The Asparagus Miner

(Agromyza simplex)



In a recent bulletin from the New York Experiment Station, Prof. F. A.

Sirrine describes a comparatively new and injurious insect on asparagus.

It was discovered on Long Island, and injures the young plants by mining

just underneath the outside surface. The habits of this creature are

such that there is little chance of applying remedies for its

destruction. Cultural and preventive measures seem to be the most

practical, and are suggested. The parent insect is a small fly, which

deposits its eggs for the first brood early in June, and no doubt much

can be done toward keeping the pest under control by not allowing small

shoots to grow during the cutting season. Professor Sirrine is of the

opinion that where young beds are put out yearly the pest can be kept in

check by pulling and burning the old stalks. He points out the fact that

the stalk should be pulled in the fall rather than in the spring, as it

is difficult to pull them early in the season, and in many cases the

dormant stage of the insect is left in the ground.