Show EUROPEAN CORN BORER MOST DANGEROUS t PLANT PEST IN EASTERN massachusetts z WK M t 52 aka ali IN borers do most damage by their work in stalks and ears CEre prepared pared by the united states department of 0 agriculture the european corn borer threatens the future of americas greatest crop this pest plies his trade with tile the industry of a beaver to the extent tha that t lie he Is the most dangerous plant pest that has yet immiti immigrated abed from foreign fields to the corn lands land 3 of uncle sam the larvae or borers hungry as half starved rats tunnel through till 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 potatoes tomatoes turnips as well as dahlias kahlias dah lias chrysanthemums gladiolas gladiolus gla diolas geraniums timothy other grasses and weeds two generations occur each eacle year so that multiplication and spread tire are rapid especially as few are destroyed by natural enemies specialists ot of the united states department part ment of agriculture in farmers bulletin 1040 1046 describe the danger to american corn by the presence of the european corn borer in eastern massachusetts chu they surmise that the pest was introduced in raw hemp imported from europe tor for use in massachusetts cordage factories or possibly in bales of broom corn imported by factories in central new york there are 35 towns in massachusetts including an area of about square miles infested with the insect which has bee been n confined to the limits of its original infection except for an outbreak discovered la in january in the vicinity of schenectady N Y covering an area of approximately square miles how the borer works the larvae or borers tunnel through gh all parts of the corn plant except the fibrous roots they cause the most serious damage by their work in the stalks and ears which they partially or totally destroy generally they enter the stalk at its upper end and near the base of the tassel abdat and at first tunnel upward this dama damage geso so weakens the tassel stalk that it breaks over before the tassel matures resul resulting thal in loss of pollen and the lack of normal grain formation on the ears these broken cassels tassels tas sels with extrusions 0 of f saw dust like material at the breaks are the most conspicuous signs sis ns of infestation in tile the field P field beld counts in badly infested areas have shown shon as many as GO 60 per cent ot of the tassels cassels 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 develop instead of entering the stalk near the tassel many of the borers enter between the leaf sheath and stalk at a point lower down and tunnel upward or downward d according to their individual preferences when several 0 or r many borers are working within the same stalk it soon Is reduced to a 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 t the lie newly developed cars of late corn the resulting crop of borers feed at first upon the silk and then enter the ears directly where they feed voraciously upon the grain and cob As many as 15 full grown borers each about an inch long have been found feeding upon and within a single ear of corn this extensive injury to the ear results in its complete destruction some idea of ct this damage may be gained from the tact fact that 75 plants comprising 17 hills were selected at random from a badly infested massachusetts chu 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 borers one hill consisting of J tour four plants contained borers A at t the average rate of 46 borers a plant an acre of corn could contain over a million of these pests the borers enter nod and damage other crops mentioned in the same way as described fol corn but usually to a less serious degree in addition to the actual loss caused by the work of the borers there Is also the possibility that gome of these pr products when shipped to market may contain the lose insect ct and thus serve as cuttlers carriers of the pest to ew bew localities although the female moths of qi the european corn borer are capable 0 of night flight and may extend gradually tho tha present limit of the lie pest by natural spread the chief danger of the coun arys corn crop lies in the possibility that such plant material infested 1 by y t the h e 1 insects n s e e ts r may n a y b be e tr transported a n s po rt e d throughout t li ro u lio u t the t h e country co ii n t ry and a nd start t a r t other t h e f sources of infestation in order to combat this danger it will be necessary strictly to enforce all federal and state quarantines prohibiting the transportation out of the infested area of all plants or plant products likely to be ba infested by the borers A most effective method of destroying the european corn borer la Is to burn till all of the previous years corn stalks corn stubble crop remnants and stalks of garden plants weeds find and larger grasses that may contala contain the over wintering wintering borers this must be done during the late fall winter and early spring while the borers are hiding in such material infested plants may also be disposed of when practicable by feeding them to live stock or by burying them in a manure or compost heap it should bo be clearly understood that each and every plant likely to be infested must be destroyed this includes the stubble and upper part of the roots occasionally plants or parts of at plants which may seem hardly worth the trouble to clean up are likely to harbor enough borers to give rise by the end of the season to as many insects as were present before the cleanup operations began burning most effective complete burning is undoubtedly the roost most effective and cheapest method known for the destruction vt of infested material especially during the late lata fall winter and spring when the vegetation is lead dead and dry it may be necessary to sprinkle the plants with oil or to use other fuel frel to secure complete combustion were it la Is possible and safe to use a running fire in destroying infested plants this is the quickest means in some cases particularly in that of corn the infestation may be controlled by feeding the grain to live stock either directly from the field or as ensilage pro from the economic standpoint this is the best possible means of destruction in some infested districts it is common for the owners of dairy cows to collect fodder from the sweet corn plantings planting of the market gardens as well as from home gardens after the crop has been harv harvested ested where fodder Is fed green it should be run rim through a shredder or cutting machine before it is given to the live stock as this process greatly reduces the chances that any of the borers contained therein will survive the practice of plowing under infested material Is not recommended because pl plowing ovIng even when carefully done will not cover the material deeply enough to prevent the borers from making their way to the surface and a few stalks may remain exposed experiments in applying arsenical poisons to the surface of corn plants have shown that large numbers ot of the borers may be poisoned in this manner during the early stages at this period they feed to a slight extent on the surface of the plants especially on the leaf plants it was found impossible s ible however to protect the plants entirely in this manner as the number dumber of borers not killed by the poison was sufficient to damage tho the stalks and eurs ears severely the cost of applying these poisons kalsons Is prohibitive because several applications are necessary and the method Is not recommended |