Show EUROPEAN CORN BORER MOST DANGEROUS PLANT PEST IN EASTERN massachusetts L za r borers borer do most damage by their work in stalks and eara cars prepared by tho the united states department ot of agriculture the corn horer threaten 9 tile tho future of america g grea crop tills this p pest c st alivs liln film trado with etli ill the lit in austry 0 of f 11 beaver to tile extent that hint lie ho Is tile most plant pest that lint tills iwa yet from foreign fields to the corn coin lands of uncle sam tile tho larvae or borers ns as half starved rato tunnel till ough i ull I 1 it liatti of tile corn plant exe epting tile roots nud and destroy or severely injure tho vars nit and stalks that their illet may have they also attack tik i celery swiss chard beang beets oats po lie turnips na its well vl na as tinothy other and weeds two TM occur vach year tio fio that and spread are rapid especially na its few are destroyed fi strayed liy by natural of tho lio department it part ment or of agriculture i lit in farmers 1 bulletin 1010 1016 describe UK tile danger to american corn ly fly file prex presence pi iwine ence of tho ho european orn corn borer lit in massa chu they sur nilse that the post pest wits introduced lit in raw lionia hill hilltop tod from tm for uw uso in ili massachusetts cordage cordi iKo fac finlof lorlei or possibly lit in balon ball of broom corn imported by factories in fit central new york there tire nio 35 3 towns toni in fit massachusetts including nil fill area of about aquaro miles s infested with tile tho lir iiii act which tins has bun ion con fined to the limits of oc its original olifee tion ion except for nit nil outbreak discovered ili n january in the lie vicinity of salience lady ady N Y covering till 11 area of approximately square miles how the borer works the larvae lanae or borers boi iia tunnel through nil all parts of at tho the corn blunt except tho the fibrous roots they calls the most hy by their work orle in the ho stalks and ears carb which hah they partially or totally destroy generally lene rally they en cit the stalk etelk nt endrA iiI near the base of the tassel tind at jira tint cuir net upward up urd thlu tint so tit the faggot stalk that it breaks over ile bo foro bore tho the tassel resulting in n loss boss of pollen aud and tile lack of 0 normal grain formation on tho the ears curs T hese broken tassels cassels tas sels with alth of saw 1 dust alloo material nt at the br ealis tire tho the most moat conspicuous ss bignis ut of infests infesta lion in the field field counts lit in badly infested areas have shown ns as binany as 00 per cent 0 ot tile tho cassels tassels boolen over oer in tills nor atter after destroying the tamel tho the borers tun tunnel tile stalk gradually increasing tho the size of their tunnels tui inela us its they de elop instead of en entering encoring the stalk near the hissel many of oc tho the borem boicos en tyr between tile the leat sheath anil and lit at it point lower down imp and tunnel upward or downward according to their individual preferences when beveral or many borers aro are working duhin the same stalk it soon boon la Is reduced to it meru inere adoll tills injury cuts oft tin the supply front froni the he developing vr tar and greatly weakens tin tile which eventually breaks over the partly grown borers leave tho the stalk etelk and enter tho the ears cars through the husks and also through tile tho stein and cob here they feed upon the finnin ture grain and tunnel through gli ull ul I 1 parts ot of the cob ego eggs laid in summer in july and august many of tile moths deposit their eggs directly upon the newly developed enra cars of into inte corn tho the resulting crop of borers fed tit it first upon tho the silk and then enter tho vitro cats directly where they food feed ma vota clouspy upon the grain nril and cob As many ns its IS 15 full fiill grown borers each about an inch long lone have been found feeding ceding kupcin tend and within a single par car of corn this extensive tensho ex injury to the var results in its complete destruction some borne idea of this damage may bo gained from the fact that 75 planta comprising IT if hills were ft ere selected Belec tod nt at kandoin from a badly infested massachusetts chu corn field and all tile borers foung found therein wen carefully removed ond and counted forty six borers on nn an fi were found lit in ench each plant while ono one of tile tho plants contained borers ono one hill consisting of oc four plants contained borers at the average rate of 46 borers it alwi tin nn acre of earn could contain over a toll frill llou HOU of these posts the borers enter and lain ngo other crops mentioned previously in the same namo way ny as de scribed for corn but usually to ft less lesa verlous degroa degree in witton to tile tho uc mc lost 1084 COU caused by tile the work of the borers thero to Is also the possibility that sowe omo of these theae products when shipped to way war contain tho the insect antl thus serve no as carriera of the pest tu to diw new localities although the fenigle feindle moths ot of the tha corn borer aro capable of 0 night flight and may intend extend gradually the present limit of the pest by sin spread end the chief danger of the lie coun cent arys corn crop lies in fit the alie possibility that such plant material infested liy fly 1110 insects L 13 may inny bo be transported throughout the country find nd start other source souich 4 of tit in order to combat tills hils danger it will he be necessary strictly to enforce till nil federal tind and state prohibiting the tatlyn out of tile alie infested area of nil all plants or plant products likely to be infested ly by tile borers A roost most effective method of destroy ing tile lie Euro corn borer it Is to burn ull 1111 of the previous years corn stalks corn coin stubble crop remnants minnta rei and stalks of garden arden plants weeds and itinger grasses tint way iiii contain the over wintering borers tills avist bo be done during the lutu late fall winter and early curly spring while thil barcio tiro tire hiding lit in such material infested plants may also lie be disputed disposed of when practicable by feeding them to live stock or by burying i ing them lit in it a int inure or compost heap wv it should 10 lo be clearly understood that each ond nry evory plant likely to be infested he destroyed tills includes tile lie and tipper part of the roots loots occasionally plants or parti of plants which may inny hardly worth tile trouble double to clean up tit bro likey ly to harbor enough borers to to give rise by the viii of tin the season to afrin any lit as were tra before the cleanup operations began burning most Effer effective tIve complete burning Is undoubtedly thoi the illo most it effective and ami cheapest method known tor for the destruction of lit infested material especially during tho the late fall winter mid spring ahei the vege Is bend and dry it inny bo be esa conry ory to the with oil or to mo liso other fuel to M complete coin pleto combustion inhere it Is possible and hafe to twe 1110 it running fire in ili destroying infested plants tills this la Is tile quickest in ili some cases in that thai of 0 corn tile tho may bo be con strolled trolled by bv feeding tile grain to live hie stock either cither directly from tilt the field or ifa ns cli prom tile lit stand point this Is 18 the best possible means of deNt destruction ruction in ili sonic infested districts it Is h common for or tho the owners of dalry dairy cows cova to collect fodder from tile sweet corn plantings of tho the market gardens os its well as from froin homo home gardens after tile crop tins lins been harvested where fodder Is fell fed green it should be 10 run through in a shredder or cutting before it Is given tor to tile it alvo vo stock is as tills process greatly reduces tho the clint ices tint that any of the ho borers contained therein will survive sun ho the practice of plowing under infested material la Is not recommended because plowing even when carefully done one will not cover corer the material deeply enough to prevent tile tho borers froin making their way to tile surface surf nic nod a few may remain exposed experiments in applying arsenical I 1 poisons olsons to the ho urraca surf aca of nt lorn corn plants have shown shon hint flint large numbers of the borers inny poisoned be pol in tills this during tile early stages at tills lids period they feed fecil to a slight extent on tile lio surface of tile lift plants especially on the loaf plants it was vas found impossible however to protect the pianta entirely in tills this manner mi inner ns an the number of borers not killed hilled by tile tho potion was MOS but to daninger tho the stalks and ears severely the cost of applying these poisons let Is prohibitive because several applications ure lire necessary oud and tho the method Is not recommended |