Proverbs, M. D.

English

Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia

21 E I\: TO ~ I OLOG ICA L SOC I ETY O F BIUTISH COL U MBIA. PIl OC. (\ 955 ) . VOL. 51, APRIL 30 . 1956 CHEMICAL CONTROL OF LYGUS SPP. (HEMIPTERA:MIRIDAE ) IN BRITISH COLUMBIA PEACH ORCHARDS* M. D . PROVERBS** Ento l11ol o.~y Laborato ry, SUl11l1lerlanJ , B.C. De fo re 1949, the quantity o f marke t -a ble f ruit from many peach o rchard s in th e interior o f Briti sh Columbia was appreciably reduced beca use of malfo rmed peaches. Most (If thi s malfo rmation wa s due to th e feeding o f Lyglls bugs, which a re particularly abundant 'where alfalfa cove t- crops are grown. The only feas ihl e means of contro ll ing the se in sec t s \I'a s by di sking under the cove r crop in the fa ll, and frequently this prac tice wa s no t I'e ry succe ss fu l. From 1947 to 1952, expe riments we re conductecl in peach o rcha rd s t hrough out the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia on th e contro l of LygllS bugs with DDT and ot he r o rgan-ic in sect icide s. Materials and Methods In th e ear ly experim ents , the In-sec tic id es \I'ere applied a s dU Sb to the o rchard co \'e r cro ps o nly. bu t a s th e wo rk progressed th e peach trees \I'ere s prayed, g ene ra ll y with a mi st-blow e r spraye1'. Th e area of eac h treated block II'as usua ll y about one acre; treatm ents II'e re not repli cated. Con-tro l uf Lyg!lJ bugs wa s est im a ted frum th e pe rce ntage of malfo rm ed fruit s at thinning time and at ha rvest. Th e in sec ticid es, th ei r amounts and the s tage s o f tree developm ent at which they were applied are given III Tables I to VII. Results and Discussion In three orchard s where the cover c ro p alon e wa s du sted (Table I) , it wa s on ly in the fir s t orchard, treated with DDT at the balloon-bud s tage of peach , that th e percentage o f mal -form ed f rui t at harvest in the treated bluck wa s appre ciably lowe r t ha n in the ch ec k hl ock. In the othe,- o r -chards. th e in sec ticides were probably applied too ea rl y (ea rly hall oon-hud s tage of peach) fo r the m os t effe ct il'e cont ro l of Lyglls bugs. TABLE I.-Malformed Fruit at Thinn in g T ime a nd a t H arves t After Dusting t he C over C rop in T h ree P each O rchard s with DDT or B HC, 1947. Orchard l\[a te rial ~ DDT, 3% du st2 Chec k 2 ~ DDT, 3% du st Check {BHC, e1u st·' 3 2% gamm a isom er Check Approxima te Am ollnt pe r Acre i\() Ih . No trea tm ent LiO II>. 1\0 trea tment 2.3 Ih. ga mllla Isom er 1\0 trea tment Fruit ).Ialform ed 0/,: ' Stage o f Peache" _______ _ ",h ell Cove r Cro p Thinning Dusted Tilll e Harvest Balloo n-bud Early halloo n-bud Ea rly balloo n-bud 8.3 10.1 7.4 19.7 9.7 9.1 6.4 7.2 lEach fi gure is determin ed from 1500 fru it s exami nee! at ra ndom. 2Anse li Laho ra to ri es L imi t cd, Ve rn o n, B.C. 3Shanaha n's Limited, Va ncou \·e r. B.C. * Contr ibuti on K o. 333 1, Entolllo \og-y Di \"is ioIl , Sc ience Sen-ict', Depar tm ent of A g ri cu ltu re , Ot taw a, Canada. ** A S ~'oc i a t e Entomologis t ENTOMOLOG ICA l. SOCI ETY OF BR ITIS" COLL"MB I A , P ROC. (1 955 ) , VOL. 52, APRI L 30.1956 23 O n th e ba sis of t he pc rcc ntage s of malform ed fruit at han"es t, the popul atio n of LygllS bugs \\"as e \"ide n t-Iy r cdu ccd \vh e rc pcac h tr cc~ were :,; prayed t\\"i ce with a mi xt ure of BHC, ~tove o il , and Vc lsicol AH.-50 (Tables II a nd 11 f ). St ri ct compa ri son s ca n-not be made sin ce t wo o rchard s w e re in volvcd and th e dosage s of the chem-icals we re s lig htl y diffe ren t in t he t\\·o o rcha rd s. HO\\'e\"e r, where th e nHC spray \\"a s applicd a t 95 per ce nt peta l-fa ll a nd aga in a t 95 pcr cent shu ck -fa ll (Tabl e 11) , th e pe rce ntage rcd uct ion in malfo rm ed f r u it at ha rv es t was similar to that obtained wh en it "wa s applied at the lat e bal-loon-bud s tage and again at 95 pe r cen t shuck-fall (Tabl e 11 f ). On the basis of t he pcrcentages of m a lfo rm ed fruit at han- est, th e HEIC spra y in the lat tc r o rch:Hd appea red to g ive onl y sli ght ly bcttc r cont ro l of Lyglls bugs than a mixture o f DDT, stovc o il. and Ve lsicul A J\.-50. Acco rdin g t o th e g-ru\Vcr, hO\\'e ve r , in pre\'ious yca r s dama gc f rom Lyglls bugs had ah\'ays bee n morc se \'e re in th e area in whi ch th e BJ-IC and check block s \\"e rc s it u-atcd , bccausc o f a den se alfalfa. coye r crop, than in the DDT bl ock, \yhere th e re \\'a s \'irtua ll v no a lfalfa . The superi o rity of BHC on r DDT wa s, thereforc, probably greatcr than in di-catcd by th e pe rccntages of ma.1fo n11 cd fru it. Th e poo rc r r es ult s with DDT were, no do ubt, largely due to th e Imv dosage (onc pound of DDT per acre) used in t hc expe riment. TABLE lL-Malformed Fruit at Thinning Time and at Harves t after Spraying Peach Trees with a Mixture of BHe, Stove Oil, and Vilsicol AR-50 at about 95 per cent Petal-fall and again at about 95 per cent Shuck-fall, 1948, Approximate Amount F ruit :-[ alformed, %1 :-hterial per Acre per Application Thinning Time Harvest BHC wettable powder2 0.75 lb. ~ 6% gamma isomer gamma Isome r Stove o i!3 9.6 pints 5.3 Velsicol AR-504 9.0 pints Duponol WA flakes S 2.0 oz. Check No treatment 11.2 lEac h fi gure is determined from approximately 2000 fruit s examin ed at random. 2Canadian Industries Limited, Montreal, Que. 3Appr.0ximately 32 S.S.U. Vis. 100°F., over 75 per cent U.I~.; Shell Oi l Company, Penticton, B.C. 4,A. methylated naphthal ene ; Ve lsicol Corporation, Chi cago, Ill. SForty to forty-two per ce nt sod ium lauryl sulphate; Ca nadi an Industri es Limited, N e\\' Westminster, B.C. 8.6 13.7 Good control of Lyglls bugs w as ob-tained in two o rchard s where a mix-ture o f DDT, stove o il , a nd Velsicol AR-50 was applied at about 90 per ce n t pctal-fal l and again at about 90 pe r ce nt shuck-fall (Tabl cs 1 V and V), Contro l was sli g-ht ly le ss w hc re trees were sprayed at 90 pe r cen t pe tal-fa ll onl y, but the pe rcentage in crease in malform ed fruit wa s not suffi cientl y great to jus tify the additional expens·e of th c second application (T a bl e V), 24 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY Of BRlTISH COLUMB IA, PROC. ( 1955) , VOL. 52, APRIL 30, 1956 TABLE Ill.-Malformed Fruit at Thinning Time and at Harvest after Spraying Peach Trees at the late Balloon-bud Stage and again at about 95 per cent Shuck-fall with a Mixture of Stove Oil and Velsicol AR -50 containing DDT or BHe, 1948. Appro x imat e Amount pe r Ac r e Fruit Malfo rm ed, %1 ;\!a terial BalLoo n-hud Shuck-fal l Thinning Time H a r vest DDT2 1.0 lb. 0.75 lb. l S tove o il 1.0 pint 15.5 12.5 Vels icol A R -50 0.5 p in t J Naccono l N IO 1.0 oz . I3H C we t tab le powder 1.0 lb. 1.0 lb . 6% gamma Isomcr galnnlll isomcr gamma isomer { Stove o il 2.0 ga l. 1.0 ga l. ~ 10.2 Vels icol AR-50 0.5 gal. D upon o l WA fla k es 8.0 oz . 6.0 oz. C heck No treatment N o treatm e n t 14.9 19.2 lEac h fi g ure is d e te rmin ed from approximately 1700 fruit s examined at random . 2T ec h ni cal, ~r on santo Ch em ica l Com pany, St:. Lo ui s, Mo., a t the ba lloon-bud s tage; 5 pe r ce nt powd e r, Anse l Labo rato ri es Limi ted, Ve rno n, B.C., at th e shuck-fa ll s tage . .lAn alkyl ary l sulp honate; N at io na l Anilin e Divis io n, Alli ed Chemical a nd Dye Co rpn ratio n , New York, N.Y. TABLE IV.-Malformed Fruit at Thinning Time and at Harvest after Spraying Peach Trees with a Mix ture of DDT, Stove Oil , and Velsicol AR-50 at about 90 per cent Petal-fa ll and again at about 90 per cent Shuck-fall , 1948. Ap prox im a te Amo unt pe r Acr e l<nlit ~!alform ed, % 1 :- ra tcrial P e ta l- fa ll S huck -fa ll Th inn ing T ime Harves t DDT, t cc hnica l2 9.0 II>. 6.0 Ih . t Stove o il 1..; ga l. 1.0 gal. 2.j Ve ls icol AR-SO 1,5 gal. 1.0 ga l. J Dupo no l WA flak es 3.0 oz . 3.0 oz. 2.8 C heck N o t r ealment No treatm ent 27.4 14.3 lEach figure is de te rmin ed fro m app roximately 3300 fruits examined at random. 2Penn sylvan ia Sa lt ~ran u fac turin g Compa ny, T acoma, \ Vas h. A petal-fa ll spray of DDT gave slight ly better control o f Lygtls bugs tha n a balloon -bud spray (Table VI). T he pe rcentage diffe rences in mal-fo rm ed fr ui t from sprayed and un-sprayed trees were not g reat, sugges t-ing tha t co ntrol was not particula rl y goud. Howe yer, t hi s was probably no t so, for the init ia l popul at ion o f Lyglls bugs wa s much g reate r in t he sprayed blocks, where the re wa s a n abunda nce of a lfa lfa, th e preferred hos t of Lyglls bugs, t han in the check block, w here there wa s virt ua ll y no a lfa lfa . I;NTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF BR IT ISH COLU M BIA, PROC. (1955) , V OL. 52, APRIL 30, 1956 25 TABLE V.-Malformed Fruit at Thinning Time and at Harvest after Spraying Peach Trees with a M ixture of DDT, Stove Oil , and Velsicol AR-50 at about 90 per cent Petal-fall and again a t about 90 per cent Shuck-fall, or at about 90 per cent Petal-fa ll only, 1948. I3lock \Later ia l Approximat e Amo unt per Acre Fruit ~lalformed, 'j'cl Peta l-fa ll Shuck- fa ll T hinnin g Time Harves t DDT, teehni ca l2 4.9 lb. 6.0 Ih. ( StO\'e oi l 7.3 pints 8.0 pints Vel sicol AR-jO 7.3 pint s 8.0 pint s i Duponol WA flake s 1.6 oz. 2.0 oz. 1.3 2.2 .2 Same as Block Same as Block No I 1 treatment 3.2 3. 1 3 Check Ko No t reatmenl treatme n t 16.7 14.8 -- ------.=====-- ------=-=--== JU ctermineci from approx imately 2j()() fr ui ts examined at rand om in each block. ':' lon sal1to Chemica l Compa ny, St. Louis, ~[o . As a re sult of these and ot her ex-pe r im ents not reported he re, a peta l-fa ll applicati on of DDT is recommend-ed fo r the con t rol of Lyg1ts bugs in Brit ish Columbia peach o rchards. T he petal-fa ll spray of DDT wa s consi der-ab ly more impo r tant than the shuck-fa ll spray, and sligh t ly more effect in than the balloon-buel spray (Tables V and VT). Chand le r (1950) fonnd that. in I11 inoi s, a DDT spray appli ed when SO per cent o f the peach hloom s were open gave even better con t rol o f Lyglls bugs than a peta l-fall spray. Howenr, as Snapp (1947) has pointed out, the peta l-fa ll application is preferab le. in orde r to a\'o iel poisoning in sect po ll inator s, even though insect s do not play an important ro le in t he pollination of peaches. In Br iti sh Col-umbia. cherry t rees are often inter-planted with peaches. As cherrie s bloom at approximate ly the same time as peache s, and as insects are essential for the poll ination of many variet ies of cherry, eyery precaution should be exercised to safeguard insect pollin-a tors. A peta l-fa ll spray of parathion gave slightly bette r control of Lygtls bugs tha n a DDT spray applied at the same stage (Table \(11). However, vvork with parathion was di scontinued be-cause of it s extreme toxicity to man . TABLE Vl.-Malformed F ruit a t Thinning Time and at H arvest after Spraying Peach Trees wi th 50 per cent DDT I Wetta ble Powder a t 16 lb . per acre at a bout 90 per cent Petal-fall , or a t the Balloon-bud Stage, 1952. Stage o f Spraying Peta l-fall Ba ll oon-bud No treatment Fruit :,[alformecl, %2 - - --- - - - ---- ----- --- - -Thinning Time Harvest 2.0 4.0 7.8 1.2 1.4 3.4 lG eneral Cherni eal Company, N cw Yo rk. N.Y. 2Eae h fi g ure is de te rmin ed frOIll approxilllate ly ISOO fmit s exalll ined at rand om. 26 E!':TOMOLOG IC ,\1. S OCIFTY or Ih:TlsH COLuMBI ,\ , PHO C. ( 1955) , VOL. 52, APR I L 30. i9 56 TABLE VI I.-Malformed Fruit at Thinning Time and at Harvest after Spraying Peach Trees at about 75 per cent Petal-fall with DDT, or Parathion, 1949. ::-raterial App rox imat e A mount p er Acre Frui t \lalio rmed, 'fr l Thinnin g" Time 7 lb. IS Ih. P a rat hi o n. 15'fr wettable po \\'d e r2 ]) 1) '1', S07c \\'eltable JlO\uler3 C heck .:\0 treat ment 3.2 6.1 22.0 2.~ 6. 7 26.0 lEac h figl ll e I S de le lnl in cd from a pp rox illl at e l.,· 1200 frllit s exam ined at rand olll . 2N a ug a tu ck C helll ica ls, J)l\ l'1 o n o f J)omini o n I ~ ubher Company, Limi ted, Elmira, O n to . . . '> P en nsylva nia Salt \ Iallllfac tllrin g Compan y, P Illlad elplll a, T'a. It vvas feared th a t t he u se of DDT fOI- the con t rol o f Lyg1ls bugs in Jhit -ish Columbia peach orcha rd s might r esul t in an increase of phytophagous mit es. T o date, there has been no evi-dence that thi s has occurred, eith e r in expe rim ental o r in growe r- sprayed orchard s. Summary Expe rim ent s conducted in B riti sh Columbia peach o rcha rds from 1947 to 1952 indicated that th e number of peach fruits injured by Lyg1ls lmgs wa s a ppreciably redu ced by spray ing the trees with DDT. Best result s were obta in ed w ith a mix ture uf D DT , s tOl'e oil, and Ve lsicol AR-50 applied at 90 pe l- cen t pe ta l-fall and again at 90 per ce nt shu ck-fall. A sing le spray at peta l-fa ll wa s almost as effect iYe, and . on t he basis of cost, the second appli cat ion was not justifi ed. In ju ry to fruit wa s a lso reduced by spraying with a mixt ure of BI-IC, stove oil. and Velsicol AR-50 at 95 per ce nt peta l-fa ll and aga in at 95 per cent ShllCk-fa ll. Parathion at the pet a l-fall stage was sli g htly more effec ti ve than DDT at th e sa me stage; work with para-thi on ,va s di scontinued, howeve r , be-cause of its ext rem e toxicity to ma n. References Chandl er, S. C. 43. 1950. Peach in sec ts o f Illino is a nd th eir contro l. Illinoi s N at. Hi s t. Surv. Ci rc. Snapp, O. 1. Experiment s in ). Econ. En t . 40: 135-136. 1946 o n th e control .o f bug s th a t cause defo rm ed peaches. 1947. Mallis, Arnold. 1954. H andbook of Pest COlltrol (2nd E d.) MacNair-Dorland Co .. New York. Illus., pp. 1068 Thi s is a valuable refe rcnce book, ha nd-som e, wc ll -b.ound and prin tcd on good papc r. Frankly aimed a t pest contro l o pe rato rs, it w ill no netheless prove useiu l to anvo ne li ke-ly to be consulted a bou t ho usehold o r in -du st ri a l pests. Its wor t h is a tt es ted by th e fact that i t is 111 a second cd iti o n af te r ninc yea rs. Obvio usly it is nOl pnss iblc to pa ss judgmen t on the hundrecb o f control m ct hods cull ed from pape rs, so th at d iscuss io n mu st centre o n th e arr ,lngemcnt a nd pres ent a ti o n. Here th c book is o pen to c riti cism. 1\[ore co nd ensat ion , a nd judic ious pruni ng o f long quo ta ti ons ,,"ou ld h elp to avo id rcdllndanc ies such a s thi s: of poi son ed rat s , ~lal1 i s qn otes : "Oi co urse. th e od o r can he qui cklv a hated if th e dead an im a l is found a nd r em o ved" (p. 94). A useful add it io n, whe ther o r no t the reade r werc fam ili a r with in sec ts, wo uld be m as te r kc ys af ter th e s tvl e of ::- re tcalf and F li nt. so ih a t a compl e te ly un famili a r pes t could he t rackcd <1 o \\" n quickl y. Th e brcak-dOI\'n ll1ight bc accordi ng to ha bit a t, food, s ize, s ha pe or O rd e r. A lreadv th e re are seve ral \'ery good, s ho rt keys 'in th e text , g ivin g diq in n io ns within g roups. T he ar ran g eme nt n f sub-h e;vls \\'ithin cha pt e rs is not uni form. hu t a n adequ a te ind ex partly comp ensate s for this la ck. Each chapt er end s I\·ith a .l'/'od hih li og rapll\·. The s tylf is br eezy ;11](1 n 'cn co llo qu ial.- H. R. IHtlrCIrt iJ.) . 

Chemical Control of Lygus spp. (Hemiptera: Miridae) in British Columbia Peach Orchards

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Chemical Control of Lygus spp. (Hemiptera: Miridae) in British Columbia Peach Orchards

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Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia