killed each year in the
tate by the pest than all others COM
)ined, nine orchards out of ten be-
ng more or less infested. When
the trees will quickly die,
he peach usually dying in about
hree years; however, the apple and
,ear may live longer.
at is absolutely certain that this
,est can be successfully controlled
With ease. A thorough spraying
With lime-sulphur this winter, when
he leaves are off, will do the work.
The spray must be applied during
he dormant season, because it is
o strong that defoliation of the tree
yill result if it is applied during the