See other formats

Full text of "Fruit notes"

CX' /i^ 



S-}^ 



FRUIT NOTES 



JUL! 1935 - NOVEMBER 19U9 



Extension Service 
University of Massachusetts 



Pel! 
T943 



p.fnr 



" - ?^rr 



«;»'.""• 



(Set No. 2) 

FRUIT NOTES 
1936 - 1949 (inclusive) 
(ComD.iled by V. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist) 

Since 1936, this periodical has been issued by the Extension 
Service as a means of informing Massachusetts fruit growers on 
matter of current interest. Both tree fruits and small fruits 
have been included. The first mimeographed issue in March, 1936 
was preceded by carbon copies of similar material mailed from 
time to time to the County Extension offices. (Two of these releases, 
July and August 1935, are here included). 

It has been our purpose through the years to cover a wide 
variety of items and to have the write-ups relatively brief. 
Considerable attention has been given to abstracting Experiment 
Station reports and to the presentation of timely information. A 
casual survey of this material, month by month, will provide the 
reader with a running account of the various problems confronting 
the fruit grower in years past and the suggested solutions. 

For various reasons, there are quite a number of missing 
issues in this bound volume. In several of the months no issue 
was prepared. In others, a demand for the extra copies exhausted 
the supply. The missing issues are as follows: 

1936 (Jan., Feb., March, April, July, Aug., Nov., Dec); 
1937 (Aug., Ser)t., Oct.); 1939 (Oct.); 19A3 (Aug.); 1946 (Feb., 
Nov.,);1947 (Jan., Ma-js June, Sept.,); 1943 (Jan., Mar., May, Sept.,); 
1949 (Jan., :SSS^, June, Sept, Dec.,). 



■.si r 

. (' , . ^ , ■.! nnj 9T ^ri SIC - : :. 



c^n.-, ~n 



r ST at: 



FRUIT WOTjIS - January, 1S4-0 

■tf. H. T-ies 
■i^r.tension -horticulturist 

_Int_er_nal_ _Corj^ P±_J^2J:es^,rK\_l;l^^Go:rtrol w'itli Boron 

The prevo-lence of internal cork in a^rples in 1939 v;as related to 
the shortaije of rainfall, according to A. B. Burrell of Cornell University. 
The effect of drouth, however, is an indirect one, probably opcratin-^ throu[;h 
a reduction in the absorption of boron. \Je are indebted to Dr. Burroll for 
the follouin™ recommendations. 

Insurance against a reciu're::ce of internal cork is bobt obtained 
through application of boreix to the soil in a ring beneath the tips of the 
branches. The fine granular fori", is best suited to the purpose, being lowest 
in jrrice, easily spread, a:id not so subject to for;.j.ng hard lunps as the 
pov/der forn. Application of straight bora;: v;ithout dilution is preferable 
to i-dxing it with other ;uaterials, or depending on the boron in fertilizer 
r.iixtures. 

It is custonary to irake cor.nnercial app:lications at the sa.uG tiue 
as nitrogen fertilizers are put on, i.e., around tlie ti;.ie of the delayed 
dorasirc or early pre-pink sprays. Provided the i.iaterial is ¥/ashed into -the 
soil a fe\-f v/eeks before the appearance of synptorjs, aiiy date during the grov/- 
irig season seei":s satisfactory. Application of bora:c to trees whose fruits 
showed sone external cork on June 30, 1S39, greatly reduced the developi.ient 
of internal cork during the bala-ice of the sur.X;:er. On the untreated trees 
in this e::peri;?.ent, late-season internal cork was severe. Late fall asid 
v/inter are considered undesirable -'c±::es for applying bora;: sending furth-er 
study. 

The followiiig I'ates ox application have been found satisfaotorj- 
under a wide range i:i soil co:iditions i;i tlie uajor fruit-growing districts 
of I'lev/ York State. The availE.ble . evidence indicates thr.t one borax traatiAsnt 



A;:,jrox. trunk diaiJ° 1' above ^rpj-li^^. ^■^.-. A^.-'.^. fP^. rJ-ytIL3(^'2?-ip^rJ-PP,S'I}-. soil 



Up to 2v- iiiches 

3t 

5 

7 
10 
14 
15 " up 



hone 






2 




ounces 


4 






5 






3 






8 - 


12 




12 - 


16 





(Tlie size of a tree is nore dependable than the age for deter..n.n^n^, u. aui: 
needed.) 



lasued by the iixtension Service, V/illard A. Lunson, director, in further- 
ance of Acts of Jf''!ay 8 a::d June 30, 1914, I--assachusetts State College, United 
States Department of Agriculture, and Cou:ity ^^xtension Services cooperating. 



-2- 



As a result of a recent request in Fruit Uotes a number of growers 
have responded with aii oiTer of scions for use in the variety orchard at the 
State Golleje. But several of the uorthj^ old tiners are still r.dssine. If 
you ho-ve a tree of any of these vejrieties or if you know of soi.ieone else 
froir. v/iiom scions r.iay be obtained, you will ;.;erfori.i a service by dro;;.-in:2; a 
postcard to the writer. Several of these varieties were forri.erly included 
in our planting but the hurricane has reduced the nunber considerably. 
These varieties are anonr; the riissing; Auturin Strawberry, Bailey Sweet, 
Bottle Greening, fethead, Congress, Dudley, Fall Harvey, Fall Jennetting, 
Gideon, Golden Pippin, Hightop Sv/eet , Holden, Jacob Sweet, Lyscor.: (l.]g.tthev/s' 
Stripe), i.'inister, IJodhead (Jev/ett), Ralls, Rolfe, Oliver (Senator), Sops of 
V/ine, V/ashington Royal, V/inter St. LavA'ence. 

Fertilizer iil.er:ient_s 

Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassiun are the elements raost often 
lacking for plant growth in soils in the United States. Other just as neces- 
sary mineral elements are usually present in sufficient quantities to ade- 
quately supply the needs of growing crops, including fruit trees. However, 
it is interesting to note that a lack of one or r.iore of the so-called minor 
elements produces consequences of real ecouor.iic significance in some fruit 
sections. Some of the lesser knovm deficiency symptoms and rer.edial appli- 
cations are as follows; leaf mottling and rosette of peach, citrus and 
other fruits in California, apple trees in V/ashington, pecan trees in the 
South - Sine J chlorosis and rosette of peach trees in South ^-ifrica and 
die-back of citrus in Florida - copper^ chlorosis of citrus in California 
and Florida - manganese ^ chlorosis of many plaircs in r»any parts of the 
country on high calcium soils - iron; internal cork, rosette and die-back 
of apples in many sections - boron. There are undoubtedly other exaraples. 
It is consoling to realize that for fruit trees on inherently good and well- 
handled I.Iassachusetts soils, nitrogen is usually the only limiting factor. 
Under a heav^'- mulch system, even the usual nitrogen applications become less 
necessary. L^ Southvdck 

S ugges tions for the G_ood^ _of_ t]!®. .AZl1§.. Jil^.V.^J'^J'i 

Of possible interest to I.assachusetts fruit growers are the remarks 
of Senator Harry ¥. Byrd, who spoke last December 6 at a meeting of the Vir- 
ginia State Horticultural Society at Roanoke, Virginia. Senator Bird is one 
of the largest orchardists in the country. Spealcing of what can be done to 
improve our fruit situation, he m^ide these suggestions; 

(l) "A Virginia and a national cai.ipaign to cut dovm undesirable 
and unprofitable apple varieties." (2) "Sliminate unprofitable marginal 
orchards bjf a voluntary negotiation with the owner, and financed by some 
method of assessm.ent on all apple producers." (3) "Agreements not to sell 
cull and inferior apples in competition v/ith packed fruit." (4) "Promote 
an apple juice, sold fresh and pressed from fresh apples by a machine just 
invented." (5) "A general advertising ca:?.paign em.phasizing the health 
giving qualities of the apple > an educational cainpaign to teach the consumer 



-3- 



the merits of different varieties for different puri^oses." (o) "The box, 
v/itli individually UTap;;ed a;^:;^-los, should be standardized in size." 

L. South wick 

SPJi' -Sil^- .s.nd Pr°P,??- ^'^.'' _°?_ Fruit 

Results this pa.st season indicate considerable proi.-dse in the use 
of dilute concentrations of certain compounds (so-called horuones as ex- 
plained in the last issue of Jruit llotes) to dele>.y fruit drop at harvest 
tine. At the '.Vorcester iiieetin^^s. Dr. J. R. tiagness of the U.S.D.A. gave 
a brief account of the situation, h'aphthalene-acetic acid at 2 - 5 parts 
per million of water — approxi:.iately l/l5 - l/5 ounce in 250 gallons — 
is reported to reduce and delay significantly the normal dropping of apples 
at harvest tine. The spray is applied very thoroughly — up to 25 gallons 
per tree — because evidently it is necessary to hit each a.pple ster.i. One 
or possibly two applications will probably be adequate 5 (l) when the apples 
are just starting to drop in Septer.iber, and (2) about 10 - 14- days later if 
desired. Effects s.re first r.Tanifest about 24 hours after the spray is ap- 
plied and persist iron 10 - 15 days. 

Naphthalene acetandde has ooen slightly nore effective than naph- 
thalene acetic acid, but it does not go into solution as readily. It is 
possible that a conirnercial product using one of these niaterials will be put 
on the :-.iarl:et this year. The corapounds are expensive at the present ti:.io 
but it has been suggested that the cost of the diluted spray nc.y range some- 
where around a cent per gallon. This would neaxi. a cost for :.a.terials alone 
of 25 to 50 cents per mature tree. Then there is some evidence that a light 
surm'iier oil and the addition of citric acid may increase effectiveness. There 
is evidently no danger of toxic effects on consuj-.iers . 

All of the statements and figures given are, at best, approximations. 
I.'ore definite inf orir.ation v/ill be forthcoming later and especially after anoth- 
er year of sxperinental v/ork. In the neantirne, it is worthwhile to speculate 
on the possibilities that this development presents, particularly to grov/ers 
of Mcintosh. If application of these horaonos vrorks out as indicated by 
preliminary experiments, growers v/ill be helped considerably not only in 
the decreased total ai'nount of dropping but also in the better maturity and 
in the improved color that the longer autui-;in exposure will bring about. 
Probably growers should not expect to use these sprays generally over their 
entire plantings, -iilcononicallyj they may be more justified in cases of emer- 
gency when serious loss fromi dropping threatens. These are only conjectures 

but certainly worth -Dondc-ring. I.Iore information later. ,, . , 

L. Sou'jnvjick 



ITi:;i:IS FRCI.: KiCRE AilD THJRE 

Ej uJJ;_ F ljuit_ P_atent_s . Of the 350 plant patents granted from August 18, 1931 
to "December 31, 1939, roses account for almost one-half the total. Fruits 
patented include 23 peach, 11 apple, 7 strawberry, 5 clierry, 6 plum, 4 grape, 
3 nectarine, 1 pear, 1 apricot, 1 raspberry, 1 blackberry, 1 dewberry, and 
1 brainbleberry . 



Ac cjjd_eiybjj._ _IH_s_c.ov^erx j^r. i^^^^ Several years ago U.S.D.A. 

workers, studying the rosetto disease of pecans, sprayed trees with a cer- 
tain solution and the results ;_;ro7ed very encouraging. Repeated, the treat- 
ment failed until the workers checked bad: and recalled that the first spray 
uatericls had been irized in a j^alvanized pail, fhe benefit, it later de- 
veloped, ca"ie from the zinc dissolved fron the coating on the pail. Jin 
impurity in the spray rlxture had actually cured the disease S- 3^1'-^^J^2^^' ^^ attractive sticker, measuring 2 by 
3 inches, shov/ing a drav/ing of a baked apple and reading "Try our fine fla- 
vored V/ashington bal:ed apples with rich cream" has been designed for at- 
tachm-ent to menu cards. This new devise is distributed through restaurant 
groups and is intended primarily to encoirage the sale of Rom.e Beauties and 
wine saps . 

Ijore Fr uit_Jore cast . Larger average combined production of all tree fruits 
in the U. S. is expected durir.g the next five years than during the past 
five years. Significant increases vxe expected in grapefruit, oranges, 
lemons, and moderate i:icr eases are expected in peaches, peai's and cherries. 
Grape production vri.ll increase slightly but apple and prune production is 
expected to continue dovmward at a moderate rate. No significant changes 
are expected in the production of otlier tree fruits. 



-D- 

P^I.-H.'Sf^-yl'i.Jsy-?-^.^ ^ fruit telegraphic delivery service is nov; e.vailable 
iri a loi'.^ list of cities .j.ncl even in sualler coixiunities in the United 
States. Through this uev; service f8J(H-7 baskets i:iay be delivered :;rom-ptly 
to individual consuners. Thus the fruit industry is starting a service 
v/hich has been in cor.L-jon use aiaor.g florists for years » 

Low Te:.rjeratures Dana/,e^ Citrus Jruit s ■ Quotinc; from the January 27 issue 
of The New York Packer, "Texas vegetable and citrus fruits appc.rently are 
damaged severely and the temperature is still below freezing at 3ro\«iSville 
V/ednesday morning (January 24). It is still too early to appraise tho ox- 
tent of loss. Citrus fruits show ice crystals. I.iuch grapefruit is defi- 
nitely ruined for fresh shipment and is being processed as rapidly >^.s 
possible. Valencia oranges just corjing into production show lees danage 
than other citrus fruits. It will be 10 days before loss of fx-uit can be 
deterained and tv/o or three days after the weather noderates before the 
extent of da;"i3-ge to vegetables is known." 

S^i^ikl3J:I'-L^Il32-^..!Ir.^i'^^^.' "A better product at a lov/er price" is the way 
the v;orld states its deaandj v/hether it be for an autonobile or a pound 
of apples. Thus H. B. Tukey expresses the situation in a recent issue of 
the Rural New Yorker. Ke says that r.uch of our troubles begin because we 
as producers try to resist this clianging situation by such natural ir.nulses 
as denanding what we call "cost of production." He sites the exarq le of an 
iceberg meeting a ship. "T.io iceberg goes on just the san;e." The iceberg 
typifies the demand of tlie i/iarkot, and the ship, the producer who atteu^rts 
to run crosswise to consuner deniand. 

Ty/Q _Poj.nt_ejr_s_ f r_on]_ _I_C'._euio_ - Glancing through the January News Letter of the 
University of Idalio, we note those two suggestions, (l) Stressing the need 
for using old strawstacks to best s,dvantage, a vrriter says "Don't burn theu 
or let then stand out in the field. jJxperiivients show that straw mulched 
fields hold 3 to 4 tines as :.:uch water as bare plots." Speaking of a snail 
gully, the m-iter says "Seed it, fertilize it, mulch it, and v/atch the grass 
choke the gully to death." (2) L. Verner of the Idalio Experiment Station 
offers this advice about pruning raspberries. "Tlie previous behavior of 
the plant, as indicated by its vigor, is the best index of how severely to 
thin out and head back raspberry plants. Thin sxid head the weak ones rather 
severely but give the strong ones plenty to do by leaving more fruiting 
wood on which to bear." 

SjDi_lj__fpr__Blv\ebprri^^. In the last issue of the Rural hew Yorker, S. John- 
son of Lichigan says, "Tlie blueberry plant is almost always found growing 
naturally on sand or peat soil. However, it v/ill grow satisfactorily on 
soil containing soaie clay if sufficiently acid. The soil ii^ist be very acid. 
A pK range of 4.4 to 5.1 seems to be best. Blueberry plants vri.ll usually 
survive a flooded soil but if too m.uch water is present after root grov.th 
starts the pls-nts are likely to be injured and if excess v/ater is present 
for too long a tine the plants vri.ll almost certainly die. Plants growing 
in poorly drained areas are more subject to heaving and are more suscepti- 
ble to frost injury < Too little moisture results in smaller growth and 
decidedly lov/er yields. If sufficient moisture is not s-vailci.ble the plants 
v;ill fail to -:roduce fruit buds." 



-7- 

Ty-'P- }^^R A^-i'-lQ-yjyA.^-'^J-.Qp-'' 1-1 3. i-ocent issue of The New York Packer aention 
wE^s riade of tv;o new ap^jle varieties in llichigan. One is a very early var- 
iety lound grovidng in -the Upper Psnninsula where a lumberjack evidently 
tossed aside an apple core years ago. The other is a bud sport of the 
V/inesap. Both of these varieties v/ill ^e tested to determne their fitness 
for cor.'j.iercial planting. 

1940 A ppl e g.nd P_each _Spray_ Chart s. Proof has recontl^r been read 3Jid re- 
turned to the state printer covering the 124-0 apple and peach spray chai'ts. 
The printed charts v/ill be available within a few days. Copies niay be ob- 
tained fron your county agricultural agent or frori the State College. 

RPrj!']L®P--Sl'^.^.3^A ^TAy^-il^A"-. C^^ A conference of !3xperiment Station 

and jixtension Service v/orkers i:: tlie Kortheastern States is scheduled to 
be held in Kev; Kaven, Connecticut , February 8. ibi attempt will b3 r;c.de at 
this conference to unify our recor.iiv.endations so far as possible for the 
control of various fruit pests. Representatives eu~e expected fro;: iJew York 
and New Jersey and frori tiie New ilngland states. 

Tl\e_ 3_oi_l_ _.-i.u£^e_r . The first volurie of a new soils publication has just been 
prepared by Ao B. Beauraont , Extension Soil Conservationist. It is planned 
to distribute this publication at least three tines during the year to county 
agricultural agents and to teacliers of vocational agriculture in Llassachu- 
setts. The Soil Auger will serve as a clearing house for information per- 
taining to soils and their use. In the first assue there appears an in- 
teresting story entitled "The role of calciur.: in the soil and the plant." 
An abstract of this a.rticle will appear in the next issue of ?ruit Notes. 

The Appl e Storage Situation. Slightly fewer apples were in cold storage 
in the United States on January 1, 1940 than a year ago. At the sa..ie tiue, 
Massachusetts had nore than twice as nan'y as a yeai' ago, with 954,000 as 
compared with 445,000 in 1939. Sonewhat sualler stocks are in storage in 
the North'./est than a year ago. On Jc.nuary 15, according to Y/. ii. Piper's 
Iiiarket Report, v;e v;ere still holding 340,000 bushels of I.'clutosh in Massa- 
chusetts, having rroved 51;i of -che crop. A year ago \/e still had 122,000 
and had moved 60/i of the crop. In the three previous years we had nov ed 
by January 15, 46/0, 51^0 and 40/op respectively. The above figures suggest 
a ver^' goodi Ilclntosh .■.loveinent although './e still liave p^lenty of that variety 
left in s-corage. 

1 OjlP 0P_ i-i-iis • Fall and v/inter purchases of apples by the F.S.G.G. through- 
out tne U. S. up to January 21 have aiaounted to 10,135 cars. This does 
not include 500 cars purcha.sed for drying. Iitssachu setts sales to the 
F.S.C.C- have amounted to about 255 cars during the saiue period, including 
70 csjTS of Ilclntosh rioved out of storage. 

ATrain Lo_ad_ a Daj. 'iVith 11,703 cs.rs of apples in storage in the State 
of ";;'ashington, January 1, an average of 30 cars per day must be v.ioved out 
if the crop is to be cleaned up by Ju:ie 1. 



FRUIT H0T3S - February, 194-0 



W. II. Thies 
!]xt ens ion Hor t i cul tur is t 



It's Pruning Time 

Many of the apple orchards in Massachusetts have too 
many trees per acre for best results. Unlike a planting of for- 
est trees ivhere some crowding accompanies best timber production, 
orchard efficiency is highest when wo have onl;^ enough vegetative 
growth to best utilize the available moisture, mineral elements 
and sunlight. Anything in excess of that ideal amount, particu- 
Ic'.rly in the form of surplus trees, is a distinct liability. 
Twenty-seven mature trees (planted 40 x 4-0) on an acre of land 
will need to produce only a little more than 11 bushels per tree 
per year to insure 300 bushels per acre, a fair average. Twenty- 
seven trees, with ample space for root develop.aent and a good 
exposure to sunlight on all sides (natural accompaniments of 
proper spacing), will produce 300 bushels of apples more chec?'ply 
than 54 trees on the same area. In the latter case, available 
resources are wasted in developing v^ood too far from the ground 
and in setting fruit buds under highly competitive conditions. 

Other reasons for reducing the number of trees are ob- 
vious. There are fewer trees to spray, fertilise, prune, and 
thin, thus saving in labor and materials. More of the fruit may 
be picked from the ground, since the lower branches are kept vig- 
orous and productive v/hen a tree has adequate space. This re- 
duces the cost of harvesting. Color, size and quality are likely 
to be better since vrater and nitrogen are very often limiting 
factors, and these materials are used needlessly in a crov/ded 
orchard, in merely maintaining surplus vegetative growth. 

Any orchard should be considered as having too many 
trees if they interfere in any way with the movement of the spray- 
er. The ideal arrangement is found where there are just enotigh 
trees, evenly spaced, to reach into and utilize .the belo"w ground 
resources without serious competition, with tops neither touching 
nor shading each other appreciably. Probably the best recommenda- 
tion for prompt roraovol of surplus trees comes from those v.iio 
have tried it. Many who have waited for "one more crop" before 
wielding the ax, wish they had acted sooner. 

The removal of entire trees may be considered as one 
very effective kind of pruning, since pruning is the elimination 



) 



Issued by tlie Ziitension Service, Willard A. Mimson, director, 
in furtherance of Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, Massachusetts 
State College, United States Department of Agriculture, and 
Cotuity Extension Services cooperating. 



-2- 

of miv/anted wood and surpliis trees are in that class. Of course, 
v.'e still have the annual puzzle of deciding which branches to 
remove from the permanent trees, but that is less difficult v/here 
each tree has ample space. In trees 20 years of age or older, 
drooping, shaded branches or parts of branches should receive 
attention. And occasionally a vigorous, upright growth should 
be removed where two or more are trying to occupy the same sp'^ce. 
Little, if any, heading back is required, since well spaced trees 
are much less likely to grov/ too tall. Heavy, annual crops help 
tremendously in keeping trees from grov;ing skyi,";ard. 

Any discussion of tree pruning would not be complete 
without stressing the need of carefu]. training daring the first 
fe\7 years. Rapid grovYth, plus an occasional corrective cut before 
the tree is five years of a.ge will work wonders in developing a 
strong framework, as for example, in a loader type of tree. The 
ease of pruning such a tree in later years is ample reward for the 
attention it receives while yoving . 

The Role of Calcium in the Soil and Plsnt (Abstract of an article 
in the January issue of Soil Auger by W. S. Eisenmenger) 

As far as our present knowledge of plant nutrition is con- 
cerned, no element acts in more capaci'cies than does calcium. We 
apply cflcium to the soil in the form of lime for the purpose of 
changing the acidity. But the calcium has another important effect, 
Calcium makes the soil loss compact and therefore easier to culti- 
vate. This attribute comes into play especially in clay soils. A 
compact soil is not V'ell supplied v/ith oxygen and it harbors unde- 
sirable rather than useful bacteria. Calcium is admirably adapted 
to penetrate compact masses and is therefore an antidote for caking 
and matting. This characteristic also allov/s it to poss out of the 
soil rapidly, particularly from a sandy soil. This is showm oy the 
fact that rivers in humid areas contain much calcium. It is inter- 
esting to note that more ground limestone is required to neutralize 
the acidity in a clay soil than in a sandy soil. A ton per acre 
may suffice in the latter \7hil0 the former may require three tons. 
Calcium also tends to increase the availability of other elements, 
such as phosphorus. A clay or loam which shov/s little available 
phosphorus when the pH is as lov; as 4 or 5, v^rill sliow a much hiigher 
phosphorus content when it is brought up to 6 or 7 by an applica- 
tion of lime. 

Thus we find several important functions of cflcium in 
the soil, while in 'che plants themselves its functions are of tre- 
mendous consequence. All of the higher plants require calcium. 
Fungi thrive witliout it, while mosses, lichens and ferns require 
a small amount to sustain life. 

One of the more important fec"tures of calcium is its abil- 
ity to overcome, toxicities v/hich would otherwise harm the plant. 
The presence of superabundant amounts of magnesium, aluminum, iron, 
copper, boron or zinc and the ensuing bad effects are overcome in 
part by calcium.. This aspect of calcium is illustrcted by the less- 



"3- 

ened efrect of e boron application on a limed soil. Calcium also 
neutrE.lizes acids v/ithin the plr.nt and precipitates them out as 
insoJ.uble cclciura salts. A calcium deficiency is manifest by a 
flaccid condition of the cell walls with sometimes a bending dovm- 
ward 01 the leaf tips. Legumes are regarded as conservers of ni- 
tro[_,en but they also remove large quantities of calcium from t?ie 
soil. 

Calcium is the one element most often lacking in the 
animal diet. And sirice a glass of milk contains more calcium than 
a similar volume of saturated lime v/ater, calcium must be an im- 
portant item in the animal diet. This element is therefore of 
great importance for both plants and animals. 

They're V/orking On It 

In the January issue of the Experiment Station Record 
we find brief abstracts of investigations in pomolo,^;' &s f ollov/s : 

(1) Leaves grov.'ing on a vigorous 25-year-old Mcintosh 
tree are found by E. P. Christopher of R. I. to differ but slightly 
in their rate of CO2 assimilation \mether growing on "thick" or 
"thin" branches. V/hen a leaf growing on a thin branch was so placed 
as to receive more light Lhan the corresponding leaf on a thick 
branch, it sliowed a marked gain in assimilation. Thus it appears 
that the inefficiency of the slender shaded branch is due not so 
much to fruity conduction as to a lack of light on its leaves. 

(2) The effect on pollination of c copper lime dust ap- 
plied at blossoming time for fire blight control is being studied 
by MacDaniels & Ili.ldebrand of Ilev; York State. Paired blooms on 25- 
year-old Northern ,Spy trees pollinated with Delicious and then 
dusted, failed to show detrimental effects of the copper on fruit 
set. But the application of the dust 24- hours prior to pollination 
was detrimental. This suggests that copper compoionds may be applied 
to apple blooms, if necessary for blight control, v/ithout seriously 
reducing the set. 

(3) Thinning of Wealthy blossom buds at the pink stage 
to a distance of 10 to 12 inches apart is found "oy Bobb & Black 
of New Jersey to have a marked influence on annual bearing in 19- 
yecT-old trees. The immediate result of blossom, thinning was to 
stimulate leaf development on all spurs and to encourage blossom 
bud formation for the succeeding year. 

(4) Observations on 3 apple varieties in 1936, 2 in 1937 
and 1 in 1938, by Ellenwood Ik Gourley of Ohio, showed tliat the most 
serious source of mechanical injuries v;as in the grader. The man- 
ner of emptying the picking container into the crate was also im- 
portant. The human factor wc s important with much viu-iation re- 
corded among pickers. It is suggested that sponge rubber or other 
padding should be used in the bins and tables of the grading machine. 

(5) Supplemental irrigation of apple trees growing on a 
deep, porous soil which received 22.7 inches of rainfall was found 



-A- 

beneficial by Wiggans of Nebraska. Soil samples collected through 
the year in a block of Delicious spaced 30 x 33 feet showed that 
the rainfall vifas insufficient for both trees and cover crop and 
that 15 inches of irrigation was necessary to meet all requirements. 
Records on 7 varieties sho«ved an average of 9% of apples below 2-2-" 
on the irrigated plots compared with 4-4^ on the non-irrigated plots. 

Does Internal Cork Disappear in Storage? 

There seems to have been some difference of opinion among 
fruit grov/ers as to whether internal cork becomes more severe in 
storage or not. As a means of finding a possible ansvrer to this 
question samples of Mcintosh apples were taken from certain orchards 
in Middlesex County v."here internal cork v;as particularly trouble- 
some. These apples were then sent to the Pomology Department at 
the State College for observation. On September 26 a composite 
sample of the apples was divided into three lots. One lot was ex- 
amined immediately to determine the amount and severity of internal 
cork at harvest time. One lot was placed in cold storage and the 
other in common storage. On November 25 one-half of each lot 
placed in storage was examined and the other half was allowed to 
remain in storage for further observation. On February 1, the 
final lot was removed and examined. A small sample each of Cort- 
land and Baldwin was treated in a similar manner. 

The results of this experiment suggest the following 
conclusions: (l) Apples that are free from internal cork when 
placed in stort^ge do not acquire it. (2) That internal cork in- 
creases in severity the longer the apples are held in storage. 
(3) That there is no relationship between the type of storage, 
whether cold or coimnon, and the increase in severity of internal 
cork. (4) There is no evidence that apples affected v/ith internal 
cork when placed in storage will ever recover from it. 

As a supplementary p^rt of this experiment the effect of 
internal cork on the cider making properties of apples v/as studied. 
In this experiment apples showing none or a mere trace of internal 
cork were compared with those sliowing medium and heavy amounts. 
The results indicate that apples show^ing internal cork produce 
about 10$^ less cider per unit of fruit than sound apples. Also, 
the cider from corky apples has more sediment and is less acid than 
that fro;, sound apples. 0. C. Roberts 

February Cold Storage Report 

According to the Agricultural Marketing Service, cold 
storage stocks of apples were reduced 5,886,000 bushels during 
January. For the same month in 1939 the figure.. was 5,593,000 and 
for the 5-year average - 5,297,000. Stocks on hand February 1, 
amounting to 20,312,000 bushels, were 661,000 bushels less than 
those of a year earlier and 1,64-9,000 bushels below average. Kov/- 
ever, Nevv' England and Nev^r York holdings (largely Mcintosh) on Feb- 
ruary 1 were considerebly above those of a year ago. For Vermont, 
Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York the comparative figures 
v/ere 5,109,000 (19^0) and 4,013,000 (1939). 



-5- 



Approximate percentage distribution of U. S. holdings by 
"" " 1 is interesting. V/inoscip - 30^; Mcintosh - 



varieties on February 
13,-; Delicious - 12^; Baldv/in 
tovvn (Albemarle Pippin)^ 
C-ano - 3%' Stay.'iian - 5jo", 



9% 



Home 



J-JC 



autv - 



Northern Sv^. 
;her v 
of the total were Mcintosh and 



York Imperial 






2%; Cortland - 1%; and other vi'rieties 



30^ 



- 2fj; Rhode 
- lOfj. In 
Bald\7in. 



6%; Yellow Nev;- 
Ben Davis and 
Island Greening 
iiew England 



I/O 



storage holdings on February 1 consisted of 156,000 bar- 
rels; 8,199,000 Western boxes; 5,787,000 iilastern boxes; and 



5,858,000 bushel baskets 



L. Scuthv.'ick 



V/eight of 



Bushel of Apples 



V\'. S. Campfield, secretary of the Virginia State Hort. 
Society, undertook the accurate weighiing of some 500 commercial 
bushel packages of apples to find the average deviations from the 
commonly accepted bushel weight of around 42-5 pounds. Average 
weights, several varieties included, vi^ere as f ollov.'s : 



Northwestern packed box 

1-1/8 bu. Eastern box - face and fill 

1-1/5 bu. Eastern crate - either face 

and fill or packed 
Evans drum - face and fill 
Basket - Crovm cover - face and fill 



43 . 7 pounds 
45.7 " 



47 . 7 
42.5 
4>3 • ' 



Mr. Campfield says; "I would think the northwestern box 
and the Evans drum more nearly indicate the weights of a bushel of 
apples. It will be noted that the other packs, including the bas- 
kets, were all in excess of the bushel weights, and to that extent, 
the industry is giving away to the trade more apples than it should, 

due to the use of so many 



to say nothing of 



the 
to 1 
chaotic condition 



different sizes and types of package. 



L. Southv.'ick 



Japanese Beetle Problem 



m a 

ing 

cons 

cont 

eare 

The 

side 

to H 

over 



Dr. G. 3. Langford, entomologist. University of Maryland, 
discussion of "che Japanese beetle recently gave this interest- 
information. The program of control of this pest in Maryland 



ying, dusting, lavm treatments, biological 
nematodes, and a new method v;here dis- 



ists of trapping, sp 
rol by use of parasites, 

germs (harmful only to the beetles) are worked into the soil, 
beetles ccught in the 10,000 traps in Maryland in 1939, if laid 

by side, would have reached from Washington to California, back 
ew York, then to \7ashington, v;ith a few tons of beetles left 

L. Southv.'ick. 



Government Payments 



Sta 

10. 5f^ of 



that for 



Preliminary figures for 1939 show _. „ 

a whole total government farm payments amounted to about 
income from farm marketings. This percen- 



the United 
:es 

?/j of the total casii income rrom rarm marketings. This pf 
tage varied considerably among the states. For instance, in Massa 



-6- 

chusetts, the figure is Igls tlian 1% and in Alcibama it is more than 
^•2^L Massachusetts was next to the uottom in government payments 
C;633,OQO) as related to farm marketings income (^73, A37, 000) and 
liith from the lo?;est in actuax firrures. L. Southv.'ick 



-u ' 



Cash Income from Fruits 

Preliminary figures place Massachusetts eleventh among the 
states in 1939 cash income from fruits. This amounted to $8,457,000 
out of a total of 04-13,056,000. Leading states were California, 
Florida, ^"ashing ton, Kev/ York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas and 
Oregon in that order v.'ith Cslifornia far m the lead with a fruit 
cash income of vl51,014,000. Cranberries constituted the larg-rst 
item in the fruit income in Massachusetts - 04*^^2, 000, followed 
by apples - i;;2,620,000; strawberries - $692,000; peaches - C82,000; 
pears - 0^8,000; and grapes - ^18,000. L. Southv;ick 

Plans Available for Orchard F.guipm e nc and Apple Storage Structures 

Some time ago, V/. C. Harrinttoii of the Department of Rural 
Engineering prepared detailed construction plans covering the fol- 
lowing items of interest to fruit grov.ers: Brush Burner (#5Q2C), 
Low Y.agon, horse dravm, converted from Mouel T P'ord chassis (7'528C), 
Stationary Spray Tank, reinforced concrete, 750-3300 gals, capacity 
(505c), Box Nailing Form, standard farm pi'oduce box (•;v54'7C), Apple 
Box press, v^ood (#5120), and Apple Box .levators, electrically 
operated (#598C) and hand operated (#599C) . A limited number of 
blueprints ;-:re still available from Prof. Harrington's office at 
a very small charge. 

Shall ^Ve Count Our Apple Trees? 

In 1925 a valuable inventory of apple trees was taken, in 
Kew England. 1754 Massachusetts farms were foioiid with 100 apple 
trees or more. The survey covered not only tree numbers, but ages 
and vorieties. With the hurricane removing large numbers of trees 
in hew England, it has been suggested that we should again take 
stock of our apple tree resources. Many changes have taken place 
during the past 15 ^''ears. lb \'Ould be interesting to know vmether 
or not we no',»' have too large a proportion of Mcintosh, and also the 
extent to which apple trees ^re being planted for replacement. 

Profitable Pest Control Conference in New Haven 

About 25 entomologists, pli.nt pathologists and others in- 
terested in fruit pest control in hew England and hew York met at 
New Haven, Conn., Feb. 8, for an all day conference to discuss nev; 
developments in materials and control methods. Among the points 
brought out v;ere these: The modern, stream lined, high pressure, 
high speed sprayer is permitting certain minor pests like bud moth 
and leaf roller to increa.se in numbers. Loaves may be blovai Imt 
not entirely covered. The grov/er must become better acquainted 
v/ith the life history of the pests present in his orchard. Promis- 
ing results wore reported from the use of derris dust for apple mag- 
got control in Connecticut and of cryotite for apple curculio con- 
trol in Zlew York. 



-7- 

Massachusetts p. Piorjoer Sta te in Soi3. Mapping . 

Masse chusetts v/as amont: the fiviit fev: states to be cora- 
pletely covered by a detailed soil :::urvey. /. P'^rt of the lov.er 
Connecticut Valley wcs surveyed in 1899. -Plymouth County was mapped 
in 1911. After some delay during the Vvorld War, mapping was re- 
sumed in 1920 and continued until, v/ith the surveying of Frj-nklin 
County in 1929, the state was completed. 

Maybe That's How It Started 

V'e had alv^a^AS supposed that "strawberries" v.'ere so named 
because straw was conu-nonly used for mulching. But the folj.owing 
statement from the French Gardener of 1691 melees us wonder if the 
origin of the name may not go back to the ancient custom of tying 
the plants with straw: "You must dress, weed and loose the mould 
about the plants very diligentl:/, and to have fair and clear fruit, 
3'ou shall stick a small prop to every pl^.nt, to which you shxll 
bind their stalks v/ith a straw . " 

Do Lcrger Yields Mean Softer Fruit? 



At p recent fruit meeting, a grower raised this question: 
"Are we getting softer Mcintosh as a result of our efforts to get 
larger yields? The answer is a qualified "Yes." A nitrogen starved 
tree has smaller, firmer, more liighly colored apples, and fev/er of 
them. A tree vfith an abundance of nitrogen, plus a good water 
supply, bears larger and generally softer apples. Some of them 
m.ay be poorly colored. If we can't get both high yields and ideal 
color and quality, let's compromise between the best possible yields 
consistent with other desirable characteristics. Large annual 
yields are of primary importance. And incidentclly, let's give 
more attention to packages and methods of handling which will insure 
good m.arket condition in a naturally soft apple. 

"Poor Ma n ' s Mul c h " is a term sometimes applied to snow. As this is 
being written I'e're gettiiig another heavy snowfall on top of the 9" 
blizzard of February 14- Here's hoping its Vc.lue to the "not too 
wealthy farmer'' may be in proportion to the amount now covering the 
landscape. It remains to be seen what in;iury, if any, may have oc- 
curred during the contin"aed cold v/eather during January v.iien the 
ground was bare. 

A good mulch not only protects the roots of plants by 
preventing deep freezing, but when it disintegrates it yields to 
the surrowiding vegetation something of real value. In the case 
of organic matter the products of decomposition not only improve 
the texture of the soil and increase its cbility to retain moisture, 
but provide nitrogen and other mineral elements. Snow, if it is 
to live up to its reputation as a mulch, must also yield sometl:ing 
of value v;hen it disappears, namely W'ater. 3ut v/ater is of no use 
unless it soaks into the soil tnd is available v;hen needed. v,"i£,t 
runs down into the valley may be worse thf.n useless. Melting snow 
over deeply frozen ground can scarcely qualify as a good Liulch. 
But if tiiere is plenty of organic matter beneath the snow to prevent 
most of the surface runoff then it contributes something of vital 
importance to the fruit plantation. 



Ixo'l 



FRUIT LIOTZIS - March, 1940 

W. H. Thies 
Extension Hoi'ticulturist 



Fr..rm and Home V/eok Fruit Meetln r;s 

Thursday raid Fridf<.y, July 25 to 26, arc the dates selected 
Tor the 1940 Farm and Home ^;/eck fruit meetin(^s in Anilior&t. For 
the first time in a number of years the meetings are to he held 
on Thursday and Friday instead of Tuesday and Wednesday . This 
change has been made in order to avoid a conflict v.'itli the Farm 
and Home Vfeek meetin[:,s in Connecticut. Details 01 the program 
are nov; being worked out. In addition to another interesting 
speaking program, an o:-hibit depicting the histor:' of spraying 
equipment v/ill be on display. 

Chang es in the 194-0 Apple Spray bchedu le 

The 194-0 Apple Spray Chart, available from each County 
Extension Office or from the State College, contains no radical 
changes. In addition to a nev; color scheme (pink instead of 
brov.n) nev; emphasis is being placed upon wet'cable sulfur in the 
earlier applications. Hot that apple scab is any easier to con- 
trol than it used to be, but because of improved equipment and 
better timing of spray applications, more grovers are able to 
rely upon a v/ettable sulfur for sorb control, using lime sulfur 
only in an emergency. Note 2 in the 1940 Apple Spray Chart sums 
up the situation. The new spray chprt also outlines detailed 
control m.easures for two m.inor pests, bud moth and leaf roller, 
v;hich seem to be on the increase in certain orchards. liotes 4 
and 5 suggest how thfe as pests are best controlled. 

Bees for Pollination Proj-^ct 

A joint project betv;een beekeepers and fruit growers in 
Massachvisetts has again been arranged by the two associations 
for the purpose 01 facilitating the rental of strong colonies 
of bees for orchard pollination. The specif icctions for a colony 
for pollination purposes agreed upon b^ both beekeepers and fruit 
growers is as follows: ''A nori.ial over-v/intered colony consisting 
of not less than six frcnes of bees with brood in a ten frame 
hive." The interests of both- beekeepers and fruit growers have 
been carefully considered in •^he arrangements as nov" dravm up. 
April 10 has been set as the closing date for the agreement be- 
tween beekeeper and agent of the M.F.G.A. For full details, 
growers are invited to com.municate with \Y. R. Cole^ Secretary of 
the M.F.G.A. in Amiierst. 



Issued by the Extension Service, V/illard A. Munson, director, 
in furtherance of Acts of May 8 and June 30, 191/;, Massachusetts 
State College, United States Department of Agriculture, and 
County ^.."".tension Services cooperating. 



Planting a Nev/ Orchard? 

To be impressed v;ith the seriousness of the erosion proh- 
lem one\ needs only to see a side lull orchard v/here erosion over 
a period of years has raised the soil on the lovver side of the 
orchsrd as much as 2^j feetj, as evidenced by the difference in 
soi]. level on opposite sides of a stone wall. That situation 
acoually exists in a Connecticut Valley orchard. Constant cul- 
tivation up and dovm the hill plus potential gulli.es started by 
wheel tracks^ have almost ruined the upper half of this area. 
Such situations stress the need for contour planting on sloping 
areas. This applies particularly to peach orchards although 
contour apple orchards should become more common in Massachusetts. 
In addition to the conservation of vvater and soil^ another big 
advantage in this method is that it enables one to travel "on the 
level" with the sprayer or other orchard equipment. Service is 
now available for any grov/er v;ho contemplates a contour planting 
or v;ho is interested in means of preventing erosion in present 
plantings. In Massachusetts, A. B. Beaumont is in a position to 
give assistance in matters pertaining to either erosion control 
or contour planting. Any interested grov/er should confer with 
his county agricultural agent. 

Inc reasing Str aw berry Yields 

Joseph Rose of Falmouth has a reputation for being a good 
strawberry grower. His yields are far above the average. One is 
impressed by the appearance of his plants and by the spongy feel 
of his soil due to a generous supply of organic mrtter. On in- 
quiry, we find that he rackes a practice of plowing Lmder three 
cover crops before the strawberry plants are set. Here are his 
sources of organic matter: rye, corn and buckv:heat, and millet. 
Liberal fertilization of these cover crops gets his soil in siich 
excellent condition as regards reserve fertility, retentiveness, 
and aeration that he has much less need for stimulation of the 
str£a;berry plants after they- are s^': out; He hrrvests around 
12,000 quarts per acre. 

One Grower's Idea of Stravrberry Varieties 

A. W. Love of Auburn lias experimented a n^omber of years 
Y'!±th various varieties of sm-'ll fruits and on the basis of his 
experience has this to r&y about strawberries: Catskill tcKes 
number one rank "without the slightest question." Aberdeen is 
good for the "pick them yourself" tvfjde v.-hile the Howard 17 pro- 
vides some early berries". Ke thixiks the everbearers have been 
misnamed as far as his location is concerned. They should be 
called "never bearers." For reasons v/hich are not entirely clear, 
he finds that raspberries do much better on a north or northeast 
slope. Low temperature injury to canes in spring may bo a factor. 
"Ilever agrin," he says, "will I plant on e southern slope or on 
level land. j]ven where the soils are equally well drained, tlie 
slope makes the differ-ence bet\"een success and failure." 



Any Mouse Injiiry? 

A heavy grass cover in many orchards alon£ vith ?. hecvy 
Ic.te v.'intcr snov/f all , have brought ideal conditions for mouse 
girdling of fruit trees. The ideal time to detocc such injury 
and do something about it is early spring. Timo spent in going 
over the entire orchard systematically may net big returns. Too 
often v;e relj/ upon the protection of wire guards long since out- 
grov.Ti "by the e::panding tree trunks. Mice often v.'ork belo'.v the 
v;ire guai-ds and in some instances above tlr:.em. Bridge grafting, 
if it can be done soon after the gii'dling takes plac--, is an ef- 
fective v/ay of overcoming the difficulty. Eu'C \;he girdling must 
first be observed and that takes time and patience. Incidentally, 
any orchard v,"hich shov/s evidence of mice this spring should be 
given the nevrl-.- c'eveloped poison bait treatment ne;:.t fall. Zour 
county agricultural a;^ent can provide the nececscry information. 

Hev.' Uses for Apples 

Speaking before a recent llashoba meetin,:, in V'estford, 
J. J. Willam.an of th.e :i]astern Regional Research Laboratory in 
Philadelphia, told of the establisliment of four regional research 
laboratories in search for ncv; and wider industrial outlets and 
markets for farm conmiodities and products. Research will be de- 
voted primarily' to those farm commodities in \;l:ich- there are regu- 
lar or saasonrl surpluses. 

As early as 1908 the Department of Agriculture published 
results from experiments on the preparation o:.' luifermented apple 
juice. The need now is for an apple juice which ",;ill retain 
indef initel"^ the flavor of sweet cidor in order to extend its use 
through the summer months when a thii'St q.Lienchin^. fruit juice is 
greatly desired. 

Among the many other uses oi cull and surplus apples, the 
follov/ing ma3' be noted: aried apple sauce for use in the baking 
trade, a taele syrup witli an apple flavor, wax from apple peel 
for use as r plasticizer in paints, and as a coating for m.imeo- 
graph stencils, a wider use of pectin, as for example, as an 
emulsifier or gum in flavoring and pharmaceutic; 1 preparation in 
medicine, in dairy, confectionery, bfkery products, in plastics, 
and in sizing textiles. In the above Itboratoi'y, work is being 
conducted, along a number of lines on a small scale after which 
pilot plant operations v/ill be undertaken. In the pilot plant 
enough of the product will be made for a thorough study of its 
usefulness and marketability. Tiiis J.s in line with the old maxim, 
"Make your mistakes in e small plrnt and your profits in a big 
plant." Suggestions I'rom appl'^- growers are welcom.e. 

Spring Management fo r the :>eekeeper 

F. R. Shav: of the Department of Zntomology, has prepared 
a brief oiitline covering "Spring hanagement for the Beekeeper." 
Ke suggests v.'hat may be done to build the colonies up to mcMimum 
strength at tne time of tlie principal honey flow, iuny reader of 
Fruit Rotes interested in thos ; timely suggestions mry comiiiunicate 
with F. R. Shaw, Fernald Hall, M. S. C. 



-4- 



£upplement£iry Contro l Mea&ures for Codling Mot h 

A nuinl")cr oi' comm'Lrcial grov/ors in Mf.ss: chusetts ^,re icrap- 
ing the loose bark from older trees this yeiv for the first tirae. 
Increasing difficulty vvixh codling moth control ]ias prompted this 
sup]}lemontary control measure. One gro'.vor reports findinr more 
than 40 codling moth cocoons in a single apple box. Ileealess to 
say, he found plenty of "stings" in the fruit at harvest time 
last fall. Removal of loose bark is quite essential if one is 
planning to use chemically treated bai.ds around the tr'unk. Only 
Dy removing the natural hiding places for the larvae can the bands 
be made most effective. An almost unbelievable number of larvae 
have been counted beneath codling moth bands in Massachusetts 
where this method of control has been tested by A. I. Bourne in 
recent years. V/e are inclined to think of the codling moth as of 
little consequence in this section, ".vhere our growing season is 
relatively short and the second brood is usually ratiier light. 
In regions farther souths where a full second and third brood de- 
velops, there is, of course, a i.iuch more serioiis problem. Put 
even in i;ew England, codling moth seems to be on the increase, 
particularly where the control program involves dust application's 
in s t e a d of s p r a y s . 

Two Simple Pruning tSuggestioris 

Seldom do v/e find tv/o people v.'ith the s&me notions about 
pruning an apple tree. The amount and kind of pruning is so tied 
up v'itn age of tree, vigor and variety that rifles are rs difficult 
to follow as thioy are to form.ulate. It is almost impossible to 
tell anyone how to prione because the "how'' depends so much upon 
"what" we have to begin with. If a tre-^ is leapt growing rapidly 
from the start and if i'^ had a "leader" to begin vrith, the chtnces 
are it will develop into a fairly strong tree. But very often 
something happens to check the gro'.'th of the feeder and subseouent 
grov.'th gets shvjnted into r i;horl of vigorous, closel-/ spaced side 
limbs. Such a tree, if allo\7ed to continue i;ithout corrective 
pruning, may have -cwo or three or more le&ders r.nd perhaps a v;eak 
framework. To correct •cliis situation, the whorl must be partially 
eliminated by drastic :io;.:.ding hick of some of tiie side limbs or 
preferably by removal of seme of thi-e side limbs entirely. The 
sooner this c^n be done, the better. Under nc- conditions should 
a side limb be allo-v/ed to outgrow' the leader. To state the matter 
in a different way, if a side limb of a very young tree shows un- 
mistakable signs of leadership, ia may be advisable to select 
that for the leader and to remove the jiortion of the tree origi- 
nally designated ss the leader. Cuts of this can be made at Z or 
3 years of age and cciplecely ohcinge the fri,mev/ork of the tree 
without greatly retarding fruit production. But if the corrective 
pruning is delayed until the tree is /^ or 5 years of age it is 
almost impossibl'-' to attain the desired end. 

Our second suggertion concerns an apple tree 15 or 20 years 
of £ge or older which lirs borne heavy crops. Successive crops 
have bent the branches dov;nw.;,rd luitil some are well belov; the hori- 



zontE-l, v/hilo I; teral shoots hevs developed outward and upvi.rd. 
The pruiiinf, of such a tree may often be confined almost entirely 
to the remove 1 of the older pc rts of branches which Lirow more or 
less dov.-nward, retaining the 7oi.in:;,'?r, better exposed parts of 
those branches. In addition to tlie remov;:l of this older, more 
shaded v/ood, wc must, of course, occrsionally take out a crov;d- 
ing upright v/hcre tv/o or three are trying to occupy the Sc'.me 
space. in f^eneral, vjhen v:e prune older bearing, trees vvo should 
concentrate on the removal of "dov.TiriKhts" Inste.^d of "uprights.' 



Practices to Regulate the Fruit Crop 



Three prjcticcs L.re .Viov; receiving attention vrhich under 
certain conditions iuay be used successfully and proiltabl;,^ to 
regulate the apple and possibly other fruit crops. These are: 
(l) branch ringing to increase set, size and earliness of maturity 
of fruit, (2) spraying v/ith plant srov'tn substcnces to reduce 
pre-harvest drop of apples, and (3) sprayin;- to prevent fruit set 
in the on-year of biennial bearing Vc.riiities. It should be em- 
phasized that these rro not substitutes for any of our present 
major orcliard practices but only supplemontery to them. This in- 
teresting theme is discussed by A. 3. Murneek in the March, 19^0 
American Fruit Gro'/or. This artic-le is "..'ell \;orth reading. 

Relation of Gprcy Pressure to Pest Co ntro l 

Some growers thinh the pendulum has svifung far enough in 
the dir..Tction of nigh pressure spraying. Tliero is some evidence 
to bear out this contention. V.'itiiin reasonable limits e::tra 
pressure is desirable since it breaks the spray into finer drops 
and carries it farther except v.-iiere air ctirrents prevent. The 
modern tendency, hovrever, is to over-emphasize the Vi. lue of e:;tra 
pressure. Leaves may be blo?/n but not completely covered. 

In the March issue of Better Fruit, mention is made of 
a conference in the State of V/ashington to consider all angles 
of this qiiestion. Tv;enty^ experts in various fields attended the 
meeting at vrhich the danger to foliage and even to fruit, wiiich 
may result from excessive pressure, v:as brought out. The v/arning 
on excessive pressure damage is coupled with the suggestion that 
growers pay more attention to orchard scnitation as an avc-:lliary 
codling moth control feature. It v?.s pointed out at the meeting 
that too muca pressure is z.s bad or worse than not enough. Large 
amounts of spray ere put on the trees unevenly in many cases and 
a substc.ntially better job can be done v/ith moderate or just enough 
pressure to reach the tops e;"sily. 

An Old Fertili .z cr Advert.isem crit 

Brov/sin;:, through the March, 1912 issue of a Eev," England 
publication, v;e find reference to a nev; inineral fertilizer for 
which great claims were made. The ad stresses the fpct that 
this fertilizer contains 5'7fo silica, and then roes on to tell 
the per cent of silica in the ash of various plants, as for ex- 
ample, tobacco 18^, lettuce 20fo, and oats ^8%. From the analysis 



-6- 

of this fertilizer, about the only thing of ri.ctucl vi'lue is 1-^/^ 
each of potassium o:':ido and crlcium oxide. ICvideiitly this ma- 
terial v;s,s about as rich in plant food as th'; dust from a stone 
crusher. The ad closes v/ith this statement, "Tno n-.;v; mineral 
fertilizer means healthy and nutritious products whereas manures 
contain disease producing bacilli fnd debilitating ferment" 
(vmatever that is) . Modern farmers, with their better under- 
stcnding of fertilizer analyses i.nC. of plant requirements are 
in a more favorable position to judge the merits of the available 
materials. 

Chemistry and Soils 



Speaking on this subject recentl:/-, Ricliard Bradfield of 
Cornell University said, "It may seem a little far-fetched to see 
a chemist attacking a fertilizer problem by studying the reactions 
of fertilizer Y."ith colloidal clay in a test tube. But many prob- 
lems of fertilizer reaction ere very complex and can be clarified 
only by breaking them dov,Ti into simpler fragments. We have come 
to realise that v/hen v/e add fertilizer to the soil v/o do more than 
fertilize the crop with the ingredients contain'-n,'. in the fertili- 
zer b?c. By fertilizing the soil v/e set in operation a compli- 
cated series of reactions w'nich often require months, and even 
years, for their completion. In fact, it is doubtful if the soil 
is ever the same after a fertilizer cpplicrtion. The growth of 
the crops v/hich follow is influenced b--'' the Indirect as well as 
the direct reaction of the fertilizer." 

One Lesson from a Dry Season 

The severe drouth of 1939 whicii extended up to the har- 
vest season in the Mid-West has prompted some pointed comments 
from F. S. Hewlett of Ohio State University, ho sa^'s, "Evidence 
has been obtained from growers ul:o have irrigated, and tiierefore 
have paid close attention to penetration of v.-at:;r, concerning the 
effect of orchard tools ?nd equipment upon soil structure. One 
grower informed the v/ritnr that in no place in the orchard is 
satisfactory penetrcition of water observed except beneath the 
trees where the soil hcd not been trod upon or recently disturbed. 
The physical structure of the soil between th3 trees has become 
distinctly'- unfavorable -.s time h^as passed not only for v/ater pene- 
tration but also for root penetration. This might not be of great 
importance in a soil ^.'here rooting is comparatively deep, but in 
soil where aeration is naturally' shallov; it is of rather serious 
consequence. In suci: orchards irrigc.tion is almost essential 
and good v/ater penetration is obviously desirable. This fact 
emphasizes the importance of limiting the use of heavy equipment 
in the orchard. It rc.lso ccli: for ci\e adoption of a system of 
soil management vaiich maintains a structure of the soil favoring 
high water permeability, better aeration, and more extended root 
grov/th. The drouth has given some indication of those portions 
of existing orchards wliere mulching should be (.;arried out. It 
has brought out the advantages as well as tlie limitations of 
mulching. V'.T:iere trees have been mulched, loss severe effectsr 



I ■ 



have been obs-jrv.v^d. Yob obviously mulchins clo?3 not add water to 
the soil c.nd v/.'-ere rooting is very shallov: simply delays the be- 
ginning of \vater stress. Tliis d^alay is very desirable and may be 
the means of carrying 'crees through the drouth if not too pro- 
longed and thxe trees not too shallov; rooted." 

A 7-Point Program 

G. A. Drevr of Westiord offers these pointed susrestions 
in a recent issue of the Rural How Yorker: "Vniilo the cash re- 
turns from this last season's crop of fruit h.ave been rather 
disappointing, most of us fruit grov:ers still have faith in our 
business and believe it to be fundamentally soiuod. As to how best 
to meet the changing conditions and improve our positions, I 
believe the follo\7ing points should receive serious attention: 
(l) Cut do'vn or destroy our m.arginal orchards. (2) Eliminate 
varieties that are no longer prof it?-.ble. (3) Try to grov.' a large 
percentage of better colored, attractive fruit. (4) Eliminate 
culls from the fresh fruit market in open competition with our 
better grades. (5) Pack, handle and supervise the marketing of 
our fruit in order that it may roach the consumer in better con- 
dition. (6) vrnenever possible diversify more in several varie- 
ties covering a longer seaso:i or in different crops of fruit and 
not have all one's eg^.s in one basket. (7) Give our IJev/ York and 
Hew England Apple Institute better support in advertising our 
proauct. Tnis is my seven point program for recovery, which I 
respectfully submit." 

Small Fruit hotes from Hew Jersey 

J. H. Clark of He-.; Jersey, writing in the State I-orticul- 
tural Society Hews, says, ''.\n increosing niimber of Hew Jersey 
strawberry growers are using mulch e£-.ch year. The manager of 
one of the important produce auctions in the stc te recently made 
the statem.ent that the strawberry growers who go not mulch are 
losing m.oney by not doing so." Concerning raspberry varieties, 
he says, "The Latham, raspberry although quite susceptible to 
mosaic, anthracnose, spur taligh_t, etc., is the r,iost profitable 
commercial variety for iiew Jersey. Varieties more resisornt to 
disease end of better quality are badly needed." 

Internal Cork and 'Bor on 

In the spring of 1937, boron applications were made to 
certain Mcintosh and Cortland trees in an orchard at Massachusetts 
State College which produced considerable corky fruit in 1936. 
ethers were left as ch.ecks. Borax was applied both in direct soil 
dressings and injections and in spra^'-s at the rcte of less than 
1/2 pound per tree in each case. A check on the 1939 crops re- 
vealed the presence again of considerable internal cork in both 
varieties wiien untreated but no evidence of cork in. the fruit from 
tJie trees which had had borax applications in 1937. This evidence 
is in line w'ith other data and further substantiates that the cor- 
rective influence of a single boron addition may continue for 
several years in some soils. It likewise brings out the important 
fact that in the use of boron, a little goes a long way. 

L. Southwick 



R ecomiiendcd Lir;t of Varieties of Fruits for Massachusetts (Revised 
February^ 1-)U0) - Department of Pomology. 

Arranged Approxirnately in Order of Season 
("- most reliaole for commercial plrnting) 

A. Apples 

Lodi '"'■Mcintosh Golden Delxciouj; 

Early Mcintosh Richared -"Baldwin 

M.blton -"<-Cortland -"-Northern Spy 

■"■Red Gravenstein Rhode Island (Greening) 

r/'ealthy 
Crab Apple - Hys-lop 

B. Pears 



-"■Clapp -"■Seckel -"-Rose 

""-Bartlett Gorham An,]ou 



Dana Kovey 



Peache; 



Mikado -x-Qolden Jubilee ■"■Flberta 

Marisolci ---Halehaven -;^J. H. Hale 

-"-Oriole BQlle of Ga. (w) 



I) . Plum s 

Formosa Grand Didce .Shropshire Dam- 

Sa.nta Rosa Stanley (prune) son 

Imperial Gage Albion Italian Prune 

E. Cherries 

, Sour - -"Montmorency, Flnglish Morello 
Diil'.e - May Dulce 
Sweet - Ring, -"-Windsor, Gold 

F. Quinces 

Oran.ge Champion 

G. Grapes 

-"-Fredonia Delaware Brighton 

Ontrrio -^nVorden Niagara 

Concord 

H . Strawberri e s 

^■^-Howard l'l~{'9vfimi.-2v) Fairia;: 

Dorsett -"Catskill -"Aberdeen 

Everbearer - M.-stodon Ciiesapeake 

I. Raspberries 

"Black - Logan, Plum Farmior, Cumberland 
Red - Chief, Marcy, -"-Latham, Rancre (St. Regis) (everbearer) 

J. Blackberry - Zldorf;.do 

K. Currents - -"Wilder - riot allov/od in many towns. Consult Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, State House, Boston, Mass. 

L. Blueberries 

Cabot -"Pioneer -^^Rubel 

NOTE: Man;/ varieties of fruits are partly or wholly self sterile. 
Usucilly it is best to plc?nt more than one variety. 



FRUIT NOTES - Arril, 1940 

W. H. Thies 
Extension Horticulturist 

Sl-Ji'ie. S u;--;p;esti_ons o n Transip lant in," Trees 

Too often eui air pocket is left iiTJuediately under the roots of the 
newly planted tree. Intimate contact botv/een roots aiid soil nay be accomplish- 
ed in several ways, according to H. B. Tukey of the Geneva, Kev; York, Agricul- 
tural iixperiinent Station, but its importance cannot be overemphasized. E. S. 
Goff of 'Jisconsin in so:..o of the first sciontiiic studies with fruit trees in 
America showed the ii^iportance of water. Newly set trees supplied v;ith water 
through a rubber tube attached to a root, developed foliage much more ra-^ddly 
than untreated trees. The so-called "Stringf ellow :.ethod", devised about 1900, 
in rhich the roots v/ere trir-i.ied close and ran-aued into place seems to have been 
successful because it placed the roots in intimate contact v;ith the soil. A 
good pleai is to throw a few shovels of top soil into the center of the tree 
hole, place the tree on the conical cushion, covor the roots lightly, aiid tamp 
the tree f ir; '.ly into place. One of the advantages of using a peat soil mixture 
is th^.t it results in a springy although tight cont;:ict of soil and roots. 

The old m.ethod of pourxn^ a pail of water over tlie soil when the 
tree is planned is helpful largely beca.use it causes the soil particles to flov/ 
together and around the roots besides supplying v/ater directly to the roots. 
There is no better m.ethod of comp3.cting soil than by v/ashing it v/ith water. 
European planters still cling to the old method of dipping the roots in a heavy 
mud mixture before planting. The advantage of this m.ethod, if any, seems to 
lie in placing finely divided particles with a large surface area in intimate 
contact with xhe roots thus providing a connecting link between the roots and 
the soil particles. 

Want_ed_ - A I.i agic V/and . 

All of us are interested in easy v/ays of doing hard tasks. Often 
the search centers in a new material. Is 3.pple scab troublesome? Then I must 
try tnat new highly advertised materic.1. Is the fruit green and of poor keep- 
ing quality? I \7onder what fertilizer cor.bination v>dll correct that. One in- 
dividual inquired about this m.agic chemdcal for making fruit stick on the trees, 
when maggot was actually the causa of the difficulty. For fear of being ;;is- 
understood we hasten to say thf.t some of tiiese new m.aterials are extremely prom- 
ising and will undoubtedly find a place in our managei.ent program. But there 
seem.s little to gain by treating the orchard floor for apple scab in 1940 when 
the real trouble in 1939 was a co!.ibination of breakdown of the sprayer at the 
Pink Stage and a scanty coverage in tlie other applications. The spray program 
offers an opportunity to "put first things first" and to bring about a proper 
balance between timing, tiioroughness and '".laterials . 

TreoE worth .;op grafting i'.ro also worthy of atte::ition afterward. 
A few days ago the writer sav/ a hundred or more trees of nearly ideal frame- 
work, the result of a clever job of grafting about eight years ago. V/ell lo- 
cated branches v/ore seloctod at that tim.o and one of the most vigorous scions 



Issued by the Extension Service, V/illard A. Llunson, Director, in furtherance 
of Acts of May 3 and June 30, 1914. Massachusetts State College, United States 
Depart.-.ient of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating. 



in each tree was given a chance to develop into a "leador". In no case were 
two upright grov/ing branches ^raftijd at the sai.ie level, thus avoiding the double 
top arran-Oiriont so co;-ixicn in bearing trees. Scjon gro'.rch not needed for breuich 
replaconont was cut back during tho first 2 or 3 years after jrafting. As a 
result this orchard is now made up of troos which arc not only of better var- 
ieties than forncrly but ox better frcxiowork. 

If you could actually raise the tenperature of your orchard S on 
a critical morning in liay by lightin^^ a few 5 £;allon paint pails of waste crank 
case oil, tha,t v/ould seeu like a ;-;iiracle indeed. But that has been done in 
at least one Ilassachusetts orchard \;here frost had previously destroyed three 
successive crops. Keatin^^; has saved five successive crops since the paint pails 
v/ere installed. Heatin;^, no: s-iud^ing- is needed, and obviously a close c.eck 
r.iust be kept on orchard tei-iperatures by means of one or more strategically lo- 
cated thermometers. The best arrangement of heaters is one in the center of 
each 4-0-foot square. If a temperature near the critical point threatens, 
every second one may be lighted, reserving the others for later use, if needed. 
Some growers prefer a low grade fuel oil instead of crank case oil because 
the latter tends to boil over if i': contains much water. This is somewhat ob- 
viated oy filling the pail only half full. Throe methods of igniting have 
been obsorvod, - a blow torch, a few kerosene 3oaked shavings dropped into the 
pail, or a strip of si'.iiilarly treated burlap hung over the edge like a wick. 
Follo-;.dng are the temperatures endured for 50 minutes by fruits at different 
stages of develop-. -.ent i 

Buds Closed but Full Sm.all Green 
Sho'./ing Color Bloom Fruits 
Apples— Delicious 25° F. 23° 29° 

Rome Beauty 23 27 29 

Pears— Beurre Bosc 27 29 29 

Peaches 25 27 30 

Cherries 28 23 30 

Flum.s 25 28 30 

Grapes 30 31 31 

Some Cormnents on Appl e Marketing 

From various representatives of the trade v/e glean these comxients: 
"Liore frequent servicing of scores .dth unifor.ly sized apples of good grade 
is essential." 

"Better grading and sizin;^ are most important factors in influenc- 
ing consum.ers to buy apples instead of other fruits." 

"Federal Surplus Goirj-.odity Corporation purchases to April 15 for 
the 1939-40 season have am.ounted to nearly 9-^- million bushels. In cities v/here 
the Stamp Plan \ra5 used for relief distribution of surplus cormiodities, 5/o of 
the money y/as spent for apples, S/i for oranges, and 3-|fo for grapefruit." 

"Growers have a dsep affection for their cull apples. These ap- 
pear to be their most cherSied possession. Cull apples are gathered solicitous- 
ly, given an honored place on tho roadside or auction market, and they are 
offered first and only to the consumer upon whose favor the sale of the best 
apples depends." 

"A moderate increase in de;.:and with a reasonable diversion of the 
less desirable apples can result in prices that should bring a reasonable pro- 
fit to the average grower in good fruit sections. 



Twil ifht Me9 ti n,e;s 

Once more the season of "orchard clinics" has arrived in liassachu- 
setts. At least 40 of ihese twij.ight sessions are being scheduled durin^^ the 
spra^/ing season for the purpose of looking over a good orchard and considering 
anything of tinely interest, with particular emphasis on fruit pest control. 
At each meeting the present stage of apple scab is reviev/ed and pertinent items 
in the spray schedule are taken up. New developments in spraying equipment 
aaid technique are also considered, and where facilities periTiit, are demonstrat- 
ed. 

The schedule of meetings in tv/o counties is as follows s 

Mid_dl_e_sox 

I.Iay 14 John Rice, L'larlboro. 

" 21 Harry D. 3rov/n, Billerica 

" 28 V/illiam Wright, V/estford. 

June 4 John Harks, Pepperell. 

" 11 Robert Linghar.i, Littleton. 

" IS Chester Barnes, Bedford. 

" 25 John Eadie, Dracut 
Br_istol 

Llay 13 C» Galdv/ell, IJorth Attleboro, 

" 27 John Hodgkinson, Swaiisea 

June 10 D» W. Nason, Morton 

" 24 Frederick Ashley, Acushnet 

July 8 A.:es Estate, North East on 

Details of raeetinj^s in 7/orcestor, Esse::, and other counties will be announced 
later . 

Se_lect ion, Care, a nd Planting of i'urser./ GjQwy-, Fruity Tr ees 

This is che title of a new Geneva, New York, Circular (^^138) by 
H. B. Tukey, Grov/ers interested in knowing what is behind the trees offered 
for sale by the nursery should read this interesting publication. Here will 
be found a discussion of co;va-.;on nursery practices of interest to growers, 
grades and quality of nursery stock, bearing age trees, truenoss to naiae, 
patented planes, v/inier injured stock, bargain stock , types of nurserymen, 
rootstocks, handling ihe stock prior to planting, subsequent care, root form- 
ation, penetration and spread of roots, and the secret of obtaining vigorous 
shoot and foliage development. 

The European Red IlLt e_ Situation 

Scarcity of red mdte eggs in many orchards has resulted in a 
rather general omission of the delayed dormant spray. In only a few cases 
has a heavy infestation been observed. Probabli'' not more than a third of 
the commercial orchards ha.ve received aji oil spray this spring. The European, 
and other spider r.iites, according to V/» D. V/l:iitcomb, are generally described 
as feeding by "v/ounding .he surface of the leaf and lapping the sap v/hich 
emerges from the wound." They can feed on liquids only. By means of small, 
sharp appendages they pierce the cells of the leaf, although they do not have 
a hollow beak, such as apliids, through which tI:o sap can be pumped. Bronzing 
of leaves in mldsuriimer results frov.i the cell injury ..-.cntionod above. 



::^*' 



L?.^''_ Control in Y ounr OrcIi: irds 

Folks oft oil ask about tuo niinimum nunbcr of sprays required on 
non-bcarlng fruit trees ^ Selc'oi.i is it necessary to api^ly more than throe 
sprays. But those tilings should bo kept in irdnd. Young trees if kept in 
vigorous condition by such practices as iiiulching, fertilization, or cultiva- 
tion, arc better able to withstand pest dariage. Peat control measures may be 
confined to those pests which threaten to injujre the tree. Only by constant 
observation can destructive insects be detected before sevf>re injury results. 
Some of these insects, including borers, require special treatment. A new 
bulletin (jf274-) from the University of L'ain^ "Insect pest Control in Young 
Orchards," by F. H. Latiirop contains- many helpful suggestions. The following 
insect pests are discussed- round-headed >^pple tree borer, oyster sliell 
scale, tree hoppers, woolly apple aphid, gypsy moth, leaf roller, tent cater- 
pillar, yellov/ necked and red humped caterpillars, fall webworm, brovm tail 
moth, European red irdte, and green apple aphid. 

Indi a ns of Ancient Ti::i^e_s_ jlnev; j'j;i.iIi_Cui3;jali_o 

According to P. J. Ghapmsin of the Maw York Agricultural Experi- 
ment Station there irj evidence to show thab wild plums occupied an important 
place in the diet of certain Indian tribes long before Columbus' time. In 
1534 Jacques Cartier, on his firLrc trip down the St. Lav/rence, noticed that 
the Indians had plui.is which thsy had dried for the v/inter. Of the tree fruits 
which v;e grov; today, the early Indians had only the v/ild American plu;.is which 
were also the original food plants of the plum curculio. Yi/here no control 
measures are practiced, the curculio is an exceedingly destructive past of 
both v/ild and cultivated pluiTiS . And if, as some v^riters contend, the Indians 
planted rude orchards of wild plujns, they j-.ust have knovm of the ravages of 
this insect. U. P. Hedrick states that thickets of wild plums coimnonly oc- 
curred on tliQ outskirts of early Iroquois villages. But whether the Indians 
maintained orchards of plums or merely collected the fruit afield, the dam- 
age caused by tlie curculio could hardly have been overlooked. 

A. C. Parker of the Rochester L.usoum of Arts and Sciences, says, 
"The picking and drying of the plums was done entirely by Indian women. 
Fruits wore split and pitted for drying. I have boen told that it was always 
necessary to remove tho worm fr.m tho plujn bcforo it was driod, the belief 
being that the presence of the worm v/ould cause the fruit to spoil. One in- 
formant said there were tim.es when e.ll the fruit was so damaged that no plums 
could be preserved. Furtlier, it was noticed that the fruit rotated in abund- 
ance;, some years there were abundant crops and at others none at all." 

Tills "wori.i" nouiced by the Ind:.c.n3 m.ust have been the larval 
stage of tho curculio. There is no o.hor comj-ion larva (worm) that infests 
the plura in this area. SOj while the ovidonco available doos not constitute 
absolute proof that ;-an's acquaintance vrith the plum curculio antedates the 
colonization of this continent by the -^li'Ge man, the probabilities seera defin- 
itely to favor such an assum.ption. 

In.jury to Ap-?le Trees fro/.'. Oil . 5j5ri?j_s 

Many orchardists are still skeptical of dormant or delayed dor- 
■..lant applications of jil sprays. To be sure, oil sprays do injuro apple 
trees occasionally, es'-ecially when applied too late or when followed by uii- 



favorable weather conditior.s, bu\: uore often an unsatisfactory grovrth, which 
ifjajf have resulted from raouse injury, is erroneously charged to the oil spray. 

Tv/o ty;^;es of oil injury r.iay occur. (l) A distinct burning of 
the tips of the leaves in opening buds, and (2) The killing of the dorn^.ant 
leaf buds on one year old wood, such as terminals and waterspouts. The first 
type of injury is seldom serious unless the flower buds are burned. It is 
most likely to occur v/hen natari^ils for strictly dornairfc application, such 
as the dinitro compounds or strong coal tar oils, are applied in the delayed 
dor' .ant period. 

The second type of injury rnay result fror.i over-sprayxng while 
atteiT.pting to ^et thorough coverage in the v/ind, froi,: too great concentration 
of the toxic ingredient such as dinitro conpounds, and fron freezing weather 
soon a.fter application. This typo of injury nay cause r.any v/hip-like tvags 
with fev; if aiiy leaves oxco^.t c.t the tip, followed the next season by many 
fruit spurs 8 to 15 inches long with fruit buds at the tip only, instead of 
the normal fruit spurs 2 to 4 inches iri length. 

vV. D. Vfliitcor.ib 

N ew York Snt ornologist .SJCpeGts lieB.yy_ J.uno_ 3_e_et_l_e_ Fli£ht_ .Th_is_ Y_®?-il 

J. A. ilvans, 3xt3nsiGn iiintor.iologist of Cornell University, in- 
cludes this statei.-.ent in his latest '.7eekly News Let'^er concerning insect 
pests; 

"1940 is the year for anotiier big June beetle flight in many 
parts of ifev/York. Counts of overwintering beetles in the soil have shovm 
that as many as 100,000 per acre are present in some areas. June beetles 
fly in Llay, June, and July and feed on the foliage of oak, elm, poplar, birch 
or willow. Late in June they begin depositing eggs in sod land. In about 
thrue weeks these oggs hatch into grubs vjhich feed on the grass roots f.r 
parts of three years before ;^ reducing anotiior generation of beetles. Great- 
est damage by the gi'ubs is done the year after beetle flight. The m.ost se- 
vere daiiiage occurs when potatoes, cor;-, or other row crops are planted on 
land that was in sod during the year of beetle flight. Therefore, in grubby 
areas laiid to be used for such crop'S next year should be kept out of sod this 
year if possible. Investigations m other states and in Canada indicate that 
land planted to sweet clover, alfalfa, alsike, eaid possibly other legumes, is 
unattractive to the egg laying beetles. Land occu^ded by a good stand of 
such legumes this year can probably be safely used for row crops next year 
so far as grub injury is concerned." 



Tliree Aphids Found in llassachusetts Apple Orchards 




^^^^ 



Rosy Apple Aphid 
(Newly hatched nymph) "^ 



Green Apple Aphid 

(Newly hatched nymph) 

Vifinters as egr on apple and re- 
mains on apple throughout sur.oer. iSggs 
hatch v/hen buds burst, all nynphs usually 
appearing v/ithin two or three days. Infested 
foliage is stunted, curled and unhealthy. 
Tips of branches and water sprouts are ..lost 
heavily infested. Fruit near infested folia,^e 
is covered with sooty i.iold from honeydev/ and 
may be sniall. Easily controlled and considered 
a pest of moderate importance. 



-> 



Winters as egg on apple. Sv.vner gen- 
erations on narrow-leaved plantain. First 
eggs hatch when buds burst and nyraphs continue 
to appear for about two weehs. Infested 
foliage is badly curled, stunted and often 
killed. Leaves and buds of fruit spurs are 
frequently attacked, causing the fruit to be 
small, dirty, and knotty v/ith a characteristic 
puckered appearance at calyx. Difficult to 
control and considered the most injurious of 
apple ^phids - 





Apple Grain Aphid 
(Newly hatched nymph) 



V/inters as egg on apple. Summer gen- 
erations on grains and grasses. First eggs 
hatch during wafm days in late mnter but 
majority of nynphs appear when buds swell. 
Infested foliage is slightly stunted c.nd 
curled in spring. Leaves apples before petals 
fall from blossoms and causes no injury to 
fruit. Seldom warrants control treatments 
and is not considered an important post of 
apple . 



W. D. vVhitcomb 



J. .■•'»■■';■ 



.,^^' 






n. • r*. 






f:^ 



A: 



i'HUIT NOTKS 

May, 1940 

Vv. h. Thies 
Extension HorticulturiGt 



A 50-Year ^veather Record 



for the 
prepared 
iiig are 
Hig 
Low 



An interesting summary of weather conaitions 
50-year perioa, 1389-1938, is given in Bulletin 

by C . I. Gunness of the Department of 
some of the recoras established auring 



nest air temperature, 
est air temperature 
Total range 
Mean teiaperature 
Greatest aaily range, 
Least aaily range, 



July 
Jan. 



J.Jec 
Nov 



10 

20 



1911 
1904 



190B 
1937 



m 
No 
Engineering 
that perioa 
104OF 
-26 
130 
47.4 
5^^ 
1 



Amherst 
, 367, 
Foliow- 



Greatest annual precipitation, 1938 
Least annual precipitation 1908 

Mean annual precipitation 
Greatest monthly precipitation, Sept. 1938 
Least monthly precipitation, Oct. 1924 

Mean monthly precipitation 
Greatest annual snowfall, 1893 
Lo'west annual snowfall, 1919 

Mean annual snowfall 

Greatest aaily wind movement, April 8, 1909 

Least aaily wina movement 

(hecordea on 5 aifferent aays) 

Mean daily vifind movement 

Maximum v;ind velocity for o minutes 

(Recoraea on oept. £1, 1938, at 5:17 P.M, 



Mean aate of 
Mean aate of 



first frost 
last frost 



59 Inches 
30.68 " 
43 . 7 " 
14.55 " 
.01 " 
3.64 " 
89. 

24.5 " 
47.78 " 

705 miles 
" 

146 " 
80 
) 



per hr, 



The seve 
rainfall, 59 inches 
holaing capacity of 
our rainfall is mor 
auring the season. 
14.5 inches, failed 
the follov/ing July, 
the growing season 
soil types, regaral 
terea through durin 



re drought of 1939 followed a 
This fact seems to einphasiz 
many of our soil types. The 
e important than the total arao 
Even the record rainfall of S 
to have any influence on drou 
About one inch of rainfall e 
is aesirable, if not necessary 
ess of the amount which may ha 
g the preceding months. 



Sept. 21 
May 14 

year of recora 
e the low water 
aistribution of 
unt which falls 
eptember, 1938, 
ght conditions 
ach week auring 

on our lighter 
ve fallen ana fil- 



Issuea by the Extension Service, Wiilard A. Munson, Director, in 
furtherance of Acts of May 8 ana June 30, 1914. Massachusetts State 
College, United States department of >i.gri culture, ana Oounty Exten- 
sion Services cooperating. 



oome N.jteo on Apple Prospects In the Various otates 

In the latest issue oT "iTuit ana X'Jut Crop Prospects," 
reieaoSu by tlie u' . j. Lepartment oi Agricuxture on May 17, ;e I'ina 
these statements concerning apple prospects: 

"Winter anu early spring Irsezes causeu little carnage 
to appie trees ana buas. It is too eany for aefinite inaicatii.ins 
as to prc^auction prospects^ but t,he present outiook is I'avorabie in 
nearly an commercial sections ol the country, uonuitions in Ne-y 
Engiana have been relatively I'avorabie to uate, but many or the 

treeo injurea auring the nurric^ne of t^eptember, i9o-i, have not 
iuj-iy recoverea. In Pennoy-Lvania prospects are favorable but many 

orcnar^s v;nich nau relatively large crops in ito^ are expecteu to 

proauce lighter crops this season. Prospects are favorable in i^el - 

a vare ana Marylanu . In Virginia blosooming; ./ao unuouaiiy late. 

tsxoom v/as fairiy heavy except on forks in orcharas '.vhicn prouuceu 

a large crop of that variety last seas.jn. v.eather has not been par- 

ticuiarj-V favorabj.e for pjl^-inatlon put proi^pects are generally 
better than average. 

In the eentrai otates the late spring has retarueu ae- 
velopment of fruit buus, tliough prospects are favorable in most of 
these states. In Illinois bloom anu conaition of trees point to 
gooa prospects for summer apples, ana fair to goou crops of Jonathan, 
L»elicious, anu other fall anu winter varieties. In Michigan , cool 

.veather.Kept buus aonjiant longer than usuai, ana it is too early 
lor muications. relative to crop prospects. April freezes reaucea 
prospects materially m -i-ennessee ' anu injureu fruit buas to some ex- 
tent m ^venLucky . ihe outlook is favorable in North Carolina ana 
Georgia. In .^i-rkansas late varieties v/ere not injurea by the April 
cola wave, but crimes, 'iransparents , ana oonathans recelvea some 
injury. 

In the Vv'estei'n ...tateo prouuction prospects are favorable 
In Wasningt jn the bloom v;as uniformly heavy in both the ^venatcnee 
ana YaKima aistricts. Most appie aistricts haa some rainl'aii aur- 
ing. tne blossom periou byt it is not 'pej.ievea that pollination was 
oeriousxy affect ea. Irrigation supplies are expecteu to oe ampie. 
Prospects in Oregon are for a somewnat more favoraole crop than in 
xSo9, especially in the noou River Vaixey -vhere prouuction Vv'as re- 
latively small last year. In the -''ij-lamette Vaiaey tne set appears 
to be rather j-ight. Growing conuitions were favorable in oaiifornia 

auring ■n.|)rii, but it is too early to estimate the size of the pros- 
pective crop. In Gclorauo fruit bu^o 'ere uamagea some.vnat in xocai 

areao by the freeze of "prii lO, but in tne important Western Slope 
area, tne outlook is promising. Iruit buus -A'-ere ^racticaxiy all 
kixiea in the Freemont County section. Present prospects are favor- 
abi.e in laaho where the outiook is relatively better for Winesap 
ianu -L-elioious than for rtome ana Jonathan. Prospects are i'avorabie 
in Montana ana otah. " 

Growers will Cooperate in lesting iNlew Mcintosh i^rop Preventative 

A list of Massachusetts growers who intenu to try out 

th? ne material, napthalene acetic aciu, or^one a the other prom- 
ising compounus, as a means of prev;;nting Mcintosh arop, is being 

lassemblea in oraer that timely suggestions may be ofi'ere..u. itight 

gro'vers have thus far signifieu their intention of making such a 

jtest. Any others who pian to ao so are inviteu to arop a postcaru 

to 0, K. oha'w of the Pomology -department, 'vho wixi senu out some 



timely r-uggestions. Care in raapping out the test, special technique 
in applying the material, and proper tilling oi the applications are 
.^uite esoential. It may also be possible to proviae some assistance 
to cooperators in measuring the results ol" the test. The material 
is applied only a few aays before harvest time, nowever, a postcard 
now to Dr. Shav\/ will insure your getting up to aate information 
about this raoaern bit of magic, v-/hich is to be aiscussea on the 
i'arm anu Home V»eek Program m -f^mherst, July 25, by Dr. i? . £. Gardner 
of the U. o. u. A. Experimental i^arm in aeltsviile, Maryland. 

More Twilight Meetings 

AS we enter the critical perioa in the control of apple 
scab ana curculio, more gro'-wers are attenaing nearby tv/ilight orchard 
laeetings where problems of timely interest are reviewed. During the 
four aay periou. May 20-23, seven such meetings v\fere nela in Massa- 
cnusetcs. Tne scnaaule of tv;ilight meetings in vVorcester and Essex 
CountioB after May 27 is as follows: 

V.orcester County 

May 27, Lester Jf'ease, Templeton. 

" 29, Clarence i^orse, Southbriage. 
June b, Charles -ctaTris, Leominster. 

" 5, Grafton State Hospital, Grafton. 

" 10, Louis A. Webster, liiackstone. 

" 12, Llm Hill Farn, Brooki'iela. 

" 17, Josepn J. (Stearns, Nortnboro. 

" 19, 0. C. voe, Jiarvara. 

Essex County 

i.iay 29 , Ellis r c ha r a s , iviel rose. 

June 6, Norris Orchard^ Lynnfiela. 

" 15, Osgooa Estate, V-'enham. 

" 20, George Bartlett, Georgetov/n. 

The btrawberry Yveevil Situation 

btrawbcirry plantings in southeastern Massachusetts shov; 
many cut buus ana nibolea petals. The strav^^berry weevil has apparent 
ly increasea in recent years until touay it ranks as a major pest in 
Falmoutii ana other strawberry producing towns of liarnstable ana Bris- 
tol Counties. This pest is a snout beetle, not more than an eighth 
of an inch long, ana is closely related to tne plum gouger, whose 
principal food plant seems to be the beach plum, iis many as a dozen 
iiave been observed on a single strawberry plant, and the aamage is 
always worse on the rov/s aajoining brush iana or othei- favorite hi- 
bernating quarters, ijike tne pluiii curculio, the Vv'eevil feeas most 
actively in warn v/eather. On May 21, v/ith the temperature around 
70°, numerous weevils W'sre observoa Iceaing on the pollen, or laying 
eggs, while tv;o aays later when a cola arizzle haa set in, very few- 
weevils were in eviaence ana they naa crawled into unopenea blossom 
buas for protection. Growbrs in falir.outh are using some H5-15 sul- 
fur-leaa arsenate dua.t-.jtist as' the bloGs^-&|)uas open, with fairly 
good. .results. Tests with other materials', including cryolite ana ro- 
tenone, are still in the experimental otage. Burning or tne sur- 
rounding brush auring the winter to kill tne hibernating weevils is 
recommenaea. 



A Note on Honeybees 

In a recent issue of BeeKeeping Notes, -c . k. Snaw of 
the Department of ii^ntoniology says that honeybees are especially 
suitea as pollinators for the follov;ing reasons: (1) They are more 
constant to one kind of flower. Experimental studies shov^f that BO^ 
of the honeybees confine their activities to one kind of blossom 
during a trip, (2) they are the only insects usea as pollinators 
that can be distributea where ana when desirea, ana they work unuer 
less favoraule conaitions of light ana temperature than ao solitary 
bees . 

i^oncerning the I'elative efficiency of Package vs. Col- 
ony Bees this interesting bit of information is presentea, based on 
an expei'iment by C. L. -tarrar several years ago: 

Type of Colony -"-ve. Number of Bees flying per Min. 
b lb. Package lb 

5 " " 48.5 

Of " '-'verv/interea Colony 64.5 

7 " " " 12d.5 

It y/ill be notea that, under the conditions of the ex- 
periment, the 5i lb. Overwinterea Colony provea more efficient than 
the 5 lb. Package. 

Fruit Insect Observations in the hugson Valley 

vve have recently receivea a "first Appearance" Table of 
fruit insects in the Hudson Valley covering the 9 yr. perioa, 1951- 
1939. The two aates following each insect represent the earliest 
and latest on whicli the first specimen was observea: i5ua Moth, 
Apr. 10-Apr. £5. Grain Aphis, Mar. 25-Apr. 10. Rosy -n-phis, Apr. 4- 
Apr. 20. kea Bug, Apr. 22-May 11. i:^ea Mite (n.ymph), Apr. 20-May 5. 
Plum Curculio, May 5-May 22. "white Apple Leaf hopper, Apr. 29-May 
12. Coaling Moth (entrance), June 4-June 14. Apple Maggot (fly), 
June 10- June 25. Raspberry Beetle, Apr. 20-May 16. Pear Miage, 
Apr. lo-j^pr. CO. Pear Psylla (aault), Mar. 15-Apr. 2. (egg), Mar. 
22-Apr. 9, (nymph), Apr. 17-May 10. btrawberry vveevil, May 5-May 20. 

The Fight j-t-gainst /^oaling Moth in the Northwest 

A glance at the Washington otate spray schcaule for ap- 
ples shoula make any Massachusetts tipple grower thankful ne lives 
in a section v/here the climate cooperates in controlling coaling 
moth. In the above spray scheaule, 6 cover sprays plus an aaaition- 
al emergency spray are recomiuenaea in those areas with moaerate to 
severe infestation. Ana to renaer the lead arsenate more effective, 
a herring oil-kerosene mixture emulsifiea with an oleate, is aaaea. 
To further complicate matters, the scheaule ana materials must be 
variea in aocoraance vvith the presence or absence last year of the 
Pacific Mite, i/ve note also that the woras " bpray x ho roughly occur 
on the print ea spray chart 19 times, while Vvatch i'our Coverage ap- 
pears four times. Imagine coaling motn getting through a program 
of that kina. 



Tribute to a Lowly Plant 

"Grass is the I'Drgiveness oi' Ntiture -- her constant ben- 
ediction. Its tenacious libers hola the eartn in its place ana pre- 
vent its soluble components i'rom v/ashing into the wasting sea. It 
invaaes the solitudes of the aesert, climbs the inaccessible slopes 
and forbiaaen pinnacles of mountains, raoaifies climates, ana aeter- 
mines the history, character ana aestiny of nations. Unobtrusive 
ana patient, it nas immortal vigor ana aggression. Banishea from 
the thoroughfare and the fiela, it biaes its time to return, ana 
vvhen vigilance is relaxea, or the aynasty has perishea, it silently 
resumes the throne from whicn it has been expellea, but which it 
never abaicates. It bears no olazonry of bloom to charifi the senses 
ivith fragrance or splendor, but its homely hue is more enchanting 
than the lily or the rose. It yielas no fruit in earth or air, ana 
yet, should its harvest fail for a single year, famine v/oala aepop- 
ulate the world." 

i?ruit growers who r'^aa the foregoing tribute v.;ritten by 
J. J. Ingalls, former Kansas Senator, and quoted in the latest issue 
of The Soil ^uger oj A. B. -teaumont, may aaa their own wora of 
praise for the kina of vegetation which makes possible the ooa-wlulch 
system of orcharaing, ana maintains if given a chance, that m_ystic 
factor in the successful fruit farm, organic matter. 

Conserving iv-ianure on the Farm 

-tx very thorough uiscussion of this important subject is 
founa in a new Ohio Bulletin (No. 60d) by Salter ana Schollenberger. 
On the first page v;e reaa that the annual product of livestock on 
iimerican farms if completely recovered, carefully preserved, and 
efficiently used, shoula prbauce ^5,000,000,000." worth of increase 

in crops. The potential value of tnis agricultural resource is 
three times that of the nation's wheat crop ana is equivalent to 
i*;.440. for each of i^merica'a 6,800,000 farm operators. The crop nu- 
triments, if purchased in the form of commercial fertilizers, -woulo 
cost more than si:-: times as much as -h-merican farmers paia I'or fer- 
tilizers in 19b6. Unfortunately, only a small fraction or the, po- 
tential crop producing ana soil conserving value of this material is 
actually realized. Enormous losses occur in handling, through loss 
of nitrogen in fermentation ana arylng, the leaching out of soluble 
nutrients. The wasteful ana ineflicient methods of hanuling manure 
obvious in all sections of the countrj'- maybe taken as evidence that 
farmers generally ao not understana the true nature of manure ana 
especially the perishable character of its valuaole constituents. 
From extensive stuaies at the i\othamstea l^vrperiment Station in Eng- 
lana, ^mssell and J:^icharas concludes that manure keeps best when it 
is (1) thorougnly compact, (2) sufficiently moist, but not too wet, 
[6) under shelter, and (4) not movea. 

Lateral ivlovement of Potassium in an Orchard ooil 

That there is an appreciable movement of available po- 
tassium in the permanently moist strata of soil below plow aepth has 
been sho-An by ^ourley ana VVanaer of Ohio. They mixed 60-gram por- 
tions of a potassium salt with about two-thirds of tlie soil rem.oved 
from 18-inch borings ana placea it in the lower 1£ inch section of 
the holes, of which 16 were symiuetrically placed in 12 ana 9 toot 
circles, about each of 10 apple trees. Lateral movement oi the po- 
tassiiinx changea the available potassiim content of as much as 2.2 
cu. ft. of soil arounu each hole from very low to very high. From 



i.'.i c. 



a practiccil stttriapoint , the authors say it weans "that potash- 
fertilisers coula be uroppeo oehina a aeep tillage tool, such as 
a Killii'er uisic or coulter to a aeptn or 16 to Id inches. This 
would be within the i.-ictive absorbing zone of the tree roots in most 
Eastern orchara soils anu also below the zone in which potassium is 
I'ixea 'cy alternate wetting . ana arying. Its lateral movement shoula 
then be ample for supplying the neeus ol the tree." ouch a practice 
woula, Ox course, be out of the question on a shallow soil, since 
deep tillage would destroy most of the root system. 

Some Factors Affecting the cropping of ^'Iclntosh 

Observations of the fruit in tv/o aajacent Mcintosh 
blocks oy G . n. ijickson, one of whicn the cover crop was sown about 
May 15, and in the other about tJuly 16, showea the percentage of 
drops to be greater in the late cultivated area. Increusea percent- 
age of dropping was correlated with higher nitrate supply in the 
soil, better growth of the trees ana larger total yielas. Color 
of fruit was much better in the area receiving less cultivation. 
The author believes that the behavior of the so-called non-aropping 
sports of Mcintosh may be aue to nutritional conditions rather than 
mutations or bua variations. 

The Vitamin C. (ascorbic i^cia) Content of O e rman -H-pple Varietie s 

/Chemical measurements of the -t^scorbic acia content of 
important apple varieties in Germany by V.'. i-.essler, show well definec 
differences sufficiently constant to be classed as varietal char- 
acteristics, out the content fluctuated within certain limits be- 
cause of locations, exposure, size of crop, etna fertilizers. Over 
fertilizing with nitrogen reauced tne amount, and in a given apple, 
it was greater on the more highly colored side, storage tempera- 
tures below 41°i!'. are necessary for tne retention of ascorbic acia 
over a considerable period. In general, apples of a given variety 
contained a larger amount when grovm in southern than in northern 
locations. The variety Ontario showea about the highest content of 
the many varieties tested. These investigations are reported in 
the German publication covering scientific agriculture, Gartenoau- 
wlssenschaft . 

The J'ooG otamp flan 

secretary of -agriculture henry ■^-. Wallace, issued a 
statement on the first anniveraay of the fooa stamp program, t^uotea 
in part; "k year ago today, May 16, I9b9, the fooa stamp plan began 
on an experimental basis in i-'-ochester . From that time until touay 
the program has been placed in operation in a total of 68 areas and 
12 additional areas nave been designated for food stamp plan opera- 
tions in the near future Up to May 1, 1940, expenditures for 

surplus foodS v/ith blue stamps issued oy the Department naa a value 

of approximately |.10,400,000 Purchases of fresh ana dried fruits 

had a value of more than ^1, 700,000 ... .In the local areas now in 
operation under the statap plan, approximately l,b00,000 people are 
benefitting directly through increased ana improved uiets. ,. .Nearly 
a thousand coimnunities have applied for the stamp plan, vvithin the 
next few mxonths, it is anticipated that the food stamp plan will be 
extenaea to a total of about 125 areas, possibly 150 areas if smalle: 
towns are selected. It is our expectation that this exoansion will 
result in aaaitional purchases of surplus foods through" blue stamps 
alone, ranging from ?; 7,000,000 to Jew Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, 
V:est Virginia, laaho, Colorado, Vvashington, and Oregon." 

i'^'*\:e Fruit Insect Observations 

The first apple maggot fly of the season was ooservea 
by V . h. vihitcomb in his V'/altham cages on June S5. oy July 1 a to- 
tal of 56 flies had emerged from the 500 pupae of last year. With 
maximum temperature of 75'"^ or more over a perioa of at least a week 
follov/ing June 2 plum curculio vvas very active in Massacnusetts or- 
chards. Rosy aphis are numerous, particularly in southeasteon Mass- 
achusetts on Cortlana anu other susceptible varieties. They are due 
to migrate to other nost plants soon, ii heavy infestation of rea 
mite -.vas observed in central Massachusetts recently, -oron^lng of 
leaves is a'lready apparent. Leaf hoppers are relatively scarce in 
most orchards. Peach moth infestation appears to be up to normal. 
In 9no peach orchard a corn borer larva -was found insiae a peacn. 

Another Observatj .:n on. tne -i-f feet of Malch 

K numoer of groivers t:.ave seen in one of our experimental 
orchards at the College tne effects of a rather light mulch of poor 
hay appliea to a rundown block of Mcintosh trees whicn had been cul- 
tivated without fertilization for more than 15 years. After mulch- 
ing, the trees revived at once, had a good leaf color anu bore greab- 
ly increased crops. Examination sho'vs an abundance of small rootlets 

I.jiued by the Extension Service, vVillaru A. Munson, Director, 

in furtherance of Acts of May 8 ana June bO, 1914. Massachusetts 

btate College, United States Department of Agriculture, ana tounty 
Fxtension Services cooperating. 



grov/ing upwara into the aecaying nay ana the soil just beneath. It 
looks as though the trees get the required nitrogen in this v;ay. 
If one aesires to try the mulching system it might be well to plow 
ana cultivate the orchard for a fevi- years until weeas ana grass are 
v/ell subduea una then apply, annually, enough waste hay to cover the 
gi-ouna thoroughly. Perhaps the mulch can be omitted after two or 
three years of application. It Iooks as though apple trees like 
plenty of aecaying organic matter in tne soil. 

J. K. Shaw 

A National Tree Removal Program 

A comm.ittee of tne Massachusetts Jrult Grov/ers' Associ- 
ation consisting of R. -a. Van Meter, R. ii. Peck, ana W. R. oole is 
cooperating vvith a national committee in a program aesignea to aid 
in the stabilisation of apple production through the removal in al3 
apple growing sections of unaesirable varieties and poorly located 
orcharas. The situation is briefly as follows: 

The aomestic market for apples In fresh form is limited 
to approximately 75 milj-ion bushels if growers are to receive prices 
which are in line witn proauction costs. In the past five years 
the commercial apple crop has always been above 75 million bushels 
and reached 115 million bushels in 1957. There v/ould seem to be 
little chance for improvement in the foreign market in the near 
future. The fruit grower's income is too low for a satisfactory 
standard of living, ana the crop must be reauced if the efficient 
grower is to make a reasonable profit. 



Consumer's stanaaras of qiiaiity are rising steaaily. 
Cull apples sell more and more slowly at low prices ana tena to de- 
moralize the market for better fruit. The increase in pests, the 
equipment now requirea to grow good fruit, ana higher standards of 
quality aeraandea by consumers have maae thousands of small orcharas 
unprofitable. Given a minimum of attention or Vifholly neglect ea 
they yet continue to produce a quantity of low-grade fruit which 
is very large in the aggregate ana much of which finds its way to 
market, where it tends to cause grave aisturbances. 

Unaesirable varieties also present a problem. While the 
list of commercially aesirable varieties is not more than 10 or 15, 
no fewer than 80 varieties were offerea to F. S. C C. buyers aur- 
ing the winter of 19o9-40. Reauction in tne mimber of culls and in 
the nomber of undesir-able varieties ihas become a major problem of 
the industry. 

The National tonmiittee is maae up of four men: John 
Chanaler, sterling Junction, Mass.; C. h. i^utton, Milfora Center, 
Ohio; henry Vj. Miller, Jr., Paw Paw, w. Va.; ana Carl G. ^vooster. 
Union Hill, N. Y. Thi;-; co'imiittee met witii Aaministrator Evans and 
other officers of the a. a. a. in ^mshington on May 8, 1940, ana af- 
ter full discussion of the entire subject, preparea recommendations 
to the several state coiTimittees ana fruit growers' associations. 

Further aetails of this program v/ill appear in later issues of 
x'Tuit Notes. 



Orchara Experiments in Ohio 

A recent report ol progress frora the Ohio i^xperiment 
station contains a large amount of information of interest to farm- 
ers, i'ollowing are a fev/ oi the items that shoula be of special 
interest to Liassachusetts grov/ers . 

1. Apple foliage sprayea with lime sulfur showea a 2b% reauc- 
tion in leaf area as comparea to the b% reduction in foliage spray- 
ea v.'ith flotation Sulfur. 

£. uamage from the round heaaed a^^ple tree oorer was best pre- 
sented by covering the entire trunk witn newspapers folaed once and 
wrapped twice arouna the trunk. Oare shoula he taken that the cov- 
ering e]ctena3 clear to the grouna. This insect lays its eggs on 
the bark at the base of the tree from June to August. (The rouna 
heaaea apple tree borer is a serious pest on young trees in some 
orcharas in western Massachusetts.) 

b. When the grouna under i::'tdyman Vvinesap trees was coverea with 
canvas over an area 40 feet in aiameter from May 1 to harvest time, 
■with means of preventing lateral transfer arouna the circumference, 
thus excluaing all rainfall over this area, the trees continuea to 
crop for three years in a satisfactory manner. This supports the 
contention that water deiicioncies ao not seriovly affect trees un- 
til the wilting point is approachea. It shoula not encourage us to 
believe, however, that v/ater is not essential to fruit oroauction. 

4. Comparison of harvesting aates for rea strains, as comparea 
Y/ith the parent varieties, inaicatea that the picking date shoula 
be the same. This suggests caution Iti Licking rea oua sports too 
soon, even though they have reachea a satisfactory coloi' uevelop^ioit, 

J . K . S haw 

A Reminaer of the 1958 Hurricane 

Many grov/ers have remarKea that certain hurricane aara- 
agea apple trees look worse than they ala in tne summer of 1959. 
Dr. J'. K. chaw expresses the situation as follows: "Many apple 
trees are showing more eviaence of hurricane injury than they ala 
last year. This injury is eviaencea by sparse foliage v/ith a 
yellowisa tinge, suggesting the possibility of nitrogen aeficiency. 
Not only may the restricted root system be unable to secure suffi- 
cient nitrogen, for the tree, but the rainy weather may have leachea 
out available nitrates ana interferea witn nitrification. If hurri- 
cane aamagea trees show symptoms of nitrogen aeficiency, it may be 
■well to give them a moaerate aose at this season perhaps half the 
usual appliciition of some reaaily available nitrogen carrying fer- 
tilizer. Tne sooner this is appliea the betteT-." 

Some of these daaagea trees sufferea more root breakage 
than v/as apparent at firsu, and have probably aone very little in 
the way of ueveloping replacement roots. Pernaps they pullea 
through the dry season of 1959 "on bcrrov/ea time" using materials 
stored in the tree. Tnen too, more nitrates may have been taken in 
last suianier. Vvhatever the reason for their sickly appearance, trees 
worth salvaging might well receive this aaaitional attention, (1) 
Make sure that the anchorage is secure ana that the tree is not al- 
lowed to sway in the v.ina, {n) Apply a quickly available form of 
nitrogen as suggestea above, (o) Kemove the apples, if any, in orcer 
that the manufactured food materials may be usea where most neeaed, 
ana (4) Use more mulch material. 



Western Grcvvers h ec onsider Old--Fasn:.onea Mcthoas 

"Olu-fciSiiione'a irxetl.oaa oi' spraying may be best after 
all," norticuiturlsts ana I'ielu men are telling grov/ers in the Wen- 
atciiee ana YaKima Valleys. To do a gooa job in the ola ciays, grow- 
ers usea a lonfi spray roa vvhich spreaa a fine mist over the tops of 
the treds. If' necessary the operator stood on a laader or tov/er. 
Recent tests show best results where coverage is attainea by close 
contact with a fine mist spray, insteaa of the high pressure, heavy 
stream spraying so common in this streamlined age. oo much attention 
has been'paia in recent years to complicatea spray luixtures that 
spraying technique has been given too little attention. Grov/ers be- 
lieve that longer spray rods ana spray towers will enable them to 
cover the tops more effectively. In fact some growers, vdth this 
modifiea system of spraying in mina, are planning to ao less prun- 
ing of the valuable bearing v/ood in the tops. 

Time Out'. 

You'd probably stop whatever you were aoing, also, if 
you came upon an occu.piea huimfiingbira's nest. Ana that's just what 
a group of 75 or more fruit growers aia auring a twilight meeting 
tour 01 the Join Chandler Orchara in bterling a few aays ago. The 
nost, with one egg and one bira on an apple bi-anch about five feet 
above the grouna, was viewea vvith real interest as folks passed in 
single file. The v/riter hopes that everyone got a thrill from this 
ornate bit of magic. Tnis is another ezaiapie of the unexpected ai- 
videnas v/hich appear now and then in the fruit business. 

New Bulletin on Mcintosh j-top 

"The Mcintosh Drop," by -b. oouthwick, a new bulletin 
(#37£) from the State College in iuanerst, presents a summary of ta^s 
important proolem ana of experimental v/ork nov/ unaer way. a copy 
may be obtainea from your county agent or from the College. Here 
are the various phases of the subject covered in the bulletin: Ex- 
tent of the problem. Difference in varieties, Process of abscission, 
Apparent causes of arop, Effect of soil fertility, Effect of stock. 
Influence of seeas, Influence of length of stem. Effect of strain, 
Influence of weather conaitions, Influence of spot picking, Influaioe 
of chemicals, Sumiaary ana concJ.usions. This publication is very 
timely in view of the fact that the subject is to be discussed at 
the July E5 session of our J^arm ana nome Aeek meetings in Amherst 
by 1"'. E. Garaner of the U. ^. D. A. His suoject will be "Spraying 
with plant hormones to conxrol pre-harvest arop". 

E lorida Citrus Growers Plan Gi ft Fruit Sale 

John E. itice of iviarlDorc caj.ls to our attention this in- 
teresting item from Lakelanu , -:- loriaa , unaer date of June 14. "Pre- 
liminary work in connection with the gift fruit campaign to be con- 
aucted in Elorlaa next winter alreaay has been start ea oy the Elori- 
aa Citrus Commission. The Commission has authorized its aavertising 
manager to make contracts with outuoor poster aavertising companies 
to insure availability auring the tourist season. Last season ap- 
proximately ;tplo,000 v^as spent in Eloriha auring the gift fruit cam- 
paign. It appears likely this sum may be sligntiy increased next 
season, aepenaent of course upon the size of the crop ana conse- 
quent collections of the per box assessment." 



"Quality Plus Apple Club" 

This is the name of a nev/ honorary fraternity of fruit 
growers in Inuiana for which four growers qualifiea last fall, by 
proQucing crops graaing over 90% U. S. No. 1. V. V. Clarke of 
Bristol, Indiana, haa the highest rating with an average of 9^^o in 
the U. lb. No. 1 class on four varieties, Jonathan, Starking, Vvinter 
Banana anu Grimes. Tree run samples were checkea by i'eueral-btate 
inspectors at the orchara. Another club of recent origin in Indi- 
ana is the xilue Ribbon Strawberry Club. Meaals are a"waraea to club 
members v^rho show a yield rate of 225 or more crates of U. S. No. 1 
strawberries per acre. 

Vigorous Trees Tena to Bear Annually 

The follov/ing information published by L. Greene of the 
Inuiana department of Horticulture bears out our observations that 
healtxhy, vigorous apple trees show a tendency to bloom ana set . 
fruit every year while weak trees are decidedly biennial, (.quoting 
from Hoosier Horticulture, "Fruit growers are always interestea in 
any recora of factors which influence the annual blossoming ana 
fruit sotting of apple trees. In the orchara soli management plots 
at Lafayette a heavy crop was borne on most trees in 19^)7. The most 
vigorous trees set a gooa bloom in 1938 following the heavy crop in 
19o7. Vv'eaker trees were distinct biennial bearers in their response 
to the 1937 crop, while the .veakest trees set a light bloom in 1938 
even though they core a lignt crop in 1937" . 

Lime Benefits the Soil 



"All plants need calcium to ouild up their tissues. It 
has long been considerea among the first 10 elements essential to 
the grov/th of practically all green plants. All soils contain some 
of it, often in the form of carbonate of lime. Soil water, holaing 
carbon aioxiae in solution, dissolves this carbonate of lime for 
reaay use \^y plants; ana yet this solubility makes lime rather eas- 
il:'- lost byXleaching into the subsoil or by arainage" . These state- 
ments are found in a new farmers' Bulletin No. 1845, "The Liming of 
Soils", a revision of a former publication. The benefits of lime 
are these: "It neutralizes acias in the soil and stimulates the 
proper aecomposition of organic matter, improves the physical con- 
aition of heavy soils, supplies calcium ana promotes bacterial act- 
ivity in the soil, making other elements available to growing plants 
ana generally increases the efficiency of manures ana fertilizers. 
It facilitates the proauction of green manure crops gro-Aoi for soil 
improvement . 

Some Fertilizer Facts Worth oonsiaer ing 

A reason for the graaual swing toward high graae or 
aouble strength fertilizers is founa in South Carolina circular No. 
60 vvhich aeals vdth fertilizer ana liming practices. We read: 
"South Carolina farmers have been paying one million aollars an- 
nually for sand ana other inert materials mixea in fertilizers. Why 
not divert this non-proauctive expenditure into much needed lime ma- 
terials and make it possible to have a more diversified live-at- 
home system, of agriculture? The soil acidity problem in South Caro- 
lina is the limiting factor in determining a alversified system of 
agriculture. The rninimiim total plant nutrient content of mixed fer- 
tilizer should be around 20". 



6 

FArM aJML) iiOML WLM FRUIT MEtJINGb IN aMHLR^T , 
TiiUkbi/AY ANb ikIuAY. JULY 25-^.6. 



Thursaay, July 2b 

9:00 Equipraent exiiibito ana aeoionstrations. 

10:30 -forty years of spraying machinery. (0. 0. Roberts) 

11:00 Revlev. of current problems, Gonaition of hurricane ciamagea 
trees. (R. a. Van Meter] Sulphur anu soil acidity. (W. h. 
Thies; a national tree-removal program. (Jonn Ohanaler) 
Review of the spraying season. (A. I. i^ourne, 0. C. boy a) 

12:00 LuncL at Dining ^xall. 

2:00 The Department of Agriculture ana the fruit grower. (Vi/illiaa 
Casey, '-■oinmissioner of Agriculture) Moaern aevelopments in 
small fruit grov/ing. (J. Harold Clark, New brunsvv'ick, N. J.) 
Spraying v/ith plant hormones to control pre-harvest drop. 
(f . E. Gardner, U. S. J-epartment of iigriculture) 

b: oO Tour of experimental plantations. Grapes-strawoerries- 
raspberries-blueberries. Clonal stocK orchard-contour 
peach orchard. Soil management experiments-root stocks for 
lAcIntosh. 

Friaay, July £6 

9:00 Eq^uipment exhibits ana aemonstrations, 

10:00 Apple advertizing by the Industrial ana Develoix.ient Commission. 
(A. W. Lombard, i^epartment of Agriculture) Results of apple 
promotion work. (L. a. vVebster, Division of Markets) Pro- 
gram of the Connecticut Valley Fruit Groi'vers' Association. 
(L. A. ^ritchett) An inventory of tne New England apple in- 
austry. (vv. h. Thies) 

11:00 Review of crop conaltions. ( v\ . E. Piper, Division of Markets) 
Experiences with small packages. (J. P. Sullivan, ^yer; 
W. A. Perrins, "v.'estford; G. £. O'Brien, Northboro) btandara- 
izing the apple box. (W. R. ^ole) 

12:00 Luncheon at the College Dining Hall. 

1:50 Progress toward a better apple market. (Jolm Chanaler) 

Experiences in promoting apple sales. (Thomas b, O'Neill) 
Suggestions from the traae on apple marketing. (George L. 
Moore) Ro'ond table discussion: Improving grower support 
for promotion •.vork. Keeping growers informed. Educating 
the consumer. Maintaining contacts with the traue. -i-^evel- 
oplng better publicity. 



Apijle Kosette Caused 'o'j Boron .feiiciency 




The accompanying sketch was made from a 
Mclntosii apple t'.vig from an orchard in Peru, 
Nevv York, which snows severe boron dericien- 
cy. iir. A. B. Burrell mailed us some speci- 
mens early in June to illustrate a symptom 
known as "rosette", which thus i'ar hus not 
been observed in Massachusetts