Control of Aphids on Potatoes in Northeastern Maine

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Abstract
During 1945, field expts. were conducted to determine the effectiveness of various insecticides for the control of aphids on potatoes, when used with fungicides applied for the control of late blight disease. DDT applied as an emulsion, an aerosol, a dust mixture, or a suspension was effective in reducing populations of the buckthorn aphid, Aphis abbreviata, the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae, the potato aphid, Macrosiphum solanifolii, and the foxglove aphid, Myzus pseudosolani, and in increasing the yield of potatoes. Although there was a tendency for the dust mixture to be more effective than the sprays and the aerosol, greater quantities of DDT per acre were used in the dust mixture and the suspension than in the emulsions and the aerosol. Tractor-mounted sprayers applying 100 gal. per acre reduced the aphids more satisfactorily than did traction sprayers delivering 65-75 gallons per acre. When a 4-nozzle sprayer equipped with vine lifters was used, the kill of aphids was slightly greater than that obtained with a standard 3-nozzle sprayer. Use of a concentrated spray applicator resulted in poor aphid control. All DDT treatments were highly effective against Colorado potato beetles and potato flea beetles. All treated plots remained green much later in the season than did untreated plots, owing to control of flea beetles as well as to reduction in aphid populations.

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