UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SYLLABUS 23 Contribution from the States Relations Service A. C; TRUE, Director In Cooperation with the Bureau of Plant Industry W. A. TAYLOR, Chief Washington, D. C. September, 1916 ‘ILLUSTRATED LECTURE ON ORCHARD MANAGEMENT By H. M. CONOLLY, Assistant in Agricultural Education, and E. J, GLASSON, Specialist in Horticulture and Forestry, States Relations Service CONTENTS Rejuvenation Location and Site Spraying Planting the Orchard Protection from Rodents Soil Management . . Tae ‘ Trapping Devices . . ». «+ > Pronning .... =; Ps Seah Fire Blight and Borers ...: >» Thinning .. .. Appendls 6. 6 bs eae ewe WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1916 Monograph Ae, an jdhye U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, STATES RELATIONS SERVICE. A. C. TRUE, Director. In cooperation with the Bureau of Plant Industry, W. A. Taylor, Chief. SYLLABUS 23—ILLUSTRATED LECTURE ON ORCHARD MANAGEMENT.’ By H. M. Conotty, Assistant in Agricultural Education, and E.J. Guasson, Specialist in Horticulture and Forestry, States Relations Service. INTRODUCTION. This lecture treats especially of all the practices which have to do with the growing of the tree and its fruit. The more thoroughly these practices are carried out, the more successful the orchard will be. Some of the more important practices in orchard manage- ment are tillage, maintenance of soil fertility, pruning, and spraying. If the orchard has been started right, the manage- ment problems are much simplified and chances for success well assured, but if the orchard was given a poor start and has been much neglected, the problems become complicated and success is more uncertain. Climatic and soil conditions vary in different sections of the country and even in different locations in the same section of country. These differences in conditions make necessary different methods of accomplishing the results that are desired. It is very essential, therefore, to determine what practices can best be used and adopt those which most closely suit the conditions under which the work is to be done. LOCATION AND SITE. The foundation of a profitable orchard is a desirable location, a suitable site, and proper varieties. The location of an orchard has to do in general, with its geographical position 1 This syllabus has been prepared by cooperation between the Office of Horticultural and Pomological Investigations of the Bureau of Plant Industry, as regards subject matter, and J. M. Stedman, Farmers’ Institute Specialist of the States Relations Service, as regards peda- gogicalform. It is designed to aid farmers’ institute and other extension lecturers in presenting this subject before popular audiences. The syllabus is illustrated with 50 lantern slides, as isted in the Appendix. The numbers in the margins of the pages refer to the lantern slides as listed in the Appendix. View. 2 View. or place on the map, and in detail concerns its relation to shipping stations, transportation facilities, markets, economic conditions, in some cases the sequence of the ripening of fruits compared with other locations, climatic conditions, and other factors of less importance. The site has to do with the exact pieee of land occupied by the orchard. It concerns chiefly the soil, topography, relative and actual elevation, and local climatic conditions with reference to frosts. Emphasis is placed on relative elevation because of its influence on the occurrence of frosts. Location.—Some of the features that should be carefully considered under location are the roads and the distances over which fruits and supplies must be hauled.. Rough roads with steep grades in sections where there is no immediate prospect of improvement will make it almost impossible to produce fruit at a profit. Long hauls are expensive, and rough roads cause serious damage to the fruit; and where there is close competition with more favorable locations the profits are apt to be very small. Transportation facilities are important. When orchards are not within wagon or truck haul of the market, the railroad facilities should be carefully considered. Not only must the train service be adequate, but the securing of refrigerator cars when needed and the icing of the same at reasonable rates are necessary in shipping perishable fruit. The markets to which fruit will be shipped must be accessible without much delay in transit. Where transfers are numerous, and roundabout connections with branch lines of railroads must be used, delays are frequent and rates are high, thus ’ considerably increasing the expenses. The economic conditions, such as the procuring of suitable labor and the facilities for the care of this labor, must be taken into account. . The climate must be considered in selecting the kinds of fruit to grow in a locality or region, for it is usually unprofitable to attempt to grow fruits in any region that are not adapted to the conditions under which they are planted. Site.—Among the items to be considered under the site is the soil. The soil should be deep with a porous substratum which will allow excess water to seep away quickly. ' If the soil is run down it is not in good condition for the growth of orchard trees. Land that is gently rolting is to be preferred to land that is either very rough and uneven or very steep. Erosion is apt to be very heavy on steep land, and the,expense of orchard / 3 operations is heavy in comparison with what it is where the Vw: conditions are favorable. If the relative elevation, or elevation as compared with the surrounding country, is high, it provides for good air drainage and good soil dramage. Air drainage is very essential, for it provides conditions under which frosts are less apt to occur, © and under which fungus diseases are more easily controlled. A well-drained soil is almost imperative for the proper, growth of fruit trees; therefore, if the site for an orchard is not well drained or capable of being well drained at little expense, it is a waste of time and money to use it for orchard purposes. The climate of a particular site with reference to frosts should be considered, for it is very difficult to produce fruit profitably in sections subject to severe freezes or in sections where late spring frosts occur annually. PLANTING THE ORCHARD. Systems of planting.—Where the site consists of steep slopes, the orchard should be laid out with reference to the contour of the land. The rows should be made in such a way that erosion of the soil will be reduced to a minimum, and that tillage, spraying, and harvesting operations may be conducted with the greatest possible ease. The distance for planting is governed by the kinds of fruit to be grown, the habit of growth of the variety, and the fertility of the soil. Peaches may be planted from 18 to 22 feet apart, pears about 24 feet apart, and apples 30 to 40 feet apart. Mixed plantings, such as apples and peaches, are some- times profitable, but the management problems are less complicated when each fruit is planted by itself. Each variety should be planted in a separate block to facilitate harvesting, but a block which contains a self-sterile variety should be located near a block which contains a variety that is a good pollenizer. ; Selection of varieties.—A great measure of the success with an orchard depends upon the proper selection of the varieties of fruit to be grown. This selection of varieties requires considerable care, and it is always well to find out what varieties do best in the particular locality, and also to consult the best authorities in the State. The number of varieties to be grown will depend upon the purpose, whether for home use or for market, and upon the kind of fruit. Where the pur- pose is to have a succession of ripe fruit over a long period, a greater number of varieties may be used than where the 3 View. A ripe fruit is desired over a short period of time. The number of varieties of one kind of fruit is often influenced by the quantity of other kinds of fruit which ripen at the same time. In many sections the number of varieties grown for market is hea by the heavy shipping period of other regions. Kind of trees to plant.—Only trees that are thrifty we well- grown and which have good roots and tops should be planted. Thrifty, well-grown trees need not be the largest trees to be found in the nursery, but often medium-sized trees will be as desirable as the larger ones. The smaller grades in many cases consist of trees which are weak and stunted, and often the root systems may be very poor. Though the small trees may be bought at a lower price than the medium-sized or large ones, they may prove costly in the end, especially if they lack ihe vitality necessary to make a aoe erowth after being planted. Apple, plum, pear, and cherry tr ees are commonly a as 2-year-olds; that is, after they have made two seasons’ growth in the nursery, though many growers prefer 1-year-old trees, especially apple and cherry. Peaches are invariably planted as 1-year-olds. Nursery trees should always be packed in such a way that the roots will not dry out, and upon delivery at the place where they are to be planted they should be unpacked imme- diately. Unless the trees can be planted at once, they should be heeled in. A place that is well drained, with a deep mellow soil, should be selected for heeling in the trees. A trench is dug of sufficient width and depth to receive the roots, and the trees are carefully placed in this trench. Trees that are tied in bundles should be separated before heeling in, and the earth should be worked around the roots of each tree to prevent drying to any serious extent. Preparation for planting.—Thorough preparation of the soil is just as important for planting an orchard as for planting corn or wheat. Deep plowing and thorough harrowing are very essential. It is a very good plan to grow some cultivated crop on the land the year preceding the setting of the orchard. This crop will not only put the land in better mechanical con- dition, but if a leguminous crop, it will increase the plant food in the soil. Preliminary to digging the holes for the trees, many growers plow one or two furrows as deep as practicable along the line where the tree row is to go. This plowing saves con- siderable digging when planting the trees. Setting the trees.—Success in planting trees is made posit by avoiding unnecessary exposure of the roots and by thorough firming of the soil about the trees. Puddling the roots is a View. common practice where the roots are apt to be exposed during planting operations. | In preparing the tree for planting all bruised or broken roots should be cut off, and all excessively long roots should be pruned back to correspond with the rest of the root system. The holes for the trees should be large enough to admit the roots without bending and crowding, and deep enough so that when, ‘filled the trees will be 2 or 3 inches deeper than they were in the nursery. The trees should be set with.a slant toward the direction of the prevailing winds. After the trees are set they should be pruned back. One-year-old trees are usually cut back to a single stem 18 to 30 inches high, but if the trees are very large three or four short stubs are left at the top of the main stem so as to insure the growth of branches at the point where it is desired to form the head of the tree. Two-year-old trees should have short stubs left which are carefully selected to form the scaffold limbs of the trees. SOIL MANAGEMENT. Tullage.—Tillage is beneficial to the soil in several ways. It improves the condition by increasing the depth and by fining the soil; it conserves moisture by increasing the water- holding capacity and by checking evaporation; it increases plant food by promoting nitrification and by hastening the decomposition of organic matter. ; There are three methods of soil management with reference to tillage; namely, clean tillage, clean tillage with cover crops, and sod mulch. Clean tillage consists in keeping the soil throughout the orchard in a good state of cultivation until midseason and then stopping all cultivation. With this method of tillage the orchard is plowed as soon as the soil is workable and then harrowed as often as necessary to preserve a dust mulch on the surface of the soil. Clean tillage with cover crops consists of clean tillage until midseason, and then seeding the orchard down with a cover crop like rye, clover, etc. -The cover crop is plowed under the following spring, and tillage given as in the previous year. The sod-mulch system consists in seeding the orchard down to grass or clover. During the season this crop is mowed sey- eral times, and the material is scattered about the trees to formamulch. Ina great many orchards, where the land is so rough and rocky that cultivation is impracticable, weeds and other herbage are allowed to grow and this material is cut during the season and used as a mulch about the tree. 13 14 15 View. 16 17 6 There are differences of opinion as to the best methods of tillage in an orchard. Some growers adhere strictly to the clean-tillage system, others to the clean tillage with cover crops, and still others to the sod mulch. We should not claim that any one system of tillage is best, for each has its own adapta- tions. Many orchards will give good results under the sod- mulch system for a while and then would be very much bene- fited if clean tillage was given for a few seasons. Conditions should govern the plan of tillage to follow. If the grower keeps in mind the benefits to be secured by tillage and under- stands the principles involved, he can decide on the plan which best suits his needs. Maintenance of fertility —It is always better to maintain the soil in a highly fertile state than to permit it to become depleted to such a degree as to become unproductive. Good tillage and the maintenance of a good supply of humus will keep the soil in suitable condition for fruit growing. Where stable manure is plentiful, there is probably no better way of supplying humus than by the liberal use of it. Where manure is not available, cover or green-manure crops are to be advised. | Cover crops.—There are two main groups of plants used for cover crops, namely, leguminous and nonleguminous. The first group comprises such plants as red, crimson, and bur clover, cowpeas, soy beans, alfalfa, vetch, peanuts, and velvet beans. The second group includes rye, oats, buckwheat, mil- let, rape, and turnips. Cover crops improve the soil in several ways: ‘They improve the physical condition of the land by preventing the soil from cementing together or puddling, by holding rains and snows until they can soak away, and by drying out the soil in the - spring, making possible early tillage. They catch and hold leaching nitrates, add humus to the soil when plowed under, render plant food available, and collect nitrogen if they are legumes. Where it is intended to omit tillage for a season, orchards are very commonly seeded down to red clover. Crimson clover is used quite extensively as a winter cover crop im the orchard, especially on the lighter soils throughout New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. It gives excellent results, particu- larly in seasons when there is a good supply of moisture in the. soil at planting time. Vetch is very widely planted in the northern fruit regions, and alfalfa in the apple orchards of the States west of the Great Divide. Cowpeas and soy beans are very widely planted in the middle and southern latitudes, and velvet beans in the extreme south. | 7 Rye is probably the most widely planted of all the non- leguminous cover crops. It can be sown very late in the sea- son, it germinates when very little moisture is available, and it lives over winter, starting into growth early in the spring. Rye and vetch in combination have been found Very satisfac- tory in many instances. Fertilizing.—Fertilizing the orchard may be accomplished in two ways. Fertilizmg materials may be applied directly, in the form of commercial fertilizer or stable manure, and indi- rectly, by growing cover crops.