When there is an abundance of food and
conditions are otherwise favorable, any animal or plant will thrive
better than when the food supply is scarce and conditions unfavorable.
As long as apple trees were scattered and few in number there was not
the
opportunity for the development of apple pests, but as soon as
they became numerous the prosperity of bugs and minute plant parasites
was wonderful to see. Another factor which has been at least partly
responsible for the great increase in our insect life is that man has
upset nature's balance by destroying so many birds, and, by
interfering with their natural surroundings, driven them away. Birds
are great destroyers of insects, and their presence in the orchard
should be encouraged in every possible way. Add to these facts the
marvelous fecundity of the insect tribe, and the increase is less
remarkable. Loss from these orchard pests has now run up into the
millions. It has been estimated that the loss in the United States
from wormy apples alone is over $11,000,000 annually. Thus has the
necessity for fighting these enemies of good fruit arisen.
In order successfully to combat an insect or a disease it is very
necessary to have a somewhat detailed knowledge of its life history
and to know its most vulnerable point of attack. It is impossible to
work most intelligently and effectively without this knowledge, which
should include the several stages of the insect or disease, the point
of attack, the time of making it, and when and with what it can be
most easily destroyed. The number of insects and diseases which affect
the apple is so great that it is simply out of the question to treat
them all in detail here. We have therefore selected nine insects and
three diseases as those pests of the apple which are most common and
whose effects are usually most serious. The essential facts in their
life histories and their vulnerable points will now be pointed out.
The method of study may be taken as applicable to any other pests
which it may be necessary to combat.
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