Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1919-10-31
(Prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture.)

ment or Agr1culture.J
The European corn borer threatens
the future of Americas greatest crop
This pest plies his trade with the In,
dustry Of a beaver to the extent that
he is the most dangerous plant pest
that has yet immigrated from foreign
fields to the corn lands of Uncle Sam
The larvae, or borers, hungry as half
starved rats, tunnel through all parts
Of the corn plant excepting the roots,
and destroy or severely injure the ears
and stalks. That their diet may have
variety they also attack celery, Swiss
chard, beans, .beets, spinach, oats, po-
tatoes, tomatoes, turnips, as well as
dahlias, chrysanthemums, gladiolas,
-geraniums, timothy, other grasses and
weeds. Two generations occur each
year, so that multiplication and spread
are rapid, especially as few are de-
stroyed by natural enemies.
Specialists of the United States de-
partment of agriculture, in Farmers
Bulletin 1046, describe the danger to
American corn by the presence of the
European corn borer in eastern Massa-
chusetts. They .surmise that the pest
was introduced in raw hemp imported
from Europe fGr use in Massachusetts
cordage factories, or possibly in bales
of broom corn imported by factories
in central New York. There are 35
towns III Massachusetts, including an
area. of about 320 square miles, infest=
ed with the insect, which has been con-
fined to- the limits of its original infee-
tion except for an outbreak discovered
in January in the vicinity of Schenec-
tady, N. Y, covering an area OF ap-
proXimately 400 square miles.
How the Borer Works.
The larvae, or borers, tunnel through
all parts Of the corn plant except the
fibrous roots. They cause the most
seriqus damage by their work in the
stalks and ears, which they partially
OF totally destroy. Generally they en-
ter the stalk at its upper end and near
the base of the tassel, and at first tun-
mel upward. This damage so weakens
the taSsel stalk that it breaks over be-
fore the tasSel natures, resulting in
loss Of pollen and the lack Of normal
grain formation on the ears. These
broken tnssels, with eXtrusions of saw
dust-llke material at the breaks, are
the most conspicuous signs of infeSta-
tion in the field. Field counts in badly
infested areas have shown as many as
so per cent Of the tassels broken over
In this manner After destroying the,
tasSel the borerS tunnel downward
through the stalk, gradually increasing
the size of their tunnels as they de-
reop. Instead Of entering the stalk
near the tassel many of the borers en-
ter between the leaf sheath and stalk
at point lower down, and tunnel up
ward or downward according to their
individual preferences. When several
or many borers are working within the
same stalk it soon is reduced to mere
shell. This injury cuts off the supply
of nutriment from the developing ear
and greatly weakens the stalk, which
eventually breaks. over. Some of the
partly grown borers leave the stalk
and enter the ears through the husks,
and also through the stem and cob.
Here they feed upon the immature
grain and tunnel through all parts OF
the cob:
Eggs Laid in Summer.
In July and August many Of the
moths deposit their eggs directly upon
the newly developed ears of late corn.
The resulting crop of borers feed at
first upon the silk and then enter the
ears directly, where they feed vora-
ciously upon the grain and cob. AS.
many as Is full-grown borers, each
about an inch long, have been found
feeding upon and within single ear
of corn. This extensive injury to the
ear results in its complete destruction.
Some idea of this damage may be
gained from the fact that Is plants,
comprising II hills, were selected at
random from a badly infested Massa-
chusetts corn field, and all the bOrers
found therein were carefully removed
and counted. Forty-six borers, on an
average, were found in each plant,
while one of the plants contained lit
borers. One hill consisting Of four
plants contained 81 borers. At the
average rate of 46 borerS a plant, an
acre Of corn could contain over mill
lion of these pests. The borers enter
and damage other crops mentioned
previously in the same way as de-
scribed for corn, but usually to less
serious degree In addition to the ac-
tual loss caused by the work of the
borers, there is also the possibility that
some Of these products, when shipped
to market, may contain the insect and /
thus serve as carriers of the. pest to
rev lcc".itics.
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