Full text of "Fruit notes"

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FRUIT NOTES

JULT 1935 - NOVEMBER 19U9

Extension Service
University of Massachusetts

T943

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(Set No. 2)

FRUIT NOTES
1936 - 194.9 (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 Coimty 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 volime. 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., Sept., Oct.); 1939 (Oct.); 19A3 (Aug.); 1946 (Feb.,
Nov.,);194-7 (Jan., Majs June, Sept.,); 194-3 (Jan., Mar., May, Sept.,);
1949 (Jan., JC^^, June, Sept, Dec.,).

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January 18, 1945

Prepared by the Fruit Prograiii Coixiitt^e
of the Extension Service

T/T. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

Fertilizers Tor 194o.

Cold Injury to Peaches.

Peach Pruning

Do you Know

Suriiiary of Apples Purchased by A. a. A.

Hagnesiua Deficiency

Citrus Fertilizer Pro^ran

Changes in the 194o Apple Spray Chart

FERTILIZERS FOR 1945.

The following list of substitute grades of fertilizers has been an-
nounced for 1943:

Old Grades

(1) '(Tirades of 2^ J or less N. to be replaced by

(2) Grades of 3)j and 4$o II. to be replaced by

(3) Grades of 5'/: or nore IJ. to be replaced by

1943 Gradjes
"'0-9-'f7~

0-14-14

0-2_0-20 _

3-12-0
■5-10-10

5-12-l_5 _
" 4-9'-7

4-10-10

4-12-4

In addition to these grades a 3-8-7 Victory Garden fertilizer contain-
ing 2-y=5o organic and tj^o oher.iicalEis available for use on Hone or Victory Gardens.
Two other grades, 5-3-5 and 6-3-6 i.ill be available for tobacco growers.

Iss'ied by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of I'a;.' S and Jime 30 » 191^»
Willard A. I-Janson, director, Massachusetts State Colle£;e, United States Depart-
ment of Agricvlture, a:id County Extension Services cooperating.

-2-

COLD I NJURY TO PEACHES

The official v/eather bureau station at Amherst recjrrted a minimum
teinperature of -15"f. during the nights of both December 20 and 21. A minimum
thermometer in one of the College peach orchards registered -17 F. on the 20th
and -19'-*F. on the 21st. As a result, fruit buds on all but the most hardy var-
ieties were completely killed. On such hardy varieties as Oriole, ilarigold,
Greensboro, and Buttercup there are probably less than b^j of live buds, in
nost cases only a very fev;, scattered over the tree. Signs are also develop-
ing that there may be considerable wood injury.

ien over the state, information irom peacn grov/ers

3ir\jrchards would be welcome. It is suggested that I

jareffil survey of the condition of the fruit buds and m

Lt buds should be sectioned on shoots and short spur- |

Not enough reports are available to determine how extensive the in-
jury to peach trees has been over the state. Information from peach grov/ers
about the condition of the
each peach grower make a a

wood in his orchard. Fruit buds should be sectioned on shoots and short spur-
like grovrths, in the tops, and around the bottoms of the trees. Also enough
shoots and branches should be cut to determine the extent of any wood injury. A
generous sample of trees v;ell scattered over the orchard should be checked.
Such a check-up follov;ing v/inter injury is particularly important before prun-
ing is started because the kind and amount of pruning v;ill be determined large-
ly by the extent and severity of the injury found.

Any grower v;ho wishes to have a sample of peach buds checked for him,

may send a sample of shoots and spurs to the Pomology Department, French Hall,

M. S. C, This kind of a check-up is necessarily limited and therefore not so

good as one made by the grower himself right in the orchard.

J. S, Bailey

PEACH PRUNING

It is time to be thinking about peach pruning. Under normal condi-
tions, it \;ould be advisable to leave the peach pruning until just as late in
the spring as possible and then rush it through. By doing this, any vdnter in-
jury is given as much chance as possible to show up. Then the kind and amount
of pruning can be adjusted to the extent and severity of winter injury.

Because of the labor shortage, it is going to take careful planning
to delay the peach pruning without delaying it too much. Also that check up of
the orchard condition (see Cold Injury to Peaches) bociimes even more important.
If injury to the wood is severe, the trees will probably recover much better,
with no pruning. Thus much labor can be saved. If the fruit buds are all kill-
ed but the vj-ood is not injured, it is a good time to lov;er the trees by cutting
back the tops. This can be done by a fevi large cuts, omitting detailed pruning,
thus saving labor. If there are a fev live buds on th-s tree, the pruning should
be light to save as much as possible of v;hat will be a small crop anyway.

J, Li. Bailey

The time has come ivhen a boatload of food is just as necessary as
a boatload of men or munitions. A carload of food produced in Massachusetts
releases for military purposes a carload produced elsewhere.

■M0 ^7S "\J

\^ \t ^ _.

That food prodviction in Great Britain has increased about 50;o since
the VvTar began? This increase has been attained in spite of the fact that
practically all able bodiediiEn of draft age have been taken into the armed
forces.

That about 13;,^ o! our 1942 food production was used for nilitar^/ and
Lend-Lease purposes? About a year ajo it vjas thought that only 3 or 9Ja would
go into those channels.

That at least l/4 of all the food produced in the U. S. in 1945 will
be used to feed our soldiers and allies? Estinates for 5 comi-aodities are as
follows; Red meats, l/4; lard, l/3 ; eggs, l/o ; dairy products, l/cJ; canned
fruits and vegetables, l/2.

That about l/3 of the people in the United States are so situated
tiiat they could be more or less self supporting? In other words, they could
produce a large proportion of the food needed for home consumption.

That the last 10)j increase in national food production should and
can be obtained by producing for home use? Llost farms can make a definite con-
tribution to the food production program by having a garden, a few hens and
one or more meat producing animals.

That if all of the new farm machinery available in 1943 could be dis-
tributed to best advantage and used efficiently, it would account for only 2jb,
of the needed food production? The other 98^'o must be produced by machinery
now in use.

That the manufacture of power sprayers in 1943 is limited to Z-d)o of
that in 1940-41? It is reported that sprayer manufacturers v/ho have 90/j of the
materials on hand will be permitted to purchase the other 10> to complete the
manufacture of spraying equipment. There is raore need this year than ever for
completely overhauling present equipment, replacing all needed repair parts.
Dealers in spraying equipment report many orders on hand with certain replace-
ment parts very scarce.

That 24 of the 3070 counties in the U. S. (less than .8 of If.) used
12;;o of all fertilizers put on the land in a recent year? Aroostook County,
Maine, used the most, 111,446 tons spread by 487u fanners.

-4-

That the 26,000,000 tons of manure produced annually on Kev/ York
farms carry 12 times as much nitrogen as v;as sold in commercial fertilizers in
that state in 1940? Yfith tremendous quantities of nitrogen needed in making
munitions, it is our patriotic duty to conserve farm manures and utilize them
to best advantage in the food production program.

That it is the present policy of the Federal Government to support
the prices of agricultural products at a sufficiently high level to encourage
the production of those crops necessary for maintaining the food supply of our
armed forces, allies, and our people on the home front? These crops include
meat animals, oil producing crops, and the feed crops required to maintain an
increased production of livest -^ck products.

That fruit production in the United States in 1942 was the largest
on record? ¥('ith the exception of prunes and apricots, the 1942 crop of all
major fruits was above the 10-year average. The coiTimercial apple crop in the
United States amounted to 127,655,000 bushels compared with 122,256,000 bushels
in 1941.

That packing boxes and crates made in the United States in 1942 used
9,000,000,000 board feet of lumber and 200,000 tons of steel? In the State of
Washington 110,000,000 board feet of luiaber were required to make boxes to ship
the State's 27,500,000 bushel crop of apples.

That the European red mite, v.'hlch caused so much bronzing of apple
foliage in Massachusetts last siiimier is neither a chewing, nor a sucking insect?
In fact it isn't even an insect, having 8 legs instead of 6. The so-called
spider mites, according to 1'.. D. \Tnitcomb, v;ound the surface of the leaf and
lap up the sap \;hich emerges. They can feed on liquids, only, but do not have
a hollov; beak such as aphids thr )ugh which the sap can be pumped. Instead,
they have small, sharp appendages with which they pierce the tissue of the leaf.

That erosion has already ruined about 14^j of the land surface in the
United States? At least 75;^ of our cultivated area has a sufficient degree of
slope to b'i classified as definitely subject to erosion. L. Southwick

That yield per acre is tremendously important in successful orchards
today? In a IiiclTi"^n~t'u"d;7Tt was found that a group of "successful" grov/ers
attained an average annual yield of apples amounting to 317 bushels per acre,
while a group rated as "unsuccessful," attained only 161 bushels per acre over
a 0-year period. It is not enough to produce good apples. In these times,
growers must produce good crops of good apj)les. L. S,

That from 25 to 55 million pounds of avocados are consumed arjiually
in the U. S.? Of this amount California produces about 55>b, Florida 15/a, and
Cuba 30^j. Although this fruit is an important item in the daily diet of Cen-
tral America and adjacent territory, it has achieved fame in the U. S, mostly
as a salad fruit. L. S.

That a coffee substitute made from apples, dried, roasted, and ground,
has been introduced in Canada? This nevf product sells for much less than
coffee and is reported to be quite popular.

That the flesh of aii apple breaks down in cookin^j only if an acid
is present? A sv/eet apple, lacking, the acid of a tart apple, retains its
firroness and shape when cut into slices and cooked. For this reason the Deli-
cious is less suited for apple sauce than the Baldv.dn.

That there are aBoat 23,000,000 men in the U. 3. between the ages of
18 and 38? Of this number it is estimated that 8,000,000 will be physically-
disqualified for military service. Of the remaining 15,000,000 about 10,000,000
will probably be in the armed forces by the end of 1943.

That the American Forestry Association has records of five tree species
of v/nich one or more individuals tovjer at least 200 feet? Tallest trees on
record for the five species are: HedVf'ood, 300; Sequoia, 272; Douglas Fir, 221;
Red Gum, 200; 3ugar Pine, 200, Alaska has a Sitka Spruce wliich measures 204
feet.

That the Agricultural Marketing Administration purchased 2 75,048
bushels of apples in Lias sac hu setts last fall? Purchases involved mainly 3 var-
ieties,- Baldwin (177,272 bu.), Mcintosh (55,408 bu.) and Cortland (21,779 bu.).
Nearly 8,000 bushels each of Delicious and Wealthy and smaller quantities of
Sta^.iian, ?l. I. Grecnin^_. , Rome, Viagener, and Snow i.-ere also sold through the A.
M. A. Six counties participated in the program (Middlesex, T.'orcester, FraiUclin,
Hampshire, Essex, and Hampden) v/ith sales ranging from 173,653 to 2,745 bushels.

Sb"IIARY OF FFJiS'd M'PUiS PIJIiCIL'iSED IN 1942 BY THE AGRICULTUML
I.IARIvETING ADMIi:iST?Ji.TION III lIASSJlCirJSETTS
(All Purchases on U. 3. No. 1-2 l/4 Inch liin. Basis. Figures Represent Bushels)

Chauncey LI. Rand, Purchase Representative of the Agricultural Marketing Ad-
ministration in Boston, submits the following sum;iary of the apple purchase
program. Quoting from his letter of January 11, "These apples were shipped
to various State Commodity Distribution outlets for school lunch programs,
institutions, and direct relief. Due to limited outlets, 50,526 bushels

went into storage to be used later, chiefly in scliool lunch programs."

Totals by

Lliddlesex VIorcester Franklin Hampshire Essex Hampden Varieties

Baldvifin

108,827

"34'

,640

,001

"10

,541

. 8,777

2,486

177,272

Iilc Int 1 sh

40,209

,827

,275

292

805

53,408

Cortland

13,429

,633

,235

,173

259

21,779

\7ealthy

6,123

995

532

215

7,865

Delicious

4,780

,136

407

511

—

7,834

Sta;;,'man

3,100

100

—

3,212

R. I. Grei

ening 490

459

205

270

1,424

Roiiie

1,185

1,197

Vfagener

510

231

164

133

1,046

Snow

—

Totals by

Counties 178,653 49,006 19,919 15,135 9,590 2,745 275,048

An elderly farmer v;as heard to remark at a recent Food Production
meeting, "Older men and women and children have always produced food in time

-6-

MAGHESI UM D EFICIEIJCY

Our experimental data shows that potash fertilization of apple trees
may inrluce magnesiuia deficiency symptoms. This is one more possible explanation
for the recent increase in the prevalence and severity of this trouble in com-
norcial orchards in this state. It is suggested that in orchards v/here s^Tiip-
toms of magnesium deficiency have been observed, the use of potassiuia in the
fertilizer program be discontinued, at least temporarily,

ITliere soils are very acid (and most i^Ias sac hu setts orchard soils are),
v/G suggest the application of high-magnesiun limestone. The magnesiujn in lime-
stone is only slov/ly available. Tlie use of some soluble compound such as mag-
nesium sulfate (Epsom Salts) probably v/ill bo more quickly effective in correct-
ing magnesium deficiency, though the tir.io required may be two or more years.
Experiments along this line are under\/ay and it is hoped tiiat recomiiiendations
based on results ■•>£ this i/ork can be made vdthin a reasonable time.

L. Southwick

C ITRUS FERTILIZER PROGR AI'J

A successful citrus fertilizer program consisting of three separate
applications per year is outlined in a recent armual report of the Florida
Agricultural Experiment Station. The analysis of each application is as
follows: Nitrogen - 3^o, phosphoric acid - 6'}o, potash - 8%, magnesium oxide -
2%, manganese oxide - 1%, copper oxide - l/2^^. Dolomite is used to maintain
the soil at pH 5.5 to 6.0, and copper-zinc sprays are applied. Thus a complete
fertilizer, instead of the usual N-P-K designation, looks like this: li-P-K-Mg-
Ivln-Cu-Zn. There is also some evidence of isolated cases of deficiency of iron
and boron. Other s;\Taptoms of malnutrition have occurred but have not been diag-
nosed.

ilo such complicated fertilizer program is required for orchards in
L'lassachusetts . Ilov/ever, it is becoming increasingly evident that the program
may become more inclusive as time goes on. The recent diagnosis of magnesium
deficiency in apples and the previous findings of boron shortage, point the way
toward a more balanced and hence inclusive fertilizer program for Massachusetts

°^"°'^^^^^' L. Southwick

CjiAiraEs^_ra jnn^_i943_ apple spray chart

The more important changes in the newly revised apple spray chart
for 1943 are as follov/s: (1) Lead arsenate is recoi.imended in only one of the
pre-blossom sprays. Previously it was included in botii the pre-pink and the
pink sprays. (2) Lime sulfur no longer appears among the recommended materials.
Instead, it appears as a substitute for wettable sulfur in one of the Notes.
Its use under certain weather c 'Uditions may occasionally be advisable. (o)
A high calcium lime appears in the list of materials for the first time. Pre-
viously the use of lime was discussed in one of the Notes. (4) As a means of
controlling a severe outbreak of red iiite, ^ne of the DIT materials is recom-
mended as an emergency application.

February 18, 1943

Prepared by the Fruit Program Cormittee
of the Extension Service

W. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

Low Temperatures and Possible Injury to Trees

Good Grapes from Your Tangled Vine

Do You Knov/?

Russeting of Golden Delicious

Relation Betv/een Date of Bloom and Date of Harvest

Planning for the New Orchard

Lime and Manure

I.Iore About Cold Injury to Peaches

Pruning Vfinter Injured Peach Trees

Order Bees Early

Salvage and Re-use of Fruit & Vegetable Containers

The Victory Tax

La? T E MPERATURES AHD POSSIBLE INJURY TO TREES

The official temperature in Amherst on Tuesday, February 16 (-23° F.)
was the third lov/est on record. Other sections of the State report unofficial
temperatures as low as -40°. The second lowest in Amherst was -2Zq on Jan-
uary 24, 1907 and the lowest was -26 on January 5, 1904. The lowest temper-
ature recorded during the "cold winter" of 1933-34, when considerable injury
to fruit trees occurred, was -22° on February 9, 1934. Have you examined
your Baldwin trees or your peach trees for possible v;inter injury? Sone ob-
servations concerning cold weather effects on fruittrees, and wartime recom-
mendations, will be included in the March issue of Fruit Notes.

For v;hat avail
The plough or sail
Or land or life, -
If freedom fail?

■-Ralph Vj'aldo Emerson

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of May 8 and June
30, 1914, V/'illard A. Munson, director, Massachusetts State College, United
States Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

-2-

GOOD GRAPES FROM YOUR TAIIGLED VIIJE

Have you a problem grape vine? With its sprawling tangle of growth,
it may look hopeless. Yet you may find the magic wand of productiveness
within easy reach. An hour's work with the pruning shears, a few trellis
repairs and tvro or three well-timed sprays or dusts will vrork wonders. Lus-
cious grapes for the home table are your revrard next September if you pay
attention to three or four essentials.

Suitable Supports are Necessary . If your vine is already sup-
ported by a trellis" or arbor', your job is partly done. It is quite impos-
sible to keep a grape vine productive if it must attach itself to a tree or
building, or if it lies on the ground. Two horizontal wires, about three
and five feet above the ground, are quite ideal. An arbor is also satis-
factory if the vine is well pruned each year. Whatever the support, a
tangled vine can best be pruned by first cutting it loose and laying it
on the tjround.

Annual Pruning a Vital Factor . Fruit buds are found only on last
year's growtlu Prunlng~'re'duces "the number of these fruit buds to a practical
limit, eliminates much of the older v;ood and stimulates nevr fruiting wood for
next year. A vine which has 500 fruit buds v;ill bear larger clusters if at
least 80^J are removed in the pruning process. This is best done, not by
trimming off the tips, but by selecting a few grov^ths of the previous season
(characterized by their lighter brown color) and by cutting the rest of the
vine away. Don't be afraid to make an occasional large cut in order to re-
move an older portion of the vine. What vie retain is more important than
what we cut off. Thin the vine heavily instead of "giving it a haircut."
TOien completely pruned it will look discouragingly thin. An amateur might
consider it ruined. The real benefit from pruning, however, is seen when
we compare the crop of grapes on well pruned and unpruned vines. The import-
ance of thorough, annual pruning can scarcely be over- stressed. If pruning
is properly done, in March, the current season's crop is profoundly affected,
and the vine will develop good fruiting v;ood for the next season.

A Third Esse ntial , - Pest Control . Fev/ vines are highly successful
without some attention" 'to disea'se~and insect control. The most common dis-
ease of grapes in Massachusetts is Black Rot which causes the grapes to turn
brown in midsummer. Later, they turn black and dry up, resembling raisins.
Copper sprays or dusts will control this disease, powdered Bordeaux or
copper-lime dust may be obtained from most dealers in spray materials. If
rose bugs are numerous, special control measures are needed.

Fertili zation Not Always Needed. Pruning is generally more essen-
tial than fertilizing becaiTse the average^ vine growing in a good soil is al-
ready sufficiently vigorous. Pruning further invigorates the remaining parts
of the vine. If stimulation is needed, a garden fertilizer, barnyard manure,
clean cultivation, or mulching are recommended. A mature grapevine, hovjever
badly neglected, offers promise of a crop next September, while a new vine
set this spring, will require three to five years to come into bearing.

-3-

That about 1,600,000 farm workers in the U. S. left the farm during
1942? Of this nunber 331,000 v/ere operators and managers and 1,234,000 were
family workers and year-round hired workers. Industry took 921,000 and the
armed forces 694,000.

That certain materials applied to pruning v/ounds do more harm than
good? Shellac is satisfactory. So is v/hite lead paint. Bordeaux paste is
very efficient in preventing v/ood rot but lacks permanency. Compounds con-
taining creosote tend to injure the cambiujn, and therefore retard healing.

That fewer apples v/ere shipped to the Boston market from out of state
up to January than in any year on record? The total volume v/as at least
10^ more than last year and was divided approxLmately as follov^s: hone grown
apples, 650,000 bushels and shipped-in apples, 125,000 bushels.

That wood ashes are an excellent source of potassium and lime? Chem-
ical analyses show that they contain approximately 5% potash, 2;. phosphoric
acid and an acid neutralizing equivalent aiaounting to 66^o of a high grade
agricultural limestone.

. That the average water content of apples is 84.1^and that the average
freezing point is 28,4° F.? For long storage life, the ideal storage temper-
ature is 51 to 32° F., and relative humidity at least 85 to 88^-o. The harvested
apple is a living organism with a more or less definite span of life. If it
"lives too fast," either before or after picking, the time it remains in good
eating condition is shortened proportionately.

That fruits develop considerable heat during the ripening process?
Apples held at 32° F., generate about u60 b.t.u. per ton per day (a b.t.u.
is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water
one degree F.). At 85° F. about 6600 b.t.u. 's per ton per day are generated.
For Bartlett pears, the difference in heat generated at the tvio temperatures
is even greater. This so-called heat of respiration is a direct measure of
the rate of ripening.

That apples are a more expensive crop to grov; and market in dried
form than either plums and grapes? Apples must be dried artificially.
Raisins and prunes are the result of drying in the sun. This is one reason
why raisins can be produced for as little as 5/ per pound.

That 80^ of the 12 million bushel apple crop in VJenatchee County,
Washington was harvested last fall by local people? Schools opened three
weeks early to permit closing during the harvest season. Stores closed part

-4-

of the week and many local people who had not handled apples previously, in-
cluding vfives of business men, did their share in picking and packing the
"bumper crop. In the same way, ITev; England apple growers must utilize to the
fullest extent all nearby labor resources instead of hoping for an influx
of migratory labor.

That as many as 450 European red mite have been counted on a single
leaf? In one orchard the average on 100 leaves was 225 per leaf. The nev;
DN material was tried in New England last summer by six investigators in six
different localities. In a series of 22 tests the average reduction in num-
ber of mites amounted to 97^0.

That the root of a tree is more spongy in texture and lighter in
weight than a branch largely because it has relatively more vessels and
fewer fibers? The root functions mainly as a conductor of materials in
solution. The branch must also be strong enough to withstand high winds
and support a heavy crop of fruit.

That February is an ideal time to (1) overhaul farm machinery, (2)
make further progress in pruning and removal of unv;anted trees, and (3) order
fertilizers, seeds, and other supplies?

That the large average size of apples in Massachusetts last fall vms
not entirely due to abnormally heavy rainfall during the growing season? A
study of daily weather records up to harvest time indicates a fairly good dis-
tribution but not an exce.ssive amount of rainfall. At the same time vreather
conditions preceding Mcintosh harvest v;ere apparently highly favorable for
fruit sv;elling. Higher than normal humidity and more hours of sunshine pre-
vious to harvest time may have influenced the size of fruit. About 70^3 of
the Mcintosh crop in storage is reported to be 3 inches in diameter or larger.

That apples and field mice are common items of food for foxes? In a
study of the food habits of 289 red and gray foxes taken during the winter
season in New England, it was found that 128 (M.2%) had eaten ap-ples, while
83 (28.6^) had eaten field mice. These two items of food v;ere exceeded in
popularity only by cottontail rabbits. It was found that 173 (59.8^o) had
eaten rabbits.

That the use of fresh, native grown fruits and vegetables in Massa-
chusetts this year has released more than 35,000 refrigerator cars which
othenvise v/ould have been required to haul this class of food products into
this area?

I That raw apple is sometimes beneficial in the diet of an infant? In
the Mich. State Hort. Soc. Rept. (1939) v/e find this statement, "Investiga-
tions have found the rav/ apple diet successful v;ith infants less than 6 months
of age."

That it requires more than 3 times as many peaches of 1 3/4 to 2 inch
diameterto weigh 50 lbs., than of 2 3/4 to 3 inch diamoter? Of the smaller
size, 340 peaches are required, and of the larger size only 110.

(Note: Any large orchard owner interested in an unusually
v/ell qualified manager, novir available, should comiriunicate
with H. A. Rollins, Extension Horticulturist, University
of Connecticut, Storrs, Conn.)

-5-

RUSSETIIIG JF GOLDEN DELICI OUS

The tendency of fruit of the Golden Delicious apple to russet is
one of the weaknesses of the variety. It makes the fruit less attractive
and is related to its tendency to shrivel in storage. Russeting seems to be
worse in the humid East than it is in the less humid or semi-arid regions
in the V/est. From Maine comes a suggestion that there may be another factor
involved. Observing differences in individual trees, scions from high russet-
trees v/ere grafted into trees with low russeting and vice versa. Under Maine
conditions there seemed to be a persistency in the new location, of the ten-
dency to russet. If yau have any individual Golden Delicious trees that seem
especially free from russet, the writer would be glad to know about it. It
would do no harm to propagate from such trees. j, j{. shaw

RELATION BECTffiEN DATE OF BLOO M MD DATE OF HARVEST

A recent discussion of the time of ripening of fruit varieties
advances the idea that the date of full bloom gives a basis of calculating
the date of harvest. The data for some of our principal varieties are as
follows;

Days from Bloom to Harvest
Shortest Longest Average

Baldwin 134 138 135

Cortland 125 130 128

Delicious- 129 134 132

Early Mcintosh 88 94 90

Golden Delicious l32 140 138

Gravanstein 110 120 114

Mcintosh 124 129 127

Northern Spy 138 144 143

V;ealthy 103 116 109

This means that Baldwin, for example, will be ready to pick about
135 days after full bloom. Doubtless summer temperatures and cultural con-
ditions modify this interval; a season warmer than usual v>rill shorten this
period and high nitrogen v;ill lengthen it. These data are for Geneva, Nev/
York. The interval may differ somewhat for Massachusetts and would not be
exactly the same for different parts of the State. Hoivever, it seems worth
v/hile for a fruit grower to note the date of full bloom and consider it in
planning the date of harvest. j, Yi. Shaw

PLANNING FOR THE NIT.T ORCIiARD

If you are planning to set a new orchard this spring, the first
thing to do is to see that the site and soil are suitable. Since this is
a fairly long-time investment that you are about to make, these two points
are highly important. Second, why not consider contour planting of the
orchard?

There are several possible advantages of contour planting of or-
chards and, frankly, one or more disadvantages. Among the advantages are

-6-

the holding of soil, fertilizer, and moisture, and the saving of tractor
fuel. A disadvantage is a restriction in the movement of heavy implements
through the orchard, which can be only on the contour or level and not up
and down the slope. But this restriction frequently develops in orchards
on sloping land after a number of years whether or not they were planted on
the exact contour. It is not uncommon to see old orchards in which crude
bench terraces have developed, which practically prohibit movement of ve-
hicles and implements up and dovm the slope. Then, why not plant on the
contour and have these terraces develop in the right v/ay?

The possible saving of soil and fertilizer on cultivated sloping
land is obvious. But it is frequently pointed out that orchards, especially
apple orchards, are nov; kept in sod and therefore would not benefit from
contour planting. However, young apple orchards are often cultivated during
the first fev; years of their development, and during that period they stand
to benefit from the conservation of soil, fertilizer, and moisture, and later
when in permanent sod they may benefit from the saving of moisture and fer-
tilizer. In about one out of every three or four years additional soil
moisture will improve the crop. There is a terraced peach orchard at the
Massachusetts State College. V/ithin a dry spell in the summer of 1940 the
soil in this orchard was found to contain a little more than tv/ice as much
moisture as was found in adjoining land which was not terraced. Practically
all the rain that fell during the dry spell cajne in flash shovrers and was
held on the terraced slope, whereas mueh of it ran off the non-terraced slope.

Contour planting of orchards is comparatively simple and easy.
If interested in this method, consult your county agent, the extension horti-
culturist, or the undersigned,

— A. B. Beaumont

L IIJE AND tlAIJUKE

"Lime and lime v/ithout manure, make both farm and farmer poor,"
is an old rural proverb that expresses a basic truth. Both materials or
their equivalents are needed to build and maintain fertility. They ere most
commonly added to the soil separately, and that is the most fool-proof method
of application, but now that farm labor is one of the biggest problems of
production the question may well be asked if these tv/o soil amendments may
not be spread together.

Some pertinent data bearing on this question have come recently
from the Vermont Experiment Station. They shov/ that ground limestone may
be mixed with both fresh and fermented cow manure with scarcely any loss
of ammonia. Caustic lime caused no loss in fresh manure, even lessened it
in some cases by delaying amnonif ication; but it did expel some ammonia from
fermented manure. Even in the latter case the authors of the report think
that the saving in time and labor may offset the loss of ammonia.

Perhaps the most important factor in saving the ammonia of manure
is moisture. At 20° C. a given volume of water \iill dissolve about 700 vol-
umes of ammonia gas. If manure is kept v/ell moistened there is little danger
of ammonia loss, but if it is allov/ed to dry, lime or no lime, the ammonia
loss may be considerable. This point emphasizes the value of plowing under

-7-

of harrowing in manure as soon as possible after applying, or of spreading
it in rainy weather. Both forms of lime, but particularly the caustic forra,
accentuate the loss of ammonia on drying. Superphosphates on the other hand,
particularly the lower grades containing 18 to 20^^ of phosphoric acid, retard
the loss of ammonia by fixation. Gj'psuin, which makes up a considerable pro-
portion of the low-analysis phosphates, chemically absorbs ammonia under
certain conditions. __;^. b. Beaumont

MORE ABOUT COL D INJURY T O PEACHES

Since the last report in Fruit Notes, a fev/ peach grov/ers have
sent in reports v/hich indicate very close to a complete crop failure in
Massachusetts. Occasionally an orchard has 5 or perhaps lO^o of the fruit
buds alive. (This statement was v/ritten before the cold spell around Feb. 16.)

Tv;o growers have reported v/ood injury. Further observations at
the College revealed only slight injury to the tops, but severe injury to
the trunks of some trees. In these injured trunks the cambium and outer
sapwood vjere brown. In a fevi, the bark also had been injured.

Since the trunks of the trees are the last part to "harden off"
in the fall, they are especially susceptible to winter injury following a
late v/arm fall, such as occurred in 1942. Last fall the trees were kept
grovdng later than usual and the "hardening off" of the trunks was delayed.
The cold spell of December 20 and 21 caught the trunks only partly "hardened
off," and injury resulted.

Peach growers will be v;ise to look for trunk injury and keep close
watch of any injured trees for they v;ill probably need special treatment later.
A small elliptical piece of bark cut from the trunk will reveal what has
happened and probably do the tree little harm. j. s. Bailey

PRUNING Y;iNTER INJURED PEACH TREES

It is becoming increasingly evident that most peach orchards vdll
have no crop this year. Therefore, in those orchards without a crop, now
is a good time to lower the tops of any trees which are becoming too tall.
Any branches which are too long and rangy should be cut back. Cutting to
a side branch in tv/o or three year old wood will reduce the tendency to
sucker. After all weak, injured and dead v/ood is removed, further thinning
should be done if necessary.

In orchards v/here there are still live fruit buds, a thorough
checkup is desirable to find out v,rhere these buds are. Then the parts
of trees, or parts of iiae orchard, which shovi signs of bearing some fruit
should be left unpruned so as not to cut off any part of the small crop.
The rest of the orchard should be given a light but thorough thinning out.

If the wood of top or trunk has been injured, a light but thorough
thinning out will induce plenty of new wood to form fruit buds for next year.
Trees which have had theirwDod severely injured had better be left unpruned.
They usually recover better that way. However, they v/ill benefit from light
fertilization and good care through the summer. j, g, Bailey

ORDSR BEES EARLY

According to the latest advice received, shippers of package bees
are experiencing some difficulty in getting necessary supplies for shipment
cases. It appears likely that the number of packages shipped will be below
normal. Beekeepers vrtio intend to use package bees are advised to order early.
Fruit growers who rely on package bees for pollination should take this ad-
vice and act on it.

It is very likely that losses of overwintered bees virill be larger
than usual. This, together with the shortage of package bees that may be
anticipated, makes it essential that arrangements for securing bees for pol-
lination be completed early.

— F. R. Shaw

SALVAGE AI JD RE-US E OF FRUIT AIJD VEGE TAB LE COMT AIMERS

General Lumber Situation. The users and suppliers of lumber in 1942
were caught in a sxjueeze because of increased demand for lumber as a result of
the larger .amounts necessary for military uses and to decreased production
which resulted from labor and equipment shortages. As a result of the in-
creased demand, the estimated consumption of lumber in 1942 went up ll^-j over
that of 1941. Also in 1942 the production of lumber failed by about 20^i to
equal consumption. The deficit v/as made up by imports and by v/ithdrav/als
from inventories. This drain upon supplies has now depleted the stocks of
lumber to about 50^b of normal. Considering the fact that the inventory re-
serve represents a v;ide variety of sizes, species, and grades, this small
stock represents a very siTiall supply for emergencies in 1943.

By exercising the severest restrictions, it is estimated that con-
sumption in 1943 can be held to a little over 31 billion board feet, which
is about 25J^ belov; the consumption of last year. Although it is possible to
reduce the lumber consuraption for certain uses during 1943 from that of the
past year, increases for other uses will be inevitable. These are chiefly
for boxes and crates used as containers for products shipped overseas.
Other military requirements, such as construction, are expected to drop.
It may be necessary to restrict civilian construction this year to about
one-half that of last year and to about one-third of that of 1941. This
restriction would eliminate all but the bare essentials of construction and
maintenance. Even with tliis restricted use, hov/ever, it is possible that
labor, equipment, tire and replacement problems may reduce the 1943 produc-
tion and imports below the requirements of these minimum essentials, and
thus make further inroads upon the already scanty lumber reserves by the
end of 1943. This makes any program for conserving lumber during the cur-
rent year of vital inporteince.

Fruit and Vegetable Containers. The total estimated minimum es-
sential requirements f oV~6n1^iners~'and~~shipping material, such as boxes,
crates, etc., has increased about 30^o for 1943 over the consumption of 1942.
Most of this increase has been for military shipments. Some materials are
being packed in v/ood containers because of the scarcity of other package
materials such as metals. Other types of supplies are- being put in wooden
packages in order to secure a more substantial contairter for overseas shipping.

-9-

Fruit and vegetable producers will likely be able to get along
with a slightly smaller quantity of wooden containers in 1943 than was the
case in 1942. Assuming 1942 packing practices and per-acre production, and
the 1943 goals, the total number of board feet of lumber to package the 1943
crop v;ill be about 1% less than that required in 1942. This will probably
be further reduced through the use of containers of substitute materials
and limited shipments of products in bulk. However, these adjustments can-
not be sufficient to offset possible shortages of container material and
increased container demands for military shipments, and thus avert a tight
package situation.

Used Containers. One method of supplementing the tight fruit and
vegetable container situation is by the careful salvaging and reuse of second-
hand packages. Every salvaged used container made available for reuse makes
a number of contributions to the general supply situation and the war effort.
One of these is the fact that this container may package a product which nay,
in an acute container situation, not be made available to consumers. Another,
the use of the salvaged package will release to other uses labor and equip-
ment which would be necessary to make another nev/ box or basket. In addition,
it will release such critical materials as wood and metal to be used in
other war activities. The salvaging of used containers offers real possi-
bilities. For instance, there are enough board feet of wood in 1,000 sal-
vaged apple boxes to crate an average airplane for overseas shipment. There
is enough metal in 60 wire-bound orange boxes to supply the nails and straps
for crating a jeep for overseas shipment. One thousand wire-bound citrus
boxes have about 500 pounds of metal. Thus, if a quarter of the 18 million
new wire-bound citrus boxes used each year were salvaged and reused, it
would release 2,250,000 pounds of metal to be used for such vital war activ-
ities as the making of shells, tanks, and guns. This saving also benefits
the fruit and vegetable growers as difficulties are being experienced in
securing supplies of wire and nails for packages.

Extensive work is already being done in salvaging used containers
in certain large markets. A recent survey by the Viar Production Board in-
dicates that .approximately 25^^ of all wooden fruit and vegetable containers
v;hich are shipped into Hew York City are salvaged. This varies greatly among
the various types of containers, the percentage being very high for such
packages as baskets and much lower for nailed boxes. This custom seem^s to
be general. Used or second-hand containers are more extensively used by
grov/ers in the nearby or market garden area* than in the distant producing
districts because of the difficulty and expense of shipping used containers
to distant producing centers. Thus, crates, baskets and other packages
which are shipped into the large consuming centers are salvaged and sold
to growers in the nearby producing districts. Some estimates indicate that
as much as GOJo of the vegetables grovm in the Chicago market garden area
are marketed in second-hand containers. The proportion, of course < becomes
less as the distance from the city increases, but information recently col-
lected by Cornell University indicates that grov;ers in some of the interior
counties of New York State are depending on used containers for as much as
35^ of their total package requirements.

In the larger cities used containers are collected by a number of
agencies. Farmers who live in the nearby districts collect a portion from

-10-

the retail stores direct. Jiany peddlers collect the empty containers from
retailers and restaurants. Second-hand dealers or "junkies" arrange v;ith
trash collectors to separate the containers and scrap pieces from the other
material. The largest group collecting used containers consists of chain
stores. Used package dealers buy containers from the "junkies," peddlers,
and chain stores and sort them into the various types. These dealers also
repair damaged packages and remake others into types more generally in demand.
The dealers resell these sorted and repaired packages to farmers in the nearby
districts, or to large second-hand wholesalers who may distribute them into
the market garden districts of adjacent cities or to other production centers.

The remaking of other types of containers from such packages as
orange and apple boxes has become an established business in the larger
cities. From material in these boxes, crates are made for the packing of
cabbage, beans, carrots, onions, and other vegetables. Reconditioning, as
well as remaking, is an important enterprise. Reclaimed pieces of contain-
ers, second-hand nails and wire t.re used to repair dai.iaged hampers, baskets
or covers. A second-hand v.'ire handle, a bent nail or tv/o, with a salvaged
slat, v/ill many times restore a useless damaged container to good condition.

In addition to collecting, remaking and remodeling, careful hand-
ling by all dealers all along the line to prevent needless damage is im-
portant. Many parts of potentially good containers which might be used are
thrown on fires in the markets on cold mornings* Attention to all of these
factors in regard to used containers will increase the supply of fruit and
vegetable packages and perrait the use of material, which v;ould otherwise be
required for new containers, to be used for other vital uses. Therefore,
the program which is operatiiig rather smoothly in the large cities should
be expanded and similar types should be developed in the smaller centers.

TliE VICTOR Y T.^

H. P. Gilmore of IVestboro submits the following joint ruling recently
issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Vfar Labor Board.

"(1) The paj^ent by an employer of tlie five percent Victory Tax on behalf
of his employees v.'ithout deducting it from the employees' pay is a wage or
salary increase requiring the prior approval of the Board or the Commissioner
pursuant to Executive Order No. 9250 and the Regulations of the Director of
Economic Stabilization*

"(2) On January 23, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue issued a ruling
interpreting the Revenue Act so that vrhere the National Yfar Labor Board or
the Commissioner of Internal Revenue avmrds or approves an increase in wages
or salaries retroactive to 1942, the tax need not be withheld on that portion
of the increase v/hich is applicable to v:ork performed in 1942.

"(3) Vihether the five percent tax will ultimately be collected on such
retroactive pay is a matter to which the Congress may give its attention
during the current session."

Quoting from Hr. Gilmore 's letter, "Apple growers are not required to
deduct and pay the Victory Tax, but our employees are required to pay it at
t''e end of the year."

March 24, 1943

Prepared by the Fruit Program Committee
Of the llxtension Service

VJ'. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Content^'

The Fruit Grower and the Pood Production" Program

Orchards Damaged by Severe Winter Vi'eather

"Ready to Bear" Frv\it Plants

Actual Figures from a Connecticut Fruit Grower

Timely Notes on the Bee Situation

Agricultural Insecticides for 1943

Should Insecticides and Fungicides be Rationed?

Critical Situation Regarding Vfood Fibre Shipping Containers

Three Apple Boxes - Vjeste'm, Michigan, Eastern

Apple Box Requirements in the N.Yt-N.E. Area

Victory Gardens

THE FRUIT GRCHTER Alfl) THE FOOD PRODUCTION PROGRAM

Fruits are recognized as an essential part of our diet. In dried
form they are an important item of food for our armed forces abroad and for
our fighting allies. Fresh fruits, being less easily exported, contribute
in a similar way to our food needs here at home. Every good fruit grower
has reason to feel that he is making a contribution to the food production
program. This applies to the commercial fruit grower and to the producer
of fruits for home use as well,

Whatever we grow of necessary foods, near the point of consumption,
releases transportation facilities for vital use elsewhere. A carload of
good apples grovm on a hillside farm v.rithin easy trucking distance of Boston,

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of Hay 8 and June
30, 1914, VJillard A. Ilunson, director, Massachusetts State College, United
States Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

is directly in line with our v;artime economy. It vrould be folly for the owner
of a good apple orchard to go into some other line of business and neglect the
orchard. The experienced fruit grov/er can make his greatest contribution to
the v;ar effort by taking the best possible care of his fruit planting. If
every fruit farm utilizes its resources to best advantage, there will be no
need of transporting from other producing areas, the Suits needed for home
consumption. Most of our needs along fruit lines can be supplied from the
New England area,

¥/e are constantly being reminded that American farmers must produce
more food. From the standpoint of the fruit grower, this does not mean more
bushels, without regard to grade or quality. Yj'e already have too many "cull"
apples. In the writer's opinion, our job is to produce, not more apples, but
more good apples. Vie should aim to produce aji apple crop of which at least
905,0 wTrr"grade U.S. No. 1 or higher. Apples of lower grade are of doubtful
value, even in peacetime. They become a liability in v/artime when storage
facilities, packages, labor, etc., are scarce. Ii'^e ought not to clutter up
our markets or our storages v;ith fruit fit only for feeding to livestock.

1/Vhat should be the attitude of the home gardener who is interested,
not in producing fruit for sale, but for the home table? Again it should be
pointed out that the owner of a small piece of land should concentrate first
on vegetables, and should expand to include small fruits only if garden space
and tiae are availile. Small fruits offer much more promise of success for
the backyard gardener, than tree fruits. We cannot afford to imste valuable
land, fertilizers, spray materials, etc., without reasonable assurance that
the investment will produce something of real value. The producer of fruits
for home use should consider very carefully the factors upon which success
in the hone fruit planting depends. Patriotism does not demand that we spend
time and money in trying to produce usable apples on an old tall tree, when
the same area might produce an abundance of strawberries or of vegetables
with less expense.

Massachusetts fruit growers are doing more long time planning than
ever before in order to economize on labor, materials, aaid equipment. The
food production program will be a success from both the commercial and the
home garden standpoint if we limit ourselves to those food crops v/ithin reach
of our available resources. By so doing, the fruit grovrer will make his
biggest contribution to the national food production program.

ORCHARDS DAI'JAGEU BY SEVERE WINTER VJEATHER

If a definite relationship between winter temperatures aind injury in
plant tissues were to exist, we v/ould expect heavy damage in Massachusetts or-
chards as a result of the near record cold spell around February 16. The
extent of injury, hovrever, is dependent upon the maturity of the tissues and
perhaps upon the date and duration of the damaging temperatures. The injury
in Baldwin trees this winter, although very noticeable, does not seem to be
as severe as in the winter of 1933-34. A partial killing of the sapwood is
apparently more common than damage to the bark and canibiura. As more Baldwin
trees are examined we are finding considerable brovming of the sapvrood, par-
ticularly in the lovrer limbs. In most trees, hov/ever, there seeias to be enough

-3-

sapvrood to enable the tree to outgrow the damaged condition. The pith of
the twigs and spurs, where part of the food materials are comrjionly stored,
shows rather severe daiaago. LIuch less loose bark is in evidence on apple
tree trunks than in 1934.

Not until the end of the 1943 growing season can we make anything
like a reliable estimate of the extent of damage in Massachusetts orchards.
It will probably vary tremendously in individual trees, and no one cultural
practice will facilitate recovery. Vfinter injured trees cannot be "pruned
into a normal condition." They may be better off with little or no pruning.
Mulching will be beneficial, and if the cambium, inner bark and sapwood
are reasonably intact, added nitrogen or perhaps strip cultivation will tend ,-'
to encourage the development of new tissues.

In the College orchards severe iyury has been observed on sweet
cherry trees. Some of them are apparently beyond hope of recovery. Peach
trees also show uranistakable damage, A no pruning program for such trees
is strongly recommended. Only time will tell which trees or parts of trees
are capable of making satisfactory growth and (barring another cold winter)
of bearing a crop of peaches in 1944.

"READY TO BEAR" FRUIT PLANTS

V/lienever we consider buying fruit plants which, according to the claims
of the nursery, v;ill "bear the first season," we ou^ht to ask ourselves whether
such performance is an advantage or a disadvantage. Is the apple or two, borne
the first year, of prirae importance? Should we look for^^ard to harvesting a
few strawberries a month after setting the plants? In general, is early bear-
ing conducive to success in a fruit planting?- The ansv/er is definitely "No."

All blossoms should be removed from newly set strawberry plants because
any berries borne the first season will endanger the growth of new plants for
next year. A strav/berry plant cannot mature berries and at the same time de-
velop strong runner plants, since the same rav^ materials are required for both.
Raspberry plants should be cut back to a height of 6 or 8 inches at planting
time in order to prevent fruiting, and thereby encourage a strong grovrth of new
canes. Otherv;ise, the crop of fruit will so tax the root system until mid-
summer that the growth of nev/ canes for next year vdll be retarded. Only a
severely stunted or a true dwarf apple tree can be expected to bear the first
year. If the tree does bear so early it is a sure sign that it is making very '^
scanty growth.'

With few exceptions, a fruit plant needs the first season to become
established and to make vigorous vegetative growth, instead of exhausting its
food resources in bringing fruit to maturity. If v/e focus our attention on
early bearing, and overlook the kind of growth necessary for future production,
we are horticulturally shortsighted.

TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOUR SPRAYER. YOU IIAY HOT BE ABLE
TO REPLACE IT FOR SEVERAL YEARS.

•^«

ACTUAL FIGURES FROM A CONNECTICUT FRUIT GROl'ffiR

The following figures are taken from Seetsonftl Fmiit Notes, prepared
by 11. A. Rollins of the University of Connecticutj Apples grown in Connect-
icut and sold in New York City, January, 1943 -- Consumer A paid 5^ per lb,
for Utility Grade apples or at the rate of $2,00 per bu. fonwuner B. paid
8^ per lb, for Fancy Grade apples or at the rate of $3.20 per bu.

Utility Grade
per bushel

Retailer paid

(retailer plems for 50^ mark-up)
Viniolesaler received for handling
Jobber received for hsuidling
Jobber paid for cartage to N.Y.C.
Jobber paid for ccanplete package

Grower received

,08
.05
,20
,30

$1.32

.63

TTO

Fancy Grade
per bushel

,08
.05
.20
.30

$2.15

,63

TTST

Grower storage costs .30
Sorting and packing , .10
Harvesting and heindling .15

Value of bushel of fruit on tree

,55

.30

.10
,15

.55
T9r

You may understsuid why this fmiit grower feels that he should make
every effort to prune, to fertilize and especially to spray his trees to pro-
duce good quality fruit in 1943. Vfould you rather grow Utility grade apples
for 15/ than Fancy apples at 97/ per bushel?

TBffiLY NOTES ON THE BEE SITUATION

Since fruit growers are vitally interested in bees for pollination, the
following summary of the bee situation by F. R. Shaw of the Dept, of Entomology,
is presentedi Massachusetts beekeepers are faced with greater responsibili-
ties now than at any time in the recent past. They must keep their colonies
at maximum strength in order to produce the vi&x and honey necessary and have
adequate pollination of our fruits and many vegetables. Last year we were
asked to double the honey crop. V/e failed to do this partly due to the season
and partly due to the fact that many colonies were not properly attended to
because of lack of time and other reasons. This year vw are asked to increase
the amount of honey produced, to increase the supply of beeswax by one third
and we may be faced viith additional demands for bees for pollination, especially
in view of the increase of Victory gardens.

In view of the greater responsibilities facing the beekeeper, better
planning will be necessary during the coiiiing year. Bee supplies are limited.
A quota of 57^o has been established for hives and Z^% for other supplies based
on the manvfacture of hives and supplies during 1940 and 1941, This makes
necessary more careful checking of equipment. It would be well to have re-
placements on hand before discarding any old equipment. If you must secure
new materials, place your orders ag soon as possible.

-5-

f
Package Bees. Package bee shippers are faced with the difficulty of
obtaining wire cloth, tin feeding cans, and sugar. It is entirely possible,
therefore, that shipments of package bees may be below normal this spring. If
you plan to use package bees, it will be necessary to place your orders early.

Price Ceiling on B eeswax . It is of interest to note that a price ceil-
ing has been placed on beesvmx and this was issued as of November 13, 1942. A
cash price of 41,5 cents per pound or 43.5 cents per pound in exchange for
supplies is the maximum allov;ed for crude domestic beeswax.

Early Examination of Bees Desirable . Due to the difficulty experienced
by some in secur"ing~"sugar for feeding together with the presence of a large
amount of honeydew stored last season, it can be expected that the winter loss
of colonies may be above normal. Colonies found to be lov>r in stores can be fed
or doubled up v/ith other colonies having more food. If the colonies are low in
pollen, soybean flour containing not over 5^o fat can be given as a substitute.

AGRICULTURAL INSECTICIDES FOR 1945

Although smaller supplies of some insecticides may be obtainable this
year due to the war, the nation's farmers will still be able to carry on a
suitable insect control program if conservation and substitution practices
are follov/ed. The following report is based on a study made by the Food Re-
quirements Committee (novif Food Advisory Committee) of which Secretary of Agri-
culture Claude R. ITickard is chairman. Insecticides included in the report
are arsenic, cryolite, rotenone, pyrethrum, nicotine sulfate and copper.

The only real shortages, the Committee points out, exist in the sup-
plies of rotenone and pyrethrum. Estimated supply of rotenone is placed at
3,600^000 pounds, with 1943 requirements likely reaching 4,225,000 pounds. A
supply of 16,000,000 pounds of pyrethrum is on hand but 17,250,000 pounds of
this insecticide will probably be needed this year. Supplies of arsenic,
cryolite, nicotine sulfate and copper chemicals seem to be sufficient, or the
possibilities of increasing the 1943 output is believed good enough to assure
adequate amounts of these materials for use as insecticides. It is believed
that some of these chemicals, particularly nicotine sulfate, will serve as
substitutes for some of the scarcer ones. Estimated requirements and supplies
of the following insecticides for 1943 are given in t'o'nst arsenic, 70,800,
70,800j cryolite> 6000, 9000; nicotine sulfate, 2350, 2400; and copper chemi-
cals, 102,500, 105,000.

State and county U.S.D.A. V/ar Boardsare urged to assist farmers in the
selection of insecticides and to request them to use smaller amounts of the
more critical materials and to substitute wherever possible. Virtually all
insecticides have been placed under 17. P. B. control and most of them have been
restricted to use for agricultural crops only. In case of some chemicals such
as rotenone and pyrethrum, l/.P.B. controls permit their use on just certain
specified crops. For example, rotenone, in accordance v;ith the \<.P.B. regula-
tion, can only be used in the protection of food crops other than citrus fruits,
cotton, tobacco, cranberries, eggplants, cucurbits, onions, peppers, sweet
corn, or as a spray, wash or dust in the treatment of cattle for the destruc-
tion of grubs. O.P.A. regulations place most insecticides under certain price

•6-

ceilings which seek to protect the farmer, supplier and manufacturer from
possible fluotations in price due to the scarcity of supply.

Arsenic trioxide, from which all arsenical* are derived, is used
chiefly in the control of pests on apples,, cotton and potatoes. Cryolite
is used to combat apple pests in the Northwest. Rotenone is the principal
insecticidal constituent of timbo, barbasco, cube and derris root. It was
formerly used in the control of many different kinds of pestsr However,
its use is now restricted to certain crops, Pyrethrum is the active in-
gredient of «pray», v/ashes, powders and dusts used on certain vegetable
crops and on livestock. Nicotine sulfate is widely used, and this year
it must help supplant the shortage of other materials,

SHOULD INSECTICIDES AM) FUNGICIDES BE RATIOI^IED?

In view of the situation concerning coffee, sugar, and many other com-
modities, this seems to be a logical question. In a recent issue of A, I,F.
News, these points are brought outi To ration a thing - to limit each con-
sumer to so many oxmces a week - there must be enough so that each consumer
actually can find and buy that many ounces. If insecticides and fungicides
were rationed on any conceivable basis, no grower facing a real attack by
insects or plant disease would get enough. And those fortunate enough to
escape would not need even the amounts alloted to them.

There are more than enough of agricultural insecticides and fungicides
for average needs, even though not enough to ration. Insecticides and fungi-
cides/most vitally needed when insects or plant diseases appear - and when
these emergencies come, they are needed in quajitities large enough to control
the pests. Using not enough is money thrown away, a total loss.

Fire fighting is a good parallel. A city would not think of rationing
fire equipment, stationing so much apparatus and so many firemen in each block.
Instead, apparatus and firemen are concentrated at strategic points, ready to
rush to the places where fires breeik out. Those places are largely unpredict-
able - like plant pest outbreaks,

ViTien the boll v/eevil is on the march, the embattled grower may use 15
pounds of calcium arsenate to the acre. Suppose this material v/ere rationed
to provide 15 pounds for each of the 25,000,000 acres of cotton. That would
require 375,000,000 pounds. Yet the greatest amount of calcium arsenate ever
produced and consumed in a year was 70,000,000 pounds. The annual consumption
may run as low as 20,000,000 pounds. The same situation applies to many other
spray and dust materials.

CRITICAL SITUATION REGARDING YJOOD FIBRE SHIPPING CONTAINERS

The Vfar Production Board recently released information stating that
in order to purchase any empty, new or used boxes, crates, cases, barrels, kegs,
kits, pails, drums, tubs, baskets or hampers, either setup or knocked down,
made either fully or in part from wood or corrugated or solid fibre, and used

-7-

as an outer container for delivflry or shipment of materials, or any shooks,
cleats, staves, headings, veneer, plywood or corrugated or solid fibre cut
to size for shipping containers, preference ratings are needed.

There are five preference ratings, neunely, AA-1, AA2X, AA3, M4, and
M5. AA-1 preference rating is for defense material; AA2X preference rating
is for the Lend-Lease Program. The other ratings are to be used by individ-
uals ordering boxes from their usual sources of supply. However, if any of
the AAl or AA2X ratings are ahead of the others, then there is no possibility
of one getting boxes for some time to come.

It is suggested by officials of the Vfar. Production Board that indi-
viduals desiring complete infonaation in regard to these preference ratings
(Order P-140), should confer with their local V/ar Production Board. (Quoting
from this Order:

The list of fruits and vegetables with AA-3 rating is as followst
Dried apples, dried apricots and dried peaches. Fresh fruits and vegetables
as follows: apples, apricots, bananas, cherries, citrus, grapes, nectarines,
peaches, pluias, pears, prunes (fresh), berries, beans (snap and lima), carrots,
peas (fresh green), and tomatoes. The list with AA-4 rating includes cran-
berries, quinces, and most vegetables not listed under AA-3,

This Order nearly precludes the possibility of obtaining boxes through
the usual channels. However, the l/Tar Production Board says that it is per-
missible for an individual to cut his own logs and have them sawn into lumber.
Boxes for his own use can be manufactured from this lumber without securing

a preference rating, ^

^ *= R. B. Parmenter

THREE APPIE BOXES - VffiSTERN, MICHIGAN, EASTERN

A General Limitation Order affecting wooden containers was filed
March 1, 1943 by the V/ar Production Board. This reduces the number of wood-
en boxes and crates for fruits and vegetables to 64. Three apple boxes re-
main, the V/estem Box, 10^ x ll|- x 18; the Michigan Box, 11 x 12|- x 16, and
the Eastern Box, 1 l/S Bushel, 11 x 15 x 17, all inches, inside measurements.
No half bushel boxes are left for apples,

A pear box, 8^ x ll|- x 18 and the half pear box, 5g- x 11^ x 18, are
both provided for; also a pear lug, 6^ x ISg- x 20 5/8. Use of a cleat to in-
crease the capacity is permitted on the pear lug but not on the other boxes.

The manufacture of boxes of other sizes is forbidden. on and after
March 4, 1943. Those having supplies on hand or other types of packages may
manufacture same until May 31, 1943, and those receiving shooks which are al-
ready in transit, bought and received prior to April 1, 1943, may assemble
such packages provided the work is completed by Llay 31, 1943.

Hampers, baskets and berry cups at present being manufactured are con-
tinued of certain definite sizes, which includes the bushel hamper and the
bushel basket. Certain special containers for use by the Government are per-
mitted.

APPLE BOX REqUIREivlENTS IN THE N.Y.,»N.E« AREA

A survey of the apple'box requirements in the N.Y.-N.E. area indicates
that 9,500,000 new boxes vail be needed. Fruit societies and state officials ,•
present the following estimate: Itoine - 600,000, N.H. - 600,000, Vt. - 350,000,
Llass. - 2,000,000, R.I. - 100, OCO, Conn. - 428,000, N. Y. - 5,433,500.
Total - 9,511,500. Allowing a keg of nails per 1000 boxes, about 9,500 kegs
of nails will be needed. The National Apple Institute has been given these
figures to present to the Vj'ar Production Board,

VICTORY GARDENS

The Victory Garden is the very spot on which a major conflic* of the
war is being decided - the battle for food, health, and security. All ir>di-
cations are that this is another bftttle that is going to go the right way
during the coming months. According to reports there were around 15 million
Victory gardens last summer. Qpite a few of them were on farms that had never
before grown a garden.

As you no doubt know, the 1942 Victory Garden campaign was a success
in part because it was aided by extremely favorable weather. To come up to
last year's record the 1943 Victory Garden campaign calls for bigger and better
gardens and more of them. Many of these gardens will have to produce all the
vegetables, particularly tomatoes, leafy green vegetables and yellow vegeta-
bles needed for the family's entire yearly needs. Our armed forces and our
allies have already spoken for over half of our 1943 output of canned vegetables.

How true is the statement of the famous general who said, "An army
travels on its stomach." A soldier needs plenty of food if he is to do a
good job of fighting. V7e on the home front need plenty of food, if we are
going to produce food for the soldiers and if we are going to produce the
munitions and machines which the soldiers need for winning battles. Yes, all
of us vdth plenty of food under our belts can do a much better job.

In 1942, war activities took 1Z% of our total food production. In
1943 it is estimated that these same war activitiee will take 25^^. Tv/enty-five
per cent amounts to one meal in every four. Nov; that doesn't mean that we
will be short of one meal out of every four. By rationing we will have enough
•feo keep us from going hungry but there is very likely to be a shortage of cer-
tain essential foods unless something is done.

In Massachusetts something is being done. Already Governor Saltonstall
has appointed a Home Garden Committee to work on this problem of food production.
The job of the committee is to promote home vegetable gardens in every city,
town» and community in Massachusetts. Last year we had in Massachusetts hun-
dreds of Victory Gardens but this year we are going to have thousands of Victory
Gardens if this committee has anything to say about it.

Now that's just where you come in. The food that you produce in your
back yard garden may be the very food that will fill the empty spot in our na-
tional market basket. Tomatoes and beans and corn and beets and carrots and
cabbage, and go on through the list - if these are produced in the home garden,
they will supply the family with vegetables during the summer months and the
extra vegetables produced at home can be canned for use during the vanter months.
Then your family will be able to laugh at any food shortage which might develop,

G. 0, Oleson

[SS MILDRED HOWARD
(TENSION SEPVICS
)UTH COLLEGE

April 24, 1943

Prepared by the Fruit Program Coramittee
3 42 .of "the Extension Service

W. 11. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

Radio Spray Service

One Reason for Poor Shaped Trees

Do You Know?

Box Ceilings

New Strawberry Varieties

Fruits in North Africft

Girdled Trees

Here's an Idea

The Place of Small Fruits in the Home Garden Program

RADIO SPRAY SERVICE

Following is the schedule for the broadcasting of fruit pest control
information to be released by the Extension Service in the departments of
Botany, Entomology and Pomology, The message released Monday afternoon will
be broadcast on Tuesday and repeated V/ednesday, while the message released on
\Tednesday afternoon will be broadcast on Thursday and repeated on Friday.
V/henever occasions justify, nev; messages will be telephoned or wired to the
stations for Wednesdays and Fridays to replace the repeat-announcements.

In compiling each message, the Extension Service will have access to
confidential weather information directly from the East Boston Airport Station
of the U.S. ITeather Bureau, for use only in agricultural operational advices.

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of l.lay 8 and June 30,
1914, l/illard A. Munson, director, Massachusetts State College, United States
Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

-2-

1. V/BZ, Boston and VJB ZA, Springfield; 1030

(a) The 6:00-7:00 A. LI. program: at 6:20 A.M.
and again at 6:50 A. 11.

(b) The 1:10 P.li. prograra: at 1:10 P.I.I.

2. Y/NAC , Boston (and Yankee lletvrark): at 6; 25 A.M.

vmAC, Boston, Ilass. 1260

l/AAB, VJ'orcester, Ilass. 1410

1,1

VffiAN, Providence, R.I. 790

ViTICC, Bridgeport, Conn. 600

vrcsn, Portland, Maine 970

ViUra, Laconia, N. H. 1340

3, VJEEI , Boston, The "Farmers Almanac of the Air";

at 6:15 A.M. 590

4, V/IAY/ , Lawrence, Mass.; at 7 A.M. 680

5, WTAG, li;orcester, Mass.; at 6;30 A.M. daily. 580

This annual radio spray service for fruit grov.'ers v/ill begin Apri l
26. The first message will be broadcast on April 27. Copies of the same
messages v;ill be mailed to county agricultural agents, to certain ne-v;spaper
editors \/ho have requested them, to fruit specialists of other Ne\v England
states, and to a fen cooperator growers 'v/ho furnish the College at regular
intervals with specific information pertaining to tree and pest developments.

The 1943 APPLE SPRAY CliARTS have been distributed.
If you failed to receive a copy contact your county
agricultural agent or the State College.

Olffi REASON FOR P O OR SHAPED TREES

An article under this heading appeared iia the April, 1936 issue
of Fruit Notes, l.e repeat what was said at that time, firmly believing that
a good framev.'ork is of much importance and that young trees should be induced
to make good growth from the start. "It is easy to maintain a good frame-
work in a tree v/hich is making strong annual growth. A vigorously grov/ing
grafted tree, for example, tends to grovr a leader type of frajnsvrork v;hile a
starved or stunted tree may, vihen stimulated, break out in some unexpected
quarter. Even in an ordinary v;inter when other trees suffer little or none
at all, there may be just enough injury to the Baldwin wood to make it less
efficient in conducting \/ater and other materials to the groviing points of
the previous season. As a result, water and mineral elements become shunted
into other channels where the path of conduction from the roots is shorter.
And after a season of good growth these sprouts continue to grow until they
themselves are wide-tracked in favor of still younger grovrths."

A thought for today} "Do V^hat You Can of V-Tiat
You I'jiow You Ought to Do."

-3-

ruru^ :

That 275 carloads of apples were recently packed in 35 freight cars?
The explanation is that the apples were dried. They were forced under pres-
sure into No. 10 tin cans. Thirty two pounds of apples, dried until they
v.'eigh only 4 pounds, go into one of these cans. A total of 200,000 boxes
•or 275 carloads of fresh apples (7,680,000 lbs.) were transformed into just
under a million pounds of dried apples which were packed tightly into
240,000 cans. This made 40,000 cases.

That a close approximation of the date at Vifhich a given variety of
fruit will mature can be made at the tine of full bloom? After a three-year
study, M. A» Haller of the U.S.D.A. has concluded that the number of days
from full bloom to maturity is a more reliable index of maturity than pres-
sure test, ground color, seed color, or starch test. The average number of
days between bloom and harvest for a few varieties are as follows: Olden-
burg apple, 98; llclntosh, 127; Rhode Island Greening, 155; Llontmorency
cherry, 62; Bartlett pear, 121; Elberta peach, 128.

That there are approximately 4000 acres of cultivated blueberries
in the U. S. with a crop value of nearly Cl»000,000? The raspberry acre-
age amounts to about 59,000 acres with a crop value of more than v7»000,000.
Blackberries and dewberries total nearly 35,000 acres with a crop value of
$3,700,000.

That the total capacity for the manufacture of synthetic nitrogen
in the United States after the war will be more than tv/ice as great as this
country's maximum annual pre-war consumption of nitrogen for all purposes?
The amount of nitrogen v;hich can be supplied to farmers from this expanded
industry will greatly affect crop production after the war. The problem of
utilizing this unprecedented tonnage of nitrogen is to be studied by a re-
cently organized committee of which R. II. Salter, Chief of the U.S. Bureau
of Plant Industry, is chairman.

That soils of Massachusetts are by nature predominantly acid? Many
cultivated plants or crops grov/ poorly on an acid soil v;hile certain others
may fail utterly unless lime in some forra is used to correct this condition.
More than 50,000 tons of liming material are used annually to increase crop
yields in Massachusetts. For full details concerning this subject, see
Mass. State College Leafl^jt No. 134, "Liming Soils."

That crganic matter performs at least four important functions in the
soil? (1) It gives the soil a good structure and improves its tilth. (2) It
provides food for bacteria. (3) It keeps plant food available so the plants
can use them. (4) It serves as a storehouse of nitrogen, available phos-
phorus, potash and other plant foods.

.4-

That the State of V/ashington takes first place in the production of
apples and second in pears? This state is also second in apricots and fil-
berts, third in cherries, prunes and plums, fourth in grapes, and sixth in
peaches.

That bet\/een 2 and 2-^ million pounds of apple syrup will be produced
coimiercially this year from the U. S. and Canadian apple crop, thus opening
a nevj- market for apple growers? The ne-vi syrup has much the same qualities
as glycerine and is being extensively used in the manufacture of tobacco.
This nev; material will free millions of pounds of glycerine for use in the
manufacture of explosives.

That plastic, self-lubricated bearings are now in use in large,
rotary fruit juice extractors? Faced v/ith a shortage of bronze bearings,
one machinery manufacturer found that a nev; type of "Lucite" bearing ivas
actually lubricated by contact v;ith citrus juices. The nev/ bearings are
equally resistant to orange, grapefruit and lemon juices.

That a record grapefruit crop of 46 million boxes is indicated for
the present season compared v/ith 40 million boxes last season and 42 million
boxes the previous season? The quantity of Florida grapefruit handled by
commercial processors to the end of February this year is more than twice
as much as was handled up to that date last year. Texas also has a record
grapefruit crop, 16 million boxes, which is 14^o more than in 1942,

That a thin film of water-miscible v;ax applied to apples during the
packing operation is now considered as a low cost method of prolonging stor-
age and market life of the fruit? This means of reducing losses from shrivel-
ing is being studied at the Maryland Experiment Station, using Grimes Golden
and Golden Delicious, both of which are very subject to shrivelling.

That red currants nay not be as dangerous in the spread of v/hite
pine blister rust as is coiiimonly supposed? Recent studies show that white
pines become infected only rarely, even at short distances, from red currant
bushes. The necessity of removing red currant bushes v.'ithin 900 feet of
which pines has not apparently been conclusively demonstrated.

That an unbelievable total of 27 million board feet of lumber may
be saved by making a fev/ simple adjustments in the thickness of apple box
boards? According to a committee in the Northwest, these suggested changes
will do the trick; Reduce the thiclcness of the ends from 25/32 inches to
11/16 inches; sides from 3/8 to 5/l6, and tops and bottoms from l/4 to 3/16
inches. It is claimed that the slight reduction in thickness of the sides
alone viould save 12 million board feet of luraber in a single year.

That a gigantic machine for shredding orchard brush is now in use in
the VIenatchee district in YJashington? This brush shredder, purchased by a
group of 40 growers last year is capable of chewing brush at the rate of 6
acres per hour. The brush is first windrowed which enables the machine to
scoop up everything in its path, leaving a trail of finely ground wood chips
and splinters.

-5-

That only about IS^^o of the apple trees in the U.S. were of non-
bearing age in 1940, compared v;ith about 24fo in 1930? Even thouch there
were only about l/o as many apple trees in the United States in 1940 as
in 1910, the production has not declined greatly owing in part to the
gradual shift to better soils, higher yielding varieties, less caustic
fungicides, and better all around orchard management.

That an average ton of farm laanure contains about 10 pounds of
nitrogen, 5 pounds of phosphoric acid, and 10 pounds of potash? The amount
of manure produced annually per 1000 pounds of live weight is about 15
tons by cov/s, 12 tons by horses, 10 tons by sheep or fattening cattle, 18
tons by hogs, and 4.2 tons by chickens.

That the guano birds of Peru consume about 5g- million tons of fish
annually, while the people of Peru consur.ie only 4 thousand tons. The guano
birds are considered to be araong the most important in the world because
of the enormous quantities of fertilizer for which they are responsible.

That ragv:eed has at least one advantage to offset its disadvantage
as a spreader of hay fever? The ragweed borer has been found to be host
to several parasites of the Oriental fruit moth, a serious pest of peaches.
One experiment station has even recommended that ragv/eed be allovred to grow
in peach orchards in order to favor the development of these parasites.

That apple scab, fungus disease Enemy !Jo. 1 of apples, is known in
all apple growing regions from the Atlantic to the Pacific? It is also
found in British Columbia and in Southern Canada, in European countries,
and in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The annual loss attributed
to this disease in the northern part of the United States alone is estimated
at v3, 000, 000 while for the entire United States the loss is approximately
!1^40,000,000.

That the entrance of apple scab into a leaf or fruit is dependent to
a large extent upon temperature? If the temperature is 43° the process takes
about 15 hours, at 48° 11 hours, 59° 7 hours, 68° 4 to 5 hours, 75° 6 hours.
Higher temperatures tend to retard or prevent grovrth. Leaves must remain
wet about three times as long at 43° as at 68°.

That spray lime if exposed for a period of time to the air, loses
its effectiveness as a corrective for arsenical burning? This is due to the
fact that thfe essential ingredient, calcium oxide, is changed into the car-
bonate form, calcium carbonate, by the absorption of carbon dioxide from the
air. In the carbonate form, the calciura is ineffective in preventing spray
injury.

That 29^^ of the farm accidents in the United States have to dowLth
machinery? 22^^ involve animals; lO^o, excessive heat; 9^^, falls of various
kinds, 9^j, vehicular traffic, 6% lightning, and 15Jo other causes.

That about 18,500 farmers in the U.S. lost their lives last year be-
cause of accidents? In addition, it is estimated that 100 times as many
were injured. Hazards are even greater no\/ because of new help. Greater
care must therefore be exercised to avoid accidents, particularly with trac-
tors and other farm equipment.

-6-

That the average farm garden in Michigan, amounting to l/z acre,
produces enough food to rate as one of the best cash crops? On good land,
properly managed and with rows spaced three feet apart, this average farm
garden requires 92 hours of work. The resulting vegetables, accordingto
a recent study, are worth nearly s?200. The average farm gardener plants
18 different crops.

BOX CEILINGS

In order to establish a price on New England apple boxes, the
Office of Price Administration has issued recently Amendment No. 3 to
Maximum Price Regulation No. 320, effective April 15, 1943. This estab-
lishes price ceilings on apple boxes, cranberry boxes and field crates
in the six New England states. The original regulation did not include
New England. The amendment places a ceiling of 021.50 per hundred on
1 l/8 bu. apple crates, in the shook, and a price of v24,50 per hundred
nailed up including delivery within 50 miles of the sawmill. The price
on cranberry boxes is ^28. 00 per hundred in the shook, and 1)31.00 nailed
up,

IM7 STRAV/BERRY VARIETIES

The following new strawberry varieties which are being named and
introduced by the New Jersey Small Fruits Council this spring have been
fruited twojears at Amherst. Our observations are as follows:

Julymorn (N.J. 225). Very late, very dark red, large, objectionably
furrowed, firm, very tart, good production. It is reported to be desirable
for canning or freezing, but is not resistant to red stele.

Crimson Glow (N.J. 311). Mid season, dark, glossy, large, good
quality, but not outstanding. Not resistant to red stele.

Sparkle (N.J. 312). Late, excellent quality, attractive red, firm,
good production. Promising at Ajnherst. Reported to be very resistant to
red stele.

A. P. French

PRODUCTION OF FRUI TS IN N ORTH AFRICA

17e have recently obtained from Fred A. Ilotz, formerly foreign market-
ing specialist of the U.S.D.A., some figures concerning the production of
fruits in a much publicized corner of the world. North Africa. The 1938
figures for Morocco are as follows: oranges, 1,547,000 trees; almonds,
4,604,000 trees; figs, 7,366,000; dates, 1,118,000; pomegranates, 585,000;
and chestnuts, 204,000.

The average annual production of various fruits in Algeria between
1934 and 1938 were as follows: oranges, 1,522,000 boxes; mandarin oranges,
1,253,000 boxes; lemons, 102,000 boxes; figs (fresh consumption) 25,500
tons, (dried) 19,200 tons; dates, 114 tons; olive oil, 15,400 tons.

-7-

The 1930 statistics show 29,800 acres in orchards in Algeria with
a total of 1,400,000 trees. Amonc the deciduous fruits v/ere apples and
pears, 4,400 acres; plums, 5,900 acres; peaches, 5,200 acres; cherries,
2,300 acres; apricots, 2,000 acres; almonds, 4,600 acres; medlars, 959
acres. To v/hat extent these fruit plantings are being taken care of at
the present time is a question. Under Axis domination the production un-
doubtedly dropped. It will be interesting to Icnow to what extent the events
of last November may have changed the agricultural picture in North Africa.

RAIN - HAY - MICE - GIRDLED TREES

That's about the order of events which has resulted in some of the
worst cases of mouse injury we've seen in years. In four orchards which
have come to our attention growers are faced with a real job of bridge graft-
ing. The reasons for so much mouse injury are not difficult to determine.

A heavy hay crop in 1942 plus many unharvested drops set the stage
for an unusually heavy mouse population. Ideal "cover" provided not only
protection against natural enemies but a good food supply in the form of
tender grass. And so liicrotus raised large families and many of them. With
well established runs around the bases of apple trees the next step was to
supplement the grass diet with generous samples of succulent inner bark.
Another factor which worked to the advantage of the mice was this. At the
time when mouse bait would normally have been distributed help was scarce
and difficult to get. Ilany growers took a chance on mouse injury, — and
lost. There v/ill probably be a renewed interest in the use of zinc phos-
phide bait next fall, thanks to a combination of circurastances v/hich favored
the furry Enemy No. 1 of tiie orchard underworld.

HERE'S AIT IDEA

At apple harvest time next fall apple growers v;ho are fortunate
enough to have a crop will undoubtedly be scouring the neighborhood for
"scarcer than hens' teeth" apple pickers. Good apple boxes will be not
only expensive but difficult to get. Available storage space must be
used to good advantage. Considering all these things, why not make sure
that at least 90^ of the apples you grow this season are worthy of your
efforts at harvest time, your packages and your storage? Grow only good
stuff. Solve the low grade fruit problem by not growing low grade fruit.

Even in normal times apples below U.S. No. 1 grade are likely to
be more of a liability than an asset. In wartime they become increasingly
so. ITalter R. Clarke of Ulster County, New York, v;riting in the Rural New
Yorker, has this to say about apple grades and prices. "I believe it is
true that the retail prices of apples are as high as we can expect for the
nop notchers, Fancy and good No. I's, but our trouble comes in the growing,
handling and selling of that 30 or 40 per cent betv/een cull and these top
notchers. Carefully worked out figures show a loss of almost 20 cents per
box on that percentage of our crops. This loss, taken from the gain made
on the good GO per cent, does not leave enough profit for the grower and his
investment to keep him happy, grov/ing apples."

■ 8-

FRUIT PEST CONTROL IN GREAT BRITAIN

The ingenuity of the people of Great Britain is v;ell illustrated
in a group which has come to be knovm as Britain's "Golden Angels." The
girls of Great Britain are doing work of every description during these
wartime days that have taken men from their normal posts of work. Included
are the multitude of tasks that must be done in the orchard. The girls are
being trained thoroughly in the use of all apparatus and in the technical
principles of spraying. Recently, a corps of spraying girls was formed in
an endeavor to free orchards and fruit plantations from pests. One of the
sprays generally used has the effect of turning the skin a bright golden
yelloT/. As a result, the spraying girls have become knovm throughout Britain
as the "Golden Angels." (Let's hope that the material they are using is not
liquid lime sulfur.)

J. H. Putnam, former county agent in Franklin County, says, "Right
now there is only one thing we should all be thinking of; that is
what we can do to help win this war. No sacrifice is too great -
no surrender of ordinary rights too momentous - no privation too hard
to bear. Wiy should mq gruinble about rationing of sugar, and oil,
and gas, parity - subsidy, labor troubles, and heavy taxes, when
our boys are offering their all - even their lives?"

THE PLACE OF SHALL FRUI TS IN THE IIOIE GARDEN PRO GRAI.I

Home owners throughout Massachusetts are v/ondering whether or not
fruits of various kinds should be included in the Victory Garden. To ansv/er
questions along this line, the Department of pomology lias prepared the fol-
lowing statement covering the various small fruits.

Vfhere space is limited and the garden is a wartiiiifi measure only,
small fruits should not be grown in preference to vegetables. However,
they make a welcome and valuable addition to the diet, V.'here space is
available and the garden is to be continued for tv^o or more years, some
of the small fruits may well be included. No small fruit plant should be
allowed to fruit the first season except "everbearing" strawberries, which
are not generally satisfactory. Small fruits should not be planted in the
middle of the vegetable garden,

StraviTberries bring the quickest returns. Plants set this spring
will bear a crop next spring. Fifty plants should supply a family of four.
For best results new plants should be set each spring. Grapes usually bear
the third year and continue for many years. Quicker returns maybe had from
renovation of old vines, since they are capable of producing a crop the
next fall. Red Raspberrie s bear a small crop the second year and should
come into full bearing the third year. Boysen berries are not recommended
for general planting in this state but ;iay suc^ceed'on lighter soils. Blue-
berries come into full pi'oduction so slov/ly that they are not well adapted
to the wartime garden.

One definition of Entomology - "Gettin' right in among the bugs
and watohin' 'em work."

''Mi

@m4

May 24, 1943

Prepared by the Fruit Program Committee
of the Extension Service

VJ". H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

Curculio Emerging from Hibernation

Apple Scab Situation

Do You Know?

Apple Blossoms

Price Ceilings for Apples

Farm Labor Problem Being Solved

List of Emergency Farm Labor Assistants in Mass.

New Method of Preserving Fruits

VJinter Killing of Raspberries

Controlled Atmosphere Storage

Fungicide and Insecticide Situation

CURCULIO EMERGING FROM HIBERIJATION

As this issue of Fruit Notes is being prepared, the following mes-
sage comes from YL D. VThitcomb of Ifaltham: "Fifteen (15) curculio beetles
were jarred from the trees Friday morning. May 21. This is the first col-
lection this year and represents about 2% of the expected total number.
If warmer v/eather occurs in the next fe\v days, the calyx spray with lead
arsenate v;ill be very helpful in controlling this pest, Curculio collec-
tions vj-ill be made Monday, Vfednesday, and Friday mornings for about one
month. Cankervrorms are quite abundant in some places and are beginning
heavj' feeding on unsprayed apple and shade trees,"

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of May 8 and June SO,
1914, vmiard A. Munson, director, Massachusetts State College, United States
Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

-2-

APPLE SCAB SITUATION

Vfhatever we may say about the present season, this much at least is
true* It's different. From the apple grower's standpoint, the season is
characterized by late bud developipent, early scab development, and day after
day of wrong kind of weather for spraying. Below normal temperatures in April
delayed fruit buds to an almost unprecedented degree. Bud development has
been lagging approximately two weeks behind 194E, This spring vihen Mcintosh
buds had reached the Delayed Dormant stage we were reminded that on the same
date in 1942 the buds were in the Pink stage. Fruit buds, being very sensi-
tive to temperature, refuse to open up until the weather is reasonably warm,

V/hile the apple buds were biding their time, the apple scab in the
old leaves on the ground was steadily developing. At the Pre-Pink stage of
bud development there were about as many mature spores in the old leaves as
we normally find at blossoming time, Vfe may safely say that a larger per-
centage of scab spores were either mature or already released by the time
the blossoms were ready to open than has been the case in all the years
we've been fighting scab in Massachusetts, Careful studies of old leaves
from various sections of the state, made by 0, C. Boyd on May 19, revealed
the interesting fact that a mere 10 to 20^o of the scab spores still remained
in the old leaves. This represents an unusual spore discharge - not from
the standpoint of the calendar, but of bud development.

Spray Message for Massachusetts Fpuit Growers (No. 8), issued May 19,
carried this timely suggestion: "If apple trees came into bloom before the
Pink spray could be completed, it is advisable to finish that spray with sul-
fur alone, Apple varieties subject to scab and cedar rust need protection
throughout the blossom period, particularly if v/et v;eather threatens. Either
a sulfur dust or a wettable sulfur spray may be used, but lead arsenate should
be omitted. The protection from the Pink spray can be expected to last only
five or six days at most, Vifhere apple scab infection occurred on May 10 to
12, the new scab spots should begin to show up around May 24,"

Apple leaves were hot held back by cool weather to the same extent
as apple buds. As a result, there is more leaf area in evidence on Mcintosh
spurs at blossoming time than in a normal season, Baldwin trees, on the other
hand, always show a considerable leaf area at blossoming time. This year there
is much less difference in the leaf area on Mcintosh and Baldwin spurs.
Following is a siommRry of the scab situation in Amherst, prepared by 0. Ct Boyd*

Date when scab opots
may be expected to
appear on leaves

? (May 21.22)

Length of

Fruit

Minimum time for

Date

wetting

Bud

Scab infection at

period (hrs,)

Stage

prevailing temp.

5/3

18 hrs.

Late Del. Dorm.

22 hrs.

5/8

14 hrs.

Early Pre-Pink

15 hrs.

5/10-12

60 hrs.

intermittent

Late

45 hrs.

Pre-Pink

15 hrs.

continuous

5/18-19

24 hrs.

Early bloom

8-10 hrs.

5/19-20

10 hrs.

Early bloom

12 hrs.

5/21

Full bloom

12 hrs.

May 24-26

May 31- June 2
? " (June l-3j
? (June 3-4)

That only about 20,000 of the 625,000 known species of insects
in the world, damage crops and other property, or spread disease? Of the
80,000 U. S. species, only 600, or less than 1 in 100, are considered
destructive.

That the ovenvintering spores of Black Rot of Grapes are suffi-
ciently nature to cause infection by the time the new shoots are 2 to 4
inches long? Fruit infection vrtiich occurs several weeks later is the re-
sult of summer spores which come from the early infection on the new growth.

That every fruit plant of a given variety in existence, whether
Howard 17 strawberry or Mcintosh apple, is a direct vegetative descendant
of the original seedling? One Baldwin tree in Massachusetts is said to be
of the third generation. In oth.^r v/ords, it vras grafted from a tree which
was grafted from the original Baldwin. The latter is listed as a casualty
in the hurricane of 1815.

That the waste in paring, coring and trimming apples for commercial
canning of sauce amounts to more than twice as much in the 2'^" size as in
the 3" and up? The losses per 100 lbs. amount to about 43 and 18 lbs. re-
spectively. Numbers of apples per 100 lbs. are about 665 and 268. Losses
in the 2-|-" and 2 3/4" sizes amount to 30 x 23 lbs. respectively.

That more than 9,000,000 tons of commercial fertilizers were used
in the U. S. in 1941? Of all the states, North Carolina used the largest
amount - more than 1,000,000 tons. Of the total tonnage used in the country,
federal agencies (AAA h Ilk) distributed about 800,000 tons.

That the total cash income of American farmers in 1941 amounted
to $ll,830rpOOO,000? This is the largest income received since 1920 v^hen
it totalled $12,608,000,000. The increase in 1941 over 1940 was
$2,700,000,000.

That the stone walls in Massachusetts, if placed end to end, would
be long enough to circle the globe at least 5 times, or reach more than half
way to the moon?

That several fruit bulletins from Massachusetts State College have
recently been revised? Among them are: "Peach Growing in Massachusetts,"
"Grape Growing in Massachusetts," and "Top Grafting Fruit Trees," Another
revised bulletin, "Spraying and Dusting Fruit Trees," will be off the press
soon.

EVERY FOREST FIRE IS AN AXIS FIRE , I,t. Gen. H. A. Drum says,
"Forest fires destroy a priceless source of raw material and also
serve the enemy by endangering vital installations,"

■ 4-

■APPLE BLOSSOMS (A Borrowed Editorial)

Seeing an apple tree in bloom makes it easier to understand Johnny
Appleseed's passion for planting orchards in the wilderness. A well-ordered
orchard is a magnificent sight at this time of year, but even more breath
taking must have been the beauty of the trees the old wanderer planted all
up and down the Ohio Country when most of it was still Indian Land. Primi-
tive Christian that he was, old Johnny must have exclaimisd many times at
the beauty of God's works and the bounty of His benevolent hand.

Those who walk the hills today get the same feeling when they come
upon an orchard abandoned to meadow grass and gone wild. The old trees,
gnarled with struggle and untrimmed for years, lift their blossom-laden
branches as offering to the sun, and all around them stand the young wild-
lings, sprung from seed and surviving only by their ovm strength and hardi-
hood. The air is sweet with their fragrance and loud with their company
of bees. Every stage of beauty lines the branches, from the flush of the
bud to the ivide-petaled whiteness of full bloom.

The abandoned apple tree and its seedlings belong with the wild
rose and tho blackberry tangle; with the roso in particular, vihich the
botanist meticulously points out is its cousin once or twice removed. And
it is the particular possession of May, when Spring is no longer in doubt
and Summer has not yet really turned on the heat. It belongs v/ith warm
rain and the first buttercups and scarlet tanagers telling the morning
what a lovely thing it is to be alive.

Johnny Appleseed knew what he was about,

PRICE CEILINGS FOR APPLES

A committee representing the apple growers of the northeastern
states, including John Chandler and John Lyman, has prepared the following
statement for the OPA after considering all angles of the apple industry:

The Northeast has become the arsenal of the United States. In-
dustry has expanded beyond the most optimistic estimates. Agriculture in
the Northeast is not extensive in the light of the over-all picture, but
agriculture is definitely rising to the emergency with greater than anti-
cipated production under handicaps of shortages of labor, machinery,
materials, etc. The apple growers of the Northeast produced and harvested
one of the largest crops on record in 1942 and marketed it in a vory order-
ly manner at fair prices to the consumer. Indications in the orchards this
spring point to a crop of apples which v;ill probably be smaller than that
in 1942, but may not bo smaller than an average crop for the five years
prior to 1942. Thus, we should not expect a real shortage of apples -
neither should be expect a run-away market.

The apple growers of the Northeast feel that we have a definite
part to play in the production of food for the successful conduct of tho
war, Vfo are anxious to grow, harvest and market a crop of the best apples

-5-

possible and, given the propor market support, it v.'ill be done. Any novo
to establish ceiling prices vj-hich will weaken this support will have a
definite destructive effect on the production of apples.

Following a meeting of the National Apple Planning Committee and
a meeting of the apple grov/ers of the Northeast, at which price ceilings
v;ere discussed, it was concluded that ceiling prices on apples v;ould be
impractical and have a tendency to discourage the greatest production of
apples.

Apples are highly perishable, subject to t he vagaries of weather,
deterioration and many other factors beyond the control of growers. Arbi-
trary controls introduced into such situations do not provide for suffi-
ciently flexible adjustments for these rapidly changing conditions.

However, if our Government is committed to ceiling prices on all
commodities, to control inflation and protect the consumer from run-away
prices, the apple grov/ers stand ready to cooperate v;ith it.

To make the plan simple and easily understood by the consumer and
easily enforced, v/e suggest that should there be such a price ceiling, it
be a price ceiling to the consumer v/ith no other control along the line.
This price should be sot high enough to encourage the largest production
of the best grade of the most desirable variety grown in the most remote
areas of production.

We feel that should such a ceiling be established with an average
crop of apples well distributed in all producing areas, as was predicted by
the National Apple Planning Committee, it would provide a chance for the
law of supply and demand to work as nearly normally as possible.

IN CONCLUSION: 1. Vie do not believe arbitrary price controls
are for the best interests of the producers or the consumers
in that they discourage production and hamper distribution.

2. If a ceiling is to be applied, it should
be applied only on the retail price,

3. The Apple Industry is highly competitive,
both vrithin itself and with othJer fruits. If a price ceiling

is applied, we suggest it be applied at a level that will inter-
fere as little as possible xrith the normal laxt of supply and
demand.

FARI/I LABOR PROBLEII BEING SOLVED

Vfith emergency farm labor assistants appointed for all counties
and with state and federal agencies coordinating their efforts, Massachu-
setts is rapidly developing a program which should effectively handle the
farm labor problem.

The program developed by tho Massachusetts Farm Labor Committee
is right in line with the federal farm labor plan which went into offect

■ 6-

May 1. Hence the program already started will continue under the super-
vision of the Massachusetts State College Extension Service at Amherst.
In close cooperation will be the Massachusetts Farm Labor Committee ap-
pointed several months ago by Governor Saltonstall, the high schools, the
U.S. Employment Service, and other interested groups.

In dealing with the farm labor problem first attention should be
given to the full utilization of all labor resources within the comraunity.
ViThere there is not enough labor available locally the farm labor assistants
will attempt to recruit workers from nearby communities. The need of year-
round workers on farms presents a much more difficult problem. There is
no supply pf year-round workers. Consequently close cooperation with local
selectiTO^D%iards is needed to keep present necessary year-round workers on
productive or essential farms.

The county agricultural agents have full responsibility for the
recruitment and placement of farm workers in their respective counties.
They will be assisted by these nev^ly appointed emergency farm labor assist-
ants. These men will do everything in their pov;er, but it will be necessary
for any farmer who has a farm labor problem to take that problem to the
county agricultural agent's office. For Suffolk County the emergency farm
labor assistant is John B. Casey, head master of the Jamaica Plain High School.

In close cooperation with the farm labor program will be the woman's
land army and the 4-H farm labor project,

— Roy E. Moser
State Supervisor
of Emergency Farm Labor

LIST OF EMERGENCY FARM LABOR ASSISTAIITS III LIASS.

County IJame and Address Office Telephone

Barnstable Tr. Edmund deS. Brunner, Smexgelicy Farm Labor Assistant

Cape Cod Extension Service Barnstable S6

Barnstable, Mass.

Berkshire Yifells Conklin, Emergency Farm Labor Assistant Fittsfield 8285
Berkshire County Extension Service
Federal Building
Fittsfield, Mass.

Bristol Carl L. Erickson, Emergency Farm Labor Assistant Dighton 3611
Bristol County Agricultural School ~

Segreganset, Mass.

E s sex Wm. P. Scott, Emergency Farm Labor Assistant Danvers 50
Essex County Agricultural School
Hathorne, Mass.

■7-

County

Name and Address

Office Telephone

Franklin George C. Hubbard, Emergency Farm Labor Assistant
Franklin County Extension Service
Court House
Greenfield, Mass*

Hampden George \{. Harris, Emergency Farm Labor Assistant
Hampden County Improvement League
1499 Memorial Ave.
V/est Springfield, Mass.

Hampsh ire Vta. R. Kershlis, Emergency Farm Labor Assistant
Hampshire County Extension Service
15 Gothic Street
Northampton, Mass.

Middlesex ViTm. H. Slayton, Emergency Farm Labor Assistant
Middlesex County Extension Sf^rvice
19 Everett Street
Concord, Mass.

Norfolk Hilmer S. Kelson, Emergency Farm Labor Assistant
Norfolk County Agricultural School
Walpole, Mass.

Plymouth Frank T. YJhite, Emergency Farm Labor Assistant
Plymouth County Extension Service
Court House
Brockton, Mass.

Suffolk John B. Casey, Emergency Farm Labor Assistant
Headmaster, Jamaica Plain High School
Jamaica Plain, Mass.

Greenfield 9698

Spring field
6^7204"

Northampton
2-55^

Concord 845

V^alpole 268

Brockton 4993

Arnold 4074

Worcester John A. Gatti, Emergency Farm Labor Assistant
Y/orcester County Extension Service
Federal Building
Y^orcester, Mass.

Vforcester 3-5477

NEW I-ffiTHOD OF PPi:SERVING FRUITS

The British made a request when we began to ship them fruits under
the Lend-Lease program. Vfould v/e please just preserve them in sulphur di-
oxide solution, and ship them over in wooden casks? That was a big surprise
for our food men. Wouldn't the British prefer fruits canned in bright tin
containers? No, the British really wouldn't. Ylell, the British were eating
the fruit, so let them have it the way they wanted it. And the sulphur di-
oxide method is saving tin.

So the big American canners turned out the British fruit orders the

■ 8-

way they wanted it: 250,000 barrels have gone to them in this sulphur
dioxide solution during the past three years. The sulphur dioxide method
is simple. Take strawberries, for example. The berries roll straight
from the field to the freight loading platform, alongside the railroad
tracks. They're washed, hulled, and dumped into wooden barrels with a
2jb sulphur dioxide solution. The barrel is sealed, put on the freight
car, and it's on the way to England. The whole thing takes half an hour.
Millions of pounds of these sulphited strawberries are being shipped to
England this season.

The preservation of peaches takes a little longer because they
have to be peeled and pitted. Last year v;e shipped, in this manner, citrus
pulp, peaches, strawberries, raspberries, and dev/berries. This year we'll
probably add cherries. Fruits preserved in sulphur dioxide are used for
preserves, jams, ice cream, and pies.

These sulphited foods, such as strawberries, have to go through a
special step when they're taken out of the wooden casks to start on their
way to jams and pies. They must be boiled vigorously for 45 minutes. That
drives off the sulphur dioxide in the steam. And with it, the bitter sul-
phur taste. Oddly, the sulphur dioxide solution takes most of the color
out of fruits. But when they boil for 45 minutes, the color comes back.
And that's important, because who wants to eat pale ycllov/ strav/berry jam?

WINTER KILLING OF RASPBERRIES

The following table givjs an estimate of the amount of winter kill-
ing in a planting of young raspberries set at the State College in the
spring of 1942. To get a better measure of the true cold resistance of
the varieties, canes which were on the ground and therefore protected by
snow v/ere ignored in making the estimate. On all varieties it was very
noticeable that big, vigorous, branching canes v/ere injured vrorse than
smaller, less vigorous canes.

Red Varieties

% Injury

Red Varieties

% Injury

Sunrise

Cuthbert

Tahoma

Taylor

28*

Indian Summer

Vfeshington

30*

Latham

Ohta

Ranere

Milton

44*

Chief

11*

Viking

Lloyd George

Marcy

68*

Cayuga

Newburgh

Purple Varieties

% Injury

Ruddy

Columbian

Marion

Sodus

♦Figures starred are averages of several plots; others are based on
one plot.

~J. S. Bailey

-9-

CONTROLLED ATMOSPHERE STORAGE

The controlled atmosphere or so-called "gas" storage room at H.S.C.
was opened April 30 just a little over seven months after it v/as sealed up
on September 25, 1942. The Mcintosh apples from this room vfhich vi&s held
at 40° F. were more firm, crisp and juicy and definitely higher in eating
quality than similar apples held at 32° in a common cold storage room.
This was due to the fact that in the controlled atmosphere storage vmere
the oxygen supply was drastically reduced and the carbon dioxide was main-
tained at a relatively high level, the apples "lived" at a comparatively
slow rate even at the 40° F. temperature. As previously described, apples
use up oxygen and give off carbon dioxide. In the tight room, this process
contined until the oxygen level was dovm to 2% or at times slij^htly lower.
The carbon dioxide increased, of course, but was not allovred to get above
10^ because of possible toxic effects. This was accomplished by periodically
removing this gas by passing the atmosphere of the room through a special
"washer." The contents of oxygen and carbon dioxide were measured every
other day or so to determine when "washing" or ventilation were required
to maintain the artificial atmosphere.

One trouble not encountered heretofore was a soft scald type of
injury which may have been due to an insufficiency of oxygen during the in-
tervals v/'hen the oxygen level v/as below 2^^. This experience indicates the
special care that must be exercised in operating a storage of this kind.
However, the peculiar difficulties encountered with this type of storage
are far from insurmountable as proven by the successful operation of sev-
eral controlled atraosphore storages in Hew York State. It is reported that
Mcintosh out of these storages this spring brought from one to tv-o dollars
a bushel above the wholesale market price of regular cold storage Mcintosh.
Perhaps, with the return of peacetime conditions, controlled atmosphere
storage may find a place in Massachusetts, at least on a limited scale.

— Lawrence Southwick
— 0. C. Roberts

THE FUNGICIDE AHD INSECTICIDE SITUATION

The following information is based upon recent reports chiefly from
the Agricultural Insecticide and Fungicide Association, the Agricultural Chem-
icals Section of the Office of Price Administration, and the Chemicals Division
of the Food Production Administration.

Lead Arsenate: The production for 1943, which will be lO^o less than
in 1942 but 10^T"g."^ter than in 1941, is to be cOmpletedby June 30. A re-
strictive order precludes its use on shade trees, ornamentals, lawns and golf
greens at least ui-^til after sufficient supplies are assured to protect essen-
tial crops. The supply available for food and fiber crops is expected to
equal that used for the corresponding crops in 1942.

Calcium Arsenate; The present schedule calls for a substantial in-
crease over the 'supply m 1942. Sixty per cent of the total production vail
be completed by June 30 compared with 40 per cent at that date last year.

■ 10-

Copper Fungicides! Until recently, the 1943 schedule indicated
80,000,000 lbs, of copper sulfate for agriculture, the same anount allocated
for that purpose in 1942. The Office of Food Production Administration re-
cently announced that this figure would likely be increased to 100,000,000
pounds, in view of the increased acreage of potatoes and vegetables through-
out the country. That office estimates that 75,000,000 pounds will bo needed

to protect potatoes, tomatoes and fruits. It also cautions that "

although the supply of copper compounds will be the largest in history,
every effort must be made to conserve supplies."

Rotencne; The nation's supply is drastically limited and strictly
allocated, "he country used in 1941 about 8,500^000 pounds of roots, and in
1942 about 6,500,000 pounds. The Food Production Administration estimates

that "this year close to 3,000,000 pounds will be available to meet

the requirements of the crops and uses as set forth in amended Conservation
Order K-'.".o3." This limitation ordor restricts the use of rotenone on crops
to per.f fcr weevil and aphids; to beans for the Mexican bean beetle; to
sweot corn fcr the European corn borirT and to cole crops other than cabbage
X^EKirV iSj"to broccoli, cauliflower, brussols 3p'rc'ut's~kaTe, etc.) for cater-
pillars and aphids J Rotenone dusts manufactured in 1943 may contain not
more than 0^5 per cent rotenone, and they may not contain any pyretiirum,
Derris and Cube powders may not contain more than 4 per cent rotenone. Re-
garding the dilutions for Derris and Cube preparations in spray form, the
amended Conservation Order 1.1-133 "permits the use of 4 per cent rotenone
spray powder in accordance v:ith common practice,"

Pyreth rum; Although supplies are substantial, their use in agricul-
ture is dra3tic"ally limited because of military needs. A limitation order
novj- in preparation, it is reported, permits the use of pyrethrum on all Cole
crops (cabbage family); on vegetables in the homo, farm and community gardens;
on beet-seed crops; on corn, beans and potatoes; and on grapes and cranberries,

Cryo lite ; Supplies for 1943 are much greater than ever before —
15,000,000 pouiids as coiapared with 6,000,000 pounds in 1942, Cryolite nay
be used in place of arsenicals on shade trees and« ornamental s , and as a
possible substitute for lead arsenate on apples and pears. It is also being
recoinraended for the control of chewing insscts on various vegetable crops.

Nicotin e S ulfate ; Provision by U.S,D.A. for the production in
1941-43 of about Is800j000 pounds through a tobacco diversion program, in
addition to the quantity ordinarily obtained f rom tobacco wastes, insures
an ample supply for insecticidal purposes, A production of about 3,000,000
pounds is estimated for 1943.

Calciu m Case inat e; Domestic production is now low because of milk
problems. Tne' situation,"^nowever, is expected to improve with the advance
of the season.

These are Adequate ; Cyanides, Fish Oils, Hormone Sprays, Spray
Oils, Paradichlorobonzene, Borax, Spreaders and Stickers, Zinc Oxide, and
Zinc Sulfate.

—0. C, Boyd and A. I. Bourne

June 18, 1943

Prepared by the Fruit Program Coinmittee
of the Extension Service

W. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

Fruit Prospects

The Women's Land Army

Curculio on Non-Bearing Trees

Do You Know?

Cardboard and Fiber Apple Boxes

Do Bees Injure Ripe Fruit?

Grass and Fruit Trees

The Packed Lunch

Additional Nitrogen Released

Half and Half

Where Water Stands

Handling Apples from Tree to Table

Cutting Hay in an Orchard

FRUIT PROSPECTS

Early estimates of the 1943 apple crop indicate at least 10 million
bushels less than in 1942. The peach crop v/ill be about 20 million bushels
less. This 50-million-bushel shortage is only about 5% of the Nation's fruit
crop. The 19 major fruits, grown in this country, grossed in 1942 the re-
spectable total of 15,107,259 tons.

At a fruit meeting at the Chandler farm in Sterling, June 11, attended
by more than 150 growers, the following estimates of the 1943 crop, in com-
parison with 1943, were obtained. The total represents about 25)o of the com-
mercial crop in Massachusetts.

Mcintosh
Baldwin
Delicious
Other varieties
Total

1945

461,000 bu.

67,000 bu.

33,000 bu.

78,000 bu.

1942
500,000 bu.
115,000 bu.

26,000 bu.

93,000 bu.

% increase or decrease

~zw —

'/o

-40^
+27^
-16??
-12^

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of May 8 and June 30,
1914, YiTillard A. Munson, director, Massachusetts State College, United States
Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

-2-

THS WOJffiN'S LMD ARMY

As part of the United States Crop Corps, the Women's Land Army has
been organized nation-wide, to help with the gigantic task of producing
enough food for our boys in service, our allies, and civilians.

The idea of women working on farms is not new. Throughout history
they have done many tasks. And so it is today - women are already working,
and still more - are willing to work on farms in Massachusetts.

Members of the Yifomen's Land Army must be at least 18 years of age
and must secure from their local doctor a certificate stating they are in
good physical condition for hard farm work. Women may enroll as either full-
time or part-time farm workers but must agree to work at least one month.
It is not necessary to have had farm experience. In fact, many farmers pre-
fer training their own help for specific farm \vork.

To hold the patriotic place with WAACS, TfAVES, Marines, and SPARS,
members of the Women's Land Army are eligible to wear the uniform designed
for farm labor. It consists of a dark blue coverall, a light blue shirt,
a hat of two shades of blue, and a dark blue jacket.

On a fruit farm there are many jobs that women have done and can do,
such as: help with the spraying and pruning, picking, grading and packing
of fruit, and driving the truck to market. In some cases, it might be more
efficient, if the members of the Yifoman's Land Army took over some of the
responsibilities in the home, and so relieve the farm homemaker to work out-
side on the farm.

Arrangements may be made by one or two neighboring farmers who might
have need for part-time employment of a woman to help on their farms. To-
gether they could keep her employed full-time. In other cases, a group of
6 or 8 women might be housed in the village center, and several farmers ar-
range for the transportation of workers to their farms nearby.

Your County Agricultural Agent or Emergency Farm Labor Assistant
located at the County Extension Office are able to help you in locating
members of the Women's Land Army to work on your farm.

—Beatrice E. Billings

CURCULIO ON NON-BEARING TREES

Having jarred five curculio beetles from a small peach tree a few
days ago at the Derby fann in Leominster, vfe were interested in knowing if
this insect is commonly found on trees without a crop of fruit. So we put
the question up to TiT. D. Whitcomb of Waltham. He answered as follows: "The
collection of curculio beetles on peach trees withovit fruit is not unusual.
In the early part of the active season there is considerable migration during
which the beetles apparently are searching for fruit for oviposition. Curculio
beetles d efinitely feed on blossom petals but I have no record of feeding on
foliage. It is quite possible, however, that they feed slightly on the leaf
petiole and possibly on tender shoots."

-3-

^)<y ^cn^ I \ ruruj :

That grapes are produced commercially in 44 states and on a farn-
hone scale in every state in the Union? For the 16 years preceding 1939
the average annual farm value of grapes in the United States amounted to
about 049,000,000. California leads all other states in gross tonnage, v/ith
about 90 per cent of the total, while New York, Michigan, Ohio, and Fennsyl-
vajiia are the heaviest producing states in the eastern and central parts of
the country.

That 150,000 pressure canners are being manufactured for this year's
canning season? On request of the Department of Agriculture, YfPB is allocat-
ing enough material for this much needed equipment. These canners will be
distributed under a rationing system through County USDA lYar Boards.

That the early June price of strawberries on the Boston market this
season is about twice that of 1942? The quotations for last year ranged from
17 to 20 cents. This year the price was about 37 cents.

That blueberries tend to keep their Vitamin C content longer than
other berries thus far tested? Being thicker skinned they injure less easily
and as a result the oxygen of the air v/hich is destructive to the vital
ascorbic acid is less likely to r each the cells beneath the skin.

That ammonium sulfamate is very effective in killing chokecherries?
J. S. Bailej^ and L. Southwick used this material at several concentrations
and found that the speed of killing vms proportional to the concentration.

That the use of peat in planting apple trees is under some growing
conditions of very doubtful value? In an experiment at M.S.C. started in
1939 there is no significant difference bet^veen the check and untreated trees
at the present time.

That codling moth and Oriental fruit moth spend the winter as fully
grovm larvae in silken cocoons ? The bud moth spends the v;inter as a partly
grown larva v/hile the gypsy moth spends tho v/intcr in the egg stage.

That frozen food lockers, which v;ere practically unknown during the
first Y/orld Yfar, now occupy an important place in our food preservation sys-
tem. Approximately 3,200 plants, serving more than a half million families,
almost three- fourths of them farmers, v/ere operating in 44 states on January 1,
1941.

That 5 bushel baskets contain enough lumber to box 1500 rounds
machine gun ammunition? Save containers. Use them again. Men, machines
and materials once used to make food containers are now doing war v;ork.

■ 4-

STORAGE TEST OF CARDBOARD AIJD FIBER APPLE BOXES (1945)

Tests of a number of the newer apple boxes have been under way at the
State College during the past winter and spring. The purpose of this test
was to gain an idea of the way in which common types of cardboard and fiber
boxes would hold their shapes in storage ajid to what extent they would con-
tinue for several months to carry the weight of a stack without throwing
such pressure on the fruit as to main it.

About 50 boxes were involved in the test. Most of the leading manu-
facturers in the Northeast wore represented, some with several boxes.

The test v;as set up in duplicate: one set of boxes was placed in a
storage room run at about 40° F. with relative humidity at about 90 per cent.
The other was placed in a room run at about 35^* F. v/ith humidity at 85 per cent.

Each box was placed on an inverted wooden box to keep it off the
floor and it supportad a weight equivalent to a stack of filled boxes. The
heights of the stacks ranged from tv;o to ten boxes.

The boxes were placed in the stacks at intervals from the first of
February to the first of March as they arrived, and the test ended June 1.
Observations and careful measurements of bulging and settling were made at
frequent intervals.

All boxes, including those with wood- frame ends, showed some bulging
of the sides and ends which increased vfith time. On the sides this varied
from 0.2 inch to 1.9 inches. In general, the boxes with no wooden supports
settled most, .and as might be expected the settling was most rapid. Even
the "waterproof" fiber boxes bulged and settled after several weeks under
humid conditions. Five cardboard boxes failed to hold up to the end of the
test ard toppled over. Each was under a stack of six to eight boxes. iThere
placed un.ler threo or four boxes, they stood up better.

Tentativ3 Conclus ions

1. Tfatcr-rssistant fiber holds up longer than cardboard but the dif-
ference aftor two or throe months is much less than was expected. All such
material softens in storage.

2. Boxj£ \\rith glued tops and bottoms and smooth all around are not
only inconvenient to close bur. difficult to lift and handle. They are much
more likely to be dropped or thrown than others, although they need not be
handled roughly.

3. Hand holes provide for easier handling but open the way to serious
bruising and lacerations by fingers and fingernails wiT,h f i-uit as soft as
Mclntcsh is likely to be in late winter. Snao-on co-'erd or oanel ends facil-
itate handling.

4. Apples were in poorest condition in air-tight boxes. Ventilation
should be provided if apples are to be stored for several months.

-5-

5. Boxes with wood-frame ends and side rails stood up best under
normal stacking in storage. Diagonal pieces placed inside the box helped
a great deal. Side rails of fiber bulged more than wooden ones,

6. Where wood is used for support, vertical pieces should be cut
full length or there will be compression and slumping as in other boxes,

7. None of the boxos was as satisfactory as a wooden box for storage
purposes, although almost any of them could be used with careful provision to
offset their weaknesses. They cannot be handled like wooden boxes. No all-
cardboard or all-fiber box should be stacked more than three or four high
without a staging of some kind to carry an increased load. They must be ven-
tilated if they are to stay in storage long. Ventilation is probably some-
what less important at 32° F. than at a higher temperature. Also, boxes are
likely to soften and settle faster at higher temperatures. (Report prepared
June 3, 1943).

— L. Southvz-ick and A. C. Ballard

DO BEES INJURE RIPE FRUIT?

A recent letter vras received relating to the injury of fruit by bees.
The inquirer stated that last year she lost bushels of grapes due to the bees
piercing the fruits and then leaving them to decay.

In 1886, McLain demonstrated that honeybees are incapable of injuring
sound fruit. He placed a colony of starving bees in a cheesecloth tent. In
the same tent a considerable quantity of ripe grapes were placed. The bees
starved to death and did not injure the grapes, thus demonstrating their lack
of ability to puncture the fruits from v;hich they could have obtained food.

Honeybees will visit grapes, plums, and other sweet fruits after these
have been injured by some other agency. Birds and yellow jackets are capable
of injuring fruit. Honeybees cannot penetrate the skin of a grape or a plum
due to the structure of their mandibjes,

— F. R. Shaw

C0I.1FETITI0N BETYJEEN GR.'^SS MP FRUIT TREES

It is rare for the trees in a newly plamted orchard in grass sod to
make good growth. They cannot compete successfully with grass for moisture
and fertilizer nutrients. Frodd R. Trark of Sterling has a young orchard of
one-year whips, mostly Mcintosh set in the spring of 1942, tho.t has made good
grow-th in grass scd. The increase in trunk diameter during tlie fruit season
was from to 14 millimeters, the majority inci easing 6 to 11 millimeters.
Most newly planted trees increase about 3 tc G T.ill .mBters . The soil in the
Trask orchard is rather moist for fruit troos. It v;;.:: fonnei-xy used for
truck crops and therefore must have been \iq11 fertilized. 11 yq^mg trees
are to compete with grass, there must be an ample supply of watfer and plant
nutrients. Under most conditions, young trees should be cultivated or
mulched. — J. K. Shav;

-6-

THB PACKED LUNCH FOR THE FAHtER'S HELPER

Boys and girls who work hard in the fields and barns all day need
good nourishing food. If they are to get each day the foods necessary for
good health and energy, the noon neal must provide one-third of the day's
requirements. Each lunch should contain: (1) Milk. (2) Meat or a meat
alternate such as cheese, eggs, fish, dried beans or peanut butter.
(5) Vegetables and Fruits - one serving of vegetable and one of fruit, or
tiA^o servings of vegetable. (4) Whole wheat or .nriched bread, with butter
or fortified margarine. (5) Something sv/eet.

Milk may be taken as a drink or used in cocoa or milk soup, if a
thermos bottle is available.

The Meat or Meat Alternate is usually most conveniently put into a
sandwich; the devilled eg'g^ slices of meat or meat loaf, cheese, or a piece
of chicken may be wrapped in waxed paper and carried that way.

Vegetables and Fruits (one should be raw). Suggested are:
Vegetable sticks - carrot, turnip, green pepper, or cucumber. Shredded or
chopped in sandwiches. Tomato or celery v/hole, and leaves of lettuce v/rapped
in vreixed paper. Cooked carried in a jar - tomatoes, green beans, peas,
asparagus. A piece of fresh fruit - any kind available; prunes and apricots
stewed; a haiidful of raisins or a few figs uncooked; stewed fruits of all
kinds; jellied fruits - use juice to replace part of water.

Bread may be bakery or homemade. It may be varied with raisins,
prunes, peanut butter or other additions. At least half the bread should
be from whole grain and all white bread should be enriched.

Simple desserts are best and must necessarily bo used now, vrith sugar
and fat rationed. In addition to fruits mentioned above, some suggestions
are: custard, simple puddings (bread, tapioca, fruit); fruit and spice cake;
gingerbread; sinplo cookies. Frosted cakes and pies will not often be avail-
able, which is just as well.

Sandwiches must provide the basis of most packed lunches. Have variety - dark
as vrell as white, hearty as well as sweet. Keep the bread thin and the fill-
ing thick and moist. Some suggestions for fillings are:

1. Vegetables. Uncooked - tomato (sliced), carrot (ground or grated),
spinach (shredded or chopped), cabbage (shredded), lettuce, parsley,
watercress, and green peppers, v;ith or v;ithout dressing.

2. Dried fruit - grind together l/2 cup raw raisins, l/2 cup raw apricots,
1 cup cooked prunes, 1/2 cup prune juice and 1 tablespoon lemon juice,
and let stand over night. This will keep for a week in a cool place,

3. Apple - grinfi rav; apple in skin and mix with equal parts of cooked,
dried prunes and raw raisins ground.

4. Meat (sliced, cliopped or ground) with or without dressing, A little
chopped pickle or green pepper may be added to the dressing.

-7-

5. Fish, fresh or canned, mashed and laixed with salad dressing. Use
with lettuce, cucumber sliced or chopped, chopped cabbage or spinach.

6. Liver spread - 1 cup ground cooked liver, moistened with salad dressing.
To this may be added 2 teaspoons grated onion, 2 teaspoons finely cut
chives, 2 tablespoons minced parsley, or 1 tablespoon chopped pickle,

7. Egg, hard-cooked or scrtimbled, with salad dressing. Chopped celery,
lettuce, spinach, cabbage, or crisp chopped bacon may bo added.

8. Cheese, (a) American - grate and mix with s alad dressing, (b) Cottage
or cream - with chopped dried fruit, nuts, olives, marmalade, jam,
jelly, preserved ginger, or grated raw apple,

9. Peanut butter (softened with salad oil, milk, cream, or salad dressing)
with grated carrot, chopped raisins or prunes, or sliced raw apple,

10. Parsley or chive butter. Cream butter or reinforced margarine, add
equal parts finely chopped parsley or chives.

11. If bread is well flavored or moist, a very delicious sandvfich is made
with only butter or reinforced margarine. This is particularly true
of some of the quick breads to v;hich fruit and nuts have been added,

— May S. Foley

ADDITIONAL NITROGEN RELEASED TO INCREASE 1945 CROP YIELDS

Additional nitrogen fertilizer has been released by VjTB on 1943 crops.
The fertilizer is of two kinds: (1) A very limited quantity of nitrate of
soda (15 per cent nitrogen); (2) a relatively large supply of ammonium nitrate
(30 per cent nitrogen). There is no restriction on tlie use of this supply.

This will be sold by fertilizer dealers direct to farmers. Farmers
who can use this fertilizer should place their orders immediately with their
usual fertilizer dealer so that orders may be assembled in carload lots for
quick distribution.

Dealers' margins on this material will be very small, and little ex-
pense can be incurred by the dealer in canvassing farmers for their needs.
The material must be moved as rapidly as possible and it is hoped that it
can all be distributed in the month of June.

It may be used to advantage on vegetable and forage crops and pastures.
Hay lands from which the first crop is removed may bo treated immediately with
100 to 200 pounds of ammonium nitrate to increase the second crop. On pastures
it should increase the production of late season g rasscs.

Ralph V!. Donaldson of the Massachusetts State College sees in this
supply of fertilizer an opportunity for farmers in Massachusetts to substan-
tially increase their yields of ha;/ and pasture forage.

If you know of farmers in your tovm who can use nitrogen fertilizer
to advantage, urge them to place their orders immediately. Further informa-
tion concerning this may be secured f rom your local fertilizer dealers.

— S. R. Parker

HALF Airo HALF

A combination fungicide made up of half lime sulfur and half wettable
sulfur has been rather widely recommended and is being used by a number of
Massachusetts growers. The danger in using this combination is discussed in
a recent issue of the New York Y^eekly News Letter. We quote from this letter.
"In some years not favoring arsenical injury the injury with the lialf and
half sprays has been less than with summer strength (1-50) lime sulfur. A
grower who has used the mixture for two or three years mth little injury
may r efuse to believe that the half and half spray is dangerous until a
favorable season a rrives and he receives devastating evidence of how un-
reliable the formula actually is. Half and half has been recommended in
Canadian schedules for several years. Little injury was noted until 1942
when widespread serious spray burn was the result.

Ohio workers reported in 1930 that lime sulfur in combination with
lead arsenate released more free arsenic when diluted 1-80 than 1-60, and
1-60 more than 1-40. They reported this effect .was corrected by high-calcium
lime. In 1932 they found that, even with 8 pounds of lime, lime sulfur at
great dilution 'is not alvmys as safe as desired. ' Dutton reports that in
Michigan, lim^e sulfur at 1/4 to l/2 gallon per hundred with lead arsenate
produced immediate and serious burning which was worse with 1/4 than with
1/2 gallon. He found adding lime would usually check the immediate injury
'but v;as not always dependable.' He found the elemental sulfur in combina-
tion sprays had no part in the injury which was 'entirely the result of
extreme incompatibility of very weak lime sulfur with lead arsenate.' By
1940 the Ohio workers reported that flotation sulfur gave better control
of apple scab than the half and half mixture and that the addition of the
elemental sulfur added little to the fungicidal value of the half strength
lime sulfur alone. Later Ohio reports summarize data compiled over a number
of years and conclude half and half is both mora dangerous and less effective
than flotation sulfur paste."

WHERE WATER STANDS

The effects of submerging the roots of an apple tree are clearly shown
in some recent investigations in Ohio. One-year trees were placed in a
specially built chamber where environmental conditions r esembled days in
May and June in central Ohio. The trees were growing in soil in lO-gallon
butter tubs. Tests consisted of ms asuring photosynthesis (food manufacture),
transpiration (water vapor loss), and leaf growth shortly before and after
the roots were submerged.

In these tests photosjTithesis showed a downward trend the day after
the flooding began. Transpiration showed a definite dovmward trend a week

■9-

later. Both processes were almost stopped within three weeks. The rate of
increase in number and size of leaves on the shoots also v/as markedly inhibited.
On the basis of several of these tests it was concluded that under these con-
ditions leaf metabolism was injured from one day to two vreeks after start of
the flooding period. The length of time the trees could resist the effects
of excess water seemed to depend upon the variety, the initial vigor of the
trees, and the evaporating power of the surrounding air. Some trees could
be killed in a week, others would remain alive for tvro months. If, in some
cases, the water ware drained from the soil two weeks after the submersion
period started, the trees did not recover for two weeks or more. Some trees
never returned to their original status. In a number of Massachusetts orchards
the v;ater table v/as so high this spring as to make it impossible to get on the
land with a pov/er sprayer before blossoming time. It is easy to visualize the
handicap under which such trees are growing. They may survive and produce
some apples over a long period of -years. They cannot possibly produce max-
imum crops, however, v/here the soil is so poorly aerated even during the early
part of the gro\ving season. Large annual yields are associated with deep
rooting and good aeration of the soil.

A slogan for Victory Gardeners - "TOED »EM AND REAP."

HAITOLING AFFLBS FROM TREE TO TABLE

A vj-ell illustrated publication under this title (Circ. No. 659),
has recently been written by D. F. Fisher of the Bureau of Plant Industry.
It is available from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C.
(price 15 cents). Following are the topics discussed:

The grower's responsibility. When to pick apples, Criteria of
maturity. When to pack apples. Factors affecting condition during storage.
Maturity at harvest. Storage temperature. Gas storage. Atmospheric humid-
ity. Storage with other products. Fungus diseases. Bruising and other
mechanical injuries. Physiological diseases. Effects of packaging. Pre-
packaging for the consumer. The shipper's responsibility. The dealer's
responsibility. The industry's responsibility.

We quote a few introductory statements in this Circular. "The condi-
tion of apples offered for sale by grocers and other retail vendors is some-
times disappointing to the purchaser. To the extent that the demand for
apples is influenced thereby it affects the market price of the fruit and
the returns to the grower. The factors of condition that are most important
are the stage of ripeness of the fruit and its freedom from decay, bruising,
and other injuries. Growers who invest a season's work in pruning, fertilizing,
spraying, and cultivating their orchards with all the care and expense neces-
sary to produce a clean crop of high-quality fruit cannot help being disturbed
by the poor condition of apples offered by retailers, which also constitutes

-10-

one of the greatest handicaps to success of organizations established by
the apple industry to advertise and otherwise promote the sale and use of
apples."

CUTTING HAY IN AH ORCHARD

In an attempt to furnish some timely and up to date information on
the question, "How essential is the cutting of hay in an orchard?" the ivriter
asked William G. Colby, Research Agronomist, a fev/ pointed questions, as
follo7/s: "If hay is cut and left lay, are moisture or mineral elements con-
served?" "Is the cutting of a heavy gro^vth of grass (2 to 3 tons per acre)
more beneficial than the cutting of a light grov/th (1 to 2 tons per acre)?
■*'Tffhich is influenced more, transpiration from the grass itself or evaporation
from the surface of the soil?" Dr. Colby replied as follows:

"The questions you raised in your memorandum of May 28 concerning the
desirability of cutting grass in orchards raises a number of questions which
unfortunately cannot be answered positively one way or the other. There are
a number of factors involved whose relative importance is largely a matter of
personal opinion. Nevertheless, I offer the following suggestions in the hope
that they may be of some value.

"In my previous report four years ago, I suggested that cutting grasses
after they have reached full maturity results in much reduced aftermath or
rowen grovrth. In the case of bluegrass and orchard grass, this stage will
be reached within a week or two. Some of the hay grass like timothy and red-
top will require another three or four weeks. Cutting late may result in
lower total dry matter yields for the v/hole season and ;7ill thereby reduce
both the mineral and moisture requirements. In reply to your question as to
whether or not moisture or mineral elements are conserved v/hen a heavy crop
of grass is cut and permitted to remain, I would like to say that in the case
of minerals, tliey are conserved so far as the grass sod is concerned, but it
is unlikely that this organic material vn.ll decompose and thereby release
these mineral elements in such form.s as they might be available to the trees.
The grass sod would undoubtedly take them up again.

"With respect to moisture, it is probable that transpiration from the
grass itself will be more affected than evaporation from the surface of the
soil since any grass cover which produces two or three tons of hay to the acre
will have such a dense sod that little bare ground is exposed whether the grass
is cut or not. With a light vegetative cover (one to two tons per acre) it is
probable that cutting would have a temporary effect at least in reducing evap-
oration from bare ground surface. It would be my guess that transpiration
from the grass itself v;ould be considerably reduced with a heavy grass cover
if it was cut late and the hay allowed to remain. There are undoubtedly other
factors other than those I have named but v/hich lie more in the field of pom-
ology than in the field of agronomy. On the whole, I would be inclined to
favor cutting the grass in orchards if such xvore possible so far as time,
equipment and help are concerned. Cutting grass also tends to eliminate vreeds
and tends to favor sod forraing grasses over 'bunch' grasses.

WBMS WILL NOT WIN THE T/AR

.*i-&T>>?>^"^'^^^^''^

^d&i.

July 20, 1943

Prepared by the Fruit Prograjii Comiaittee
of the Extension Service

TiY. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents: lieditation on ¥/eeds

"The First Day on a Farn"

Do You Know?

Seen and Heard in the Field

Production in a 45-Year-Old Apple Orchard

Unscrambling Variety Puzzles in the Nursery

Magnesiun Deficiency

Harvest Sprays and Dusts

Ilodified Recipes Y^ill Save Su^^ar

LED IT AT ION Oil TOEDS (A Borrowed Editorial)

It is estimated that there are more than 25,000,000 Victory Gardens
in the United States worthy of the name. Doubtless there are nearly as many
more which the official tabulators - a snooty race at best - consider it un-
dignified to count, though their owners would want to put in a good word for
then in the Shakespearean vein of "a poor thing, but mine ovm."

The figure is important, now that the season of thriving weeds has
arrived. It will explain a vast change v^fhich will be noticed in American char-
acter these coming months. Nothing converts one to philosophy like a lusty
crop of vdtch grass in the com or on eager host of pussley in the onion patch.

Bugs are a challenge to war. Weeds, developing their growth unobtrusive-
ly, call out the virtue in a nan. Over them he meditates upon the newer con-
. cepts of space and time. They inveigle him into botanical surmises, school
his temper, harden his will, stain his fingers, tutor him in the lore of a
backache, in'struct him in the art of hoeing, and send him to Hesiod for solace
when all is done. Pie is not ai.iazed to learn that there are more than 2,000,000
different kinds of plants. He can verify the figure himselfl How much calmer
we shall all be by Autumn!

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of Jiay 8 oiid June 30,
1914, Willard A. Munson, director, Llassachusetts State College, United States
Department of Agriculturo, and County Extension Services cooperating.

-2-

"THE FIRST DAY ON A FARM"

Massachusetts farmers are facing the biggest job of training new
workers they have ever had. Hundreds of people, inexperienced in farm work
are going on farms to assist in the planting, cultivating and harvesting of
crops and the care of livestock. In general, these people vj-ill be willing
but are completely inexpf3rienced. The results obtained from this inexperienced
help will depend a great deal upon the "breaking-in program"which farmers employ.

Greeting the New Farm Worker - There's a Vfrong Yfay and a Right Yfay

A schoolboy has decided to help with farm work, and has been assigned
or directed to go to a certain farm. He has just arrived by bus and finds
Fanner "A" in the barn wherethe following conversation takes place;

Farmer "A" - "Hello, Bub. V/hat do you want?"

Boy - "I was sent here by Mr. Green, the County Agent, to help you
•with your farm work."

Farmer "A" - "You look pretty puny to ne to be much good on this farm.
How old are you, anyvv-ay?"

Boy - "I an sixteen, sir. Vfiiile I'm not as tall as some of the

boys I think you will find I can take it. I have delivered
papers for the past two years and played on the scrub foot-
ball team."

Farmer "A" - "Vfell, you'll find farming isn't football. It's hard v;ork
from before daylight until after dark. ITe farraers have a
hard life and you'll soon find that out. Did you ever vrork
on a farm?"

Boy - "I have never worked on a farm before, sir, but I am certain
I can learn if you v/ill show me,"

Farmer "A" - "Vlell, take that fork and go down there and clean up that
cow stable. Let's get going."

Such an approach makes a boy or any other eager and enthusiastic but
inexperienced worker feel that the farm job is the hardest, most difficult to
learn, and will dampen enthusiasm, shatter morale and cause him to v^ork below
top effectiveness.

Let's see how the young farm worker might better be handled. (Boy
gets off from a bus and finds Farmer Bill Smith in the barn.)

Mr. Smith - "Good morning. Aren't you John Brown, the young man Mr. Green
told us would come out to help v/ith the farm v/ork this summer?"

John - "Yes, sir, I am John."

--5-

Mr. S. - "Well, I »m Vfillieon Smith. They call me 'Bill.' Mind if I
call you 'Jack?'"

J. - "No, sir, that's wliat all my friends call ne."

Mr. S. - "Fine, I'm glad you are here to help us. Jack. Let' sit down
here and get acquainted and I'll tell you something about our
place. Have you ever worked on a fa:in. Jack?"

J. - "No, sir, but I have worked summers delivering groceries and I

carried a paper route. Then of course, I v>rorked around our yard
but it isn't farm work."

Mr. S. - "i.Tell, don't worry about that. Jack, I Icnow you are going to

like farm v;ork and I will shov/ you all about the jobs you will
have to do. Farming is mighty fine work. It is mostly outdoors
where we have plenty of fresh air and sunshine. By the vra^',
that's why lots of people play golf; to get plenty of fresh
air, sunshin." and exercise. Vfell, we have all three right here
on this farr.. You are vrorking with grovang plants and animals,
and ycu learn a lot that wrill be of real interest and help you
as long as j''Ou live. By the v/ay, my wife wants to meet you.
She told me to bring you up to the house when you cane. Boy,
is sh*; a good cook! She puts out lots of good food and plenty
of it."

They go into the house where ivir. Smith introduces
Jack to his wife who carries on a pleasant conver-
sation with him, telling him she is glad that lie
has come to help them,

Mr. S. - "lYell, Jack, let's go out to the barn now. Just as you were

coming I was about ready to start cleaning out the coy; stable.
That isn't the most interesting work we do around here but it
is a job that has to be done every day. You see, on this farm
we produce milk, and babies in the cities drink this milk. The
milk has to be clean and sv/eet and wholesome, V/e can't produce
good cleann milk in a dirty cov; stable so we try to keep our
stable and our cows nice and clean all the time. Do you vj-ant
to take that fork over there and we v/ill clean this up and when
we get done we v/ill do something else,"

This conversation continues vath the main object of getting acquainted.
Jack is shovm his room. The importance of dressing safely is explained to him
so no loose tie or long unbutton^jd sleeve or any part of his clothing would be ^
likely to cause him to trip or be caught in a machine.

The first dayy on any new job is the most important for developing atti-
tude and morale. The new worker should be made to feel that his contribution is
important, that he is doing necessary v;ork, that he will not be expected to know
all the answers but he will be carefully shovm how to do each job. If he is not
accustomed to rath.^r vigorous work, he should be told not to go too fast or hard
unless he is able to do so without unusual tiring or fatigue. (Adapted from a
talk given at Baltimore, Maryland, February 12, 1943 by L. J. Fletcher, VJar
Activities Committee, American Society of Engineers.)

— Roy E. MOBer

T'^/^^AJ

That Mcintosh apples can become infected by scab during July only if
they remain wet continuously for 35 to 40 hours? During August a v;etting pero/od
of 40 to 60 hours is required for scab infection while 3 to 5 days of continu-
ous v/'etting are necessary in September, according to 0. C. Boyd. At the same
time young leaves may become infected in 6 to 8 hours while older leaves require
15 to 20 hours.

That per capita consvunption of food in peace time is somewhat more than
3 pounds a day while soldiers require &|- pounds? In a theater of war, a fight-
ing man eats tvro-thirds of his food out of tin cans.

That 83.8 million of the 127.5 million bushels of apples grovm in the
United States in 1942 were sold commercially as fresh apples? Other channels
of distribution accounting for the balance (expressed in millions of bushels)
are: Food distribution administration - purchases, fresh, 2.5; Cold packed, .5;
Canned, 11.8; Dried, 7.9; Other llfg., 9.; Farm household, 5.; Unharvested, 7.

That Barnstable County, Massachusetts ranks 52nd among the counties of
the United Stat§s in strawberry acreage and 17th in strawberry production? This
indicates that strawberry growers in the Falmouth area have a per acre yield of
approximately tRree times the average yield in the United States.

That several fruits, including cherries, plums, grapes, and currants,
will develop normal color in dense shade? The red coloring material in apples,
however, requires at least partial exposure to sunlight for its development.

That a valuable oil is nov; being extracted from the seeds of grapes?
Grape seeds contain 10 to 17 per cent oil on a moisture-free basis. The
900,000 tons of grapes normally used in making wine in California will yield
more than 3,000 tons of oil. The oil is semi-drying and may be used in paint.

That Yakima County, Yfashington is the loading apple producing county
in tho'. U. S.? The crop last season fron about one and a quarter million trees
amounted to more than 10,500,000 bushels.

That ;a silvery condition in apple leaves, commonly knovm as Silver Loaf,
is caused by a wood rotting fungus? Tho silvering is due apparently to a toxin
or poison produced in tho trunk or branch and carried upward into the leaves.

Extension Leaflet No* 26, "Cultural Practices in Bearing Apple Orchards,"
by J. K. Shaw, has been completely revised and brought up to date. It includes
the following sections; Ideals in Apple Growing, Plant Food Requirements,
Response to Cultural Methods and Fertilizers, Different Elements of Fertility,
Minor Elements, Vfater Supply, Types of Soil Management, and ViTar Emergency Prac-
tices. A copy may be obtained from your county agricultural agent.

-5-

SEEN Airo HEARD IN THE FIELD

Apple roots under a decaying mulch. It is difficult to imagine more
nearly ideal conditions for apple root development than those existing just
beneath a decaying mulch. Moisture supply, aeration, mineral elements (includ-
ing nitrogen in nitrate form), and the absence of competition from grass, com-
bine to favor growth and maintenance of the apple roots. This condition is
well illustrated in several Nashoba orchards where a mulch accumulated over
a long period of years is paying good dividends. It takes about three years
before the nutrient materials stored up in dry hay are again made available
for the tree. Decay is hastened by nitrate applications.

Ben Davis affects adjacent Mcintosh. A striking example of cross pol-
lination was recently observe'dT "at~a twilight meeting at Apple d'or Farm where
a block of Mcintosh trees adjoins a block of Den Davis. V/here the two varieties
are adjacent, the set of Mclritosh is exceedingly heavy, much more so than where
the Mcintosh trees are next to Baldwins. The old Ben Davis may not be much of
an apple to eat out of hand, but it ranks i.'ell with Delicious, Cortland, Astrachaa
and others as a pollenizer.

Fighting scab s uccessfully in a diff icult season. 17hen someone asks
the question, "Doesn't everyone have a lot of scab in Mcintosh trees this year?"
we can truthfully say that scab is almost completely under control in a number
of the larger commercial orchards. One such orchard has received no lime sul-
fur and needs none. The sprayer hus a capacity of 30-gallons per minute and
maintains a pressure of 600 pounds with two 8-no2zle "brooms" in operation.
T/Yettable sulfur has been supplemented by sulfur dust. The foliage looks un-
usually well. Of course, not all Mcintosh growers can justify so large a
sprayer. Neither can thoy afford both a sprayer and v. duster. Lacking these
highly desirable pieces of equipment, a grower must of necessity take more
time in spraying each tree. Faulty coverage is probably responsible for at
least nine-tenths of our scabby foliage and fruit.

A -V/ould-be strawberry grower. An individual vo-iting to the State Col-
lege for information on strawberries said, "Last year I placed a handful of fer-
tolizer in each hole where I set my strawberry plants, and the plants failed
completely. This year I'm going to try lime," (An example of "spoon feeding"
at its \vorst, - all too common among amateurs. It illustrates the difference
between building up soil fertility in advance, and handing out generous gobs
of this and that for immediate consumption.)

Biennial Mcintosh . One Sterling Mcintosh orchard has alternated for
the past four or five years botareon very heavy and very light crops. Terminal
growth is loss than normal. The trees look relatively thin, and the cov-^r crop
id lacking in vigor. All signs point to a nitrogen shortage. The soil is funda-
mentally good but needs a thorough overhauling. If, through soil improvement, a
hay crop of tv/o tons or more per acre is produced, t]ie trees should then make
the kind of growth which accompanies annual bearing.

Young apple trees shov/ brovm leav es. In one end of a South Amherst
orchard of 2-year-old apple trees, the leaves show severe brovming. It isn't
spray injury because they haven't been sprayed, and it isn't at all typical of

■6-

nagnesiun deficiency. The soil is strongly acid and lacking in organic matter.
Leaf analyses show very littlo potash. An old orchard was removed before the
present trees were set. The young trees will undoubtedly respond to a program
of soil improvement including an application of dolomitic limestone and a com-
plete fertilizer. Other possibilities are stable manure and heavy mulching.
Or as one individual remarked, "Jack up the trees and put some soil under them."

Strawberry crown girdlers invade a house . At a recent twilight meet-
ing a grower referred to a particular "beetle which he had found in considerable
numbers in his house. He had no difficulty in capturing half a dozen which
he mailpd to the State College for identification. They proved to be the Straw-
berry Crown Girdler, which has a habit of seeking shelter in houses.

A good ide a, except - At another meeting a grower said that he had seen
many curculio beetles feeding on dock leaves in his orchard and wondered if this
pest might be poisoned there instead of in the trees. There seems to be only
one thing wrong v;ith the idea. The insect in question is definitely not cur-
culio.

Apple maggot and cold storage, V^e hesitate to waste the time of readers
of Fruit Notes with this one, but it provoked some discussion at a twilight meet-
ing. It was offored by the ovmer of an orchard whose standards in pest control
may be judged by the fact that his first spray for scab was applied after bloom.
He claims to prevent apple maggot dtoaage in vdnter apples by placing them prompt-
ly in cold storage. The truth of the matter is that most of the maggots fail to
survive very long anyvmy in a hard apple and even though they are destroyed
within a few days or a month at most by cold storage temperatures the apple
still bears the telltale tunnels, and from a grading standpoint is "railroady"
or maggot infested. The storage idea is not nev;. In fact, it has been care-
fully investigated to determine the effect of sold storage on this unwelcome
summer visitor. (\7e shall continue to recommend poisoning the fly instead of
freezing the maggot.)

PRODUCTION IN A 45- YEAR-OLD APPLE ORCHARD

A row of eleven 45-year-old Mcintosh apple trees in a State College
orchard has been cut down, , not because the trees were no longer producing profit-
able crops but because they were expensive to maintain, the fruit was somev/hat
inferior in color ond the land was needed for a new planting more suitable for
modern research work. The crop in 1942 was the second largest in the life of
the orchard.

Records of the yield of these Mcintosh trees from 1920 to 1942 inclusive,
have been kept. The average annual yield of the 11 trees from the 22nd to the
45th year v/as 25.4 bushels per tree or 686 bushels per acre of 27 trees. The
prize tree produced 88 bushels in 1939 and averaged 38 bushels per year or
1064 bushels per acre for the 23 years j the lowest yield from a permanent treo
was 23 bushels, or 621 bushels per aero. Tv/o of the 11 trees were replaced dur-

-7-

ing the 43 years and one weakened and died shortly before the row was removed.
Omitting these three trees the average annual yield was 30 bushels per tree, or
810 bushels per acre.

Yields of four additional varieties for a period of 14 years, 1923-
1936 inclusive, are available. The average annual yields of all five varieties
for this period were R. I. Greening, 16 bushels; YIealthy, 13 bushels; Ben Davis,
15 bushels; Baldwin, 10 bushels; and Mcintosh, 22 bushels. This shows one
reason why Mcintosh is preferred by our growers; it yields more, largely be-
cause it is an annual bearer. Wealthy and Ben Davis could well be planted more
than 27 trees per acre so they should be regarded as better producers than the
above figures indicate, ^ y. o^aw

UNSCRAMBLING VARIETY PUZZLES IH TIIE NURSERY

The 23rd annual examination of nurseries for trueness-to-name began on
July 12, and it will require about a month for three men to complete the vrork.
It is some job to I'^arn and remember the varietal characteristics of the many
varieties of apples, pears, plums, cherries, and peaches that will be examined.
We propagate many varieties in our own nursery where they can be studied at
various stages of development. There are now in our nursery varieties of var- .
ious tree fruits as follows: apples, 61; pears, 47; plums, 59; cherries, 36;
peaches, 53, ornamental crab apples, 31. Total 287 varieties. They include
many varieties that are new or little known and which may appear in nurseries
either as new introductions or substituted for other varieties. The numbers
given above do not include "strains" or bud sports of apple varieties such as
Starking, Red Spy, and about 20 possible sports of Mcintosh. Many varieties
are represented by both one-year and two-year trees. V.'e have 25 clonal stocks
of apples, several of which are used for the apple varieties. There is a
total of nearly 1000 distinct lots of trees in our nursery. Is it any wonder
that nurserymen sometimes make mistakes?

A bulletin describing and illustrating nearly 100 varieties of apples
is in press; one showing 42 varieties of cherries has just been published, and
others dealing with pears and plums are in preparation.

--J. K. Shaw

MAGNESIUM DEFICIENCY

The season is at hand when magnesium deficiency may show up in apple
orchards. The typical symptoms are relatively easy to see although other causes
may manifest symptoms which are quite similar. So one should not bo too hasty
in assuming that a shortage of magnesium is necessarily the cause of a suspicious
orchard trouble that merely "looks something like" the symptoms described for
magnesium deficiency.

In late July or early August, apparently healthy trees will suddenly
show leaf scorch in the form of irregular brown blotches. These blotched sec-
tions along the leaf edge or more likely on the blade itself are dead areas
and naturally interfere with normal leaf functions. The older leaves n^mr the

-8-

bases of the present year's shoot growths are affected first, but soon leaves
farther up the shoots may show the trouble. Affected leaves often drop off,
and branches which appeared normal in June and early July may lose all their
loaves by mid-September except for a few close to the tips of the shoots. Some-
times, hov/ever, the scorched leaves seem to cling tenaciously, especially on
older trees, and more often with some varieties than others, spur leaves are
likely to scorch severely without dropping. Yellow banding aoid mottling of
leaves are symptoms of the deficiency with some varieties, but not so much with
our main varieties, Mcintosh, Baldwin and Dolicious. Magnesii^m deficiency not
only seems to increase preharvest fruit drop but "hormone" harvest sprays are
much less effective on such trees.

As reported before, magnesium deficiency is usually associated with
acid soils although this is not necessarily the case. Also, heavy use of
potash has seemed to increase the trouble. Suggested control measures include
the application of adequate amounts of high magnesium limestone worked into
the soil if possible, plus the supplemeiitary use of magnesium sulfate (Epsom
salts) or some other soluble magnesium compound. Hov/ever, this deficiency has
been somewhat difficult to correct in England ajid Canada where it has been
recognized for a number of years. It yields less readily and less quickly
to treatments than deficiencies of nitrogen, potassium, or boron, for example.
For some reason, affected trees are slow to take up added magnesium. It is
important, therefore, that growers determine as soon as possible if their
trees are affected with this deficiency so that control measures can be started.

Experiments are under way at Massachusetts Experiment Station and else-
where to determine the effectiveness of various treatments.

— Lawrence Southwick

HARVEST SPRAYS AND DUSTS

In 1942, spray and dust applications to control prteharvest drop vrere
compared in the Experiment Station orchards at Amherst on Duchess, Vfealthy, and
Mcintosh. Applications on mature Mcintosh consisted of about 30 gallons of
spray and 3 pounds of dust, and on Wealthy and Duchess similar liberal appli-
cations according to tree size. The following selected data give a good pic-
ture of the results in general. Spray concentrations are 10 parts per million
(p. p.m.) unless otherwise noted. (The numbers indicate commercial brands of
sprays and dusts.)

Variety

Duchess

Yfealthy

Treatment

Date of

Application

check

dust (#4)
spray (^1)

Aug. 5

check

dust (#2)
spray (fl)
spray (#2)
spray (20 p
apray (40 p

•P
•P

.m
.m.

)
)

Aug. 21
It 11

11 11

It It

End of Test

Percent

Period

Drop

Aug. 14

II 11

Sept. 5

11 II

n II

It «i

11 ti

ti ti

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(Continued)

Date of

Variety

Treatment

Application

Mcintosh

check

dust iifl)

Sept. 8

dust (#2)

II II

spray (#2)

It M

dust (#2)

Sept. 8 & Sept

spray (^^1)

Sept. 8

dust (#1)

Sept. 8 & Sept

spray (#1) (20p.p.m. )

Sept. 8

spray (-^^l)

Sept. 8 & Sept

End of Test

Percent

Period

Drop

Sept. 19

Tentative conclusions;

1. On Duchess and Vfealthy, dusts v/ore less effective than sprays.

2. On Mcintosh, results vath dusts were somewhat more favorable than on
Duchess and IToalthy.

3. Two successive applications of dusts or sprays resulted in better control
of preharvost drop than single applications.

4. Increasing the concentration of the active chemical in sprays gave better
results on Wealthy*

It is suggested that grov/ers in this state do not dilute conmiercial
drop-control materials belov; standard strength. In general, spraying may be
expected to be more reliable than dusting. Both sprays and dusts should be
applied during hot weather if possible. Spraying in the middle of the day is
usually best while dusting in the early morning when foliage is wet v/ith dev;
may be advantageous.

—Lawrence Southwick

MODIFIED RECIPES OF OLD TIME IMT ENGLilND PRODUCTS V^LL SAVE. SUGAR
> ' ■ ■ • ' '

Many New England farm families having available cull apples, a cider
press and some means of evaporating the cider such as a maple sugar pan, can
make themselves all the sweet syi'up or sweet apple sauce they can use this winter.

Apple cider when it is freshly made fi:*om sound apples contains between
10 and 135= fruit sugars, and about one half of one percent of fruit acid. Jf
six quarts of cider are concentrated by boiling to one quart, a s^/rup will re-
sult which contains about 60)o sugar and about 3;^ acid. This amount of acid ia
too much for most people's taste and it masks the natural sv;eetness of the syrup.
The acid can be eliminated very simply by adding l/2 level teaspoonful of balcing
soda per quart of fresh cider. After the soda is added and the foaming subsides,
the cider should be boiled down to a syrup v;hich should be filtered through
cheese cloth, heated to boiling, and filled into pint jars or bottles which
are sealed and processed in a boiling v/ater bath for 15 minutes.

■ 10-

For the production of apple syrup in any quantity it is suggested
that a maple syrup pan or evaporator be used. Care is necessary not to cara-
melize the juice. About l/3 to l/2 ounce of baking soda per gallon of fresh
cider is required to partially neutralize the acid. The syrup is ideal for
pan cakes, v^affles or for any use for which maple syrup or corn syrup is com-
monly used. If held through the winter it can be used for canning acid fruits
and berries next season. Following are a few suggested recipes:

Sweet Hew Eng l and Boiled Cider Apple Sauce . Take 1-^ pounds of firm,
medium tart, solid apples; peel, halve, remove cores and cut each half .
in quarter slices. Cook these slices slowly in 1 cup of the above syrup
for 10 minutes in a sauce pan with lid on. Pack the apples in pint jars
and cover v/ith the syrup they have been cooked in. Seal and process in
boiling v/ater bath for 15 minutes.

New England Apple Butter (without added cane sugar). Take 12 pounds of
solid, tart apples (Baldwins, Spys, etc.). ViTash apples, cut out calyxes,
halve, remove seeds and cut into thin slices. Cook in large kettle with
one gallon of sweet (unconcentrated) cider. V.Tien thoroughly soft, put
through colander or sieve. Return pulp to pan and concentrate by boiling
until quite thick. (Use care or it will burn.) Vihcn thick add 1 quart
of sweet cider syrup and 1 tablespoonful of cinnamon and -^ tablespoonful
of cloves. Continue cooking with constant stirring until the boiling
material v/ill heap up well on the spoon and flov; from the spoon in
sheets. Pour the hot butter into clean., dry jars, and seal and process
in a boiling v;ater bath for 15 minute s^

Please note the follovdng:

1. Only freshly prepared sweet cider contains the sugar necessary in
the preparation of this syrup. Fermented or old cider v/ill not
make a sweet syrup.

2. Do not use benzoatcd or preserved cider. A bitter syrup will result
if preserved cider is concentrated.

3. The addition of too much soda will cause the cider to turn very dark.
If this darkness is caused by soda alone, the addition of more fresh
cider will brighten the syrup,

4. Be careful not to burn or caramelize the syrup. The finished syrup
should be a light red and hsive a sweet apple flavor v;ithout a pro-
nounced caramel taste.

5. Do not attempt to concentrate cider in a container vihich has an
• exposed iron surface. A black syrup v/ill result.

(if further information is desired, v/rite to the Department of Horti-
cultural Manufactures, Massachusetts State College, Amherst, Mass.)

— F. P. Griffiths and J. J. Powers

Inexperienced apple pickers need careful training. Some suggestions will
be offered in August FRUIT NOTES.

September 8, 1943

Prepared by the Fruit Program Committee
of the Extension Service

W. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Co ntents

Some Suggestions for Handling Inexperienced Apple Pickers

Nursery Inspection - 1943

Do You Know?

"Hormone'' Spraying and Duisting for Lessening Preharvsst Drop

Magnesium Deficiency

Outbreak of Spotted Tentiform Leafrainer

Present Status of Apple Leaf -curling iiidge

Orchard Spraying Experiments Nov; Under ITay in Axaiaerst and Vfelthara

Sidelights on tiie 1942 Harvest

SOjvIE SUGGESTIONS FOR liAIJDLING IIJEXPERIEITCED APPLE PICKERS

At least 2,000 apple pickers will be needed in the IJashoba area this
season, in addition to those to be recruited locally, At least a third of these
individuals will be picking apples for the first time. It will therefore be
highly desirable tiat time be taken at the start to instruct these new workers
in the easiest and best way of removing apples from a tree. Let's not assume
that the newcomer knows just how vre want the apples handled.

In the rush of getting the apple crop picked in a few days, many grow-
ers are in so much of a hurry that they give the new picker a basket and ladder,
and tell hLm to "go to it." IVhere apple pickers are paid by tho bushel, there
is a strong urge to got off just as many bushels as possible in a day without

Issued by the Extension S'.rvice in furtherance of Acts of May 8 and, June 30,
1914, V/illard A. Munson, director, Massachusetts State College, United States
Department of Agriculture, and Goimty Extension Services cooperating.

-2-

too much regard for bruises or pulled stems. It may be a good idea to pay a
liberal hourly wage the first day, and then go on a bushel basis the second
day. If at all possible, an experienced picker should supervise the work of
not noro than 8 or 10 inexperienced pickers. To send out a group of high
school boys without previous instruction or adequate supervision is one of
the easiest ways to reduce the value of the crop. No factory superintondent
would think of breaking in a nev; worker that way.

First of all, a new picker should be shovm how to separate an apple
from the spur, v/ith the stem intact. The stem will separate easily from the
spur if the apple is tilted upward instead of being pulled off. And instead
of pressing the fingertips into the cheek of the apple and giving it a pull,
it is an easy matter to cup the apple in the pain of the hand and break it
off with a lifting motion. Not more than tvvo apples at the most should be held
in the hand at one time, and then only if they can be held without touching
each other. The apple is then laid into the basket or pail and not dropped
into it. Speed in picking does not require pulling apples from the tree nor
dropping them into the container. Some of the fastest pickers harvest fruit
which shows the least bruises.

Then, such simple matters as picking apples from the lower part of the
tree first should be stressed. All apples v/ithin reach of the ground should be
picked before placing the ladder. This prevents bruising from the ladder it-
self or through dropping apples from higher branches. In placing a ladder,
caution the new picker about setting it evenly on the ground and always against
a stout branch, and not at too great a slant. Even though the picker is not
too concerned about taking a tumble, explain to him that ladders cost money
and are not easily obtained. Also, advise against trying to pick from the
ladder, apples which are almost out of reach. Reset the ladder, if for only
a dozen apples.

Patience, tact, diplomacy, and occasionally firmness will be needed
with those new pickers. Pay them well and at the some tine help them to help
themselves in doing an important job.

NURSERY INSPECTION - 1943

For the 23rd consecutive year, men from the Massachusetts State College
have completed the examination for trueness-to-name of nursery fruit stock in
the Northeastern part of the country. This year 18 nurseries located from New
England to Michigan and Virginia v;ere examined and misnamed trees correctly
named or cut down. The report on a rather large nursery of an examination for
the first time reminds one of the old days when we really found misnaraed trees.
Repeated visits al^vays greatly reduce the number of mixtures, and smaller nur-
series may be found completely free of misnamed trees. In some nurseries all
salable stock was examined and in some only certain fruits were gone over.
Peaches are in a class by themselves. Unlike other tree fruits, certain var-
ieties are so much alike in the nursery row that they can ba identified only
with difficulty or not at all. Nevertheless, many misnamed trees are detected.
A list of the nurseries examined may be obtained on request from the Department
of Pomology, Massachusetts State College, Amherst, Massachusetts.

J. K. Shaw

NOTE: The Fruit Notes mailing list is in the process of being revised. If l'^ou have
received a letter (on pink paper) regarding the revision and desire to con-
tinue receiving this publication, be sure it is properly filled out and
returned to the Mailing Room,

c=J_)iy ^o-u- /\ n^^ :

That the principal subsistence of the United States comes fron about
30 crops? All told, our farmers grow about 300 different crops. Tliis is about
the average of temperate zone nations. China, on the other hand, produces and
harvests about 6^000 different plants of nutritional value, which is one reason
v;hy that country has been able to survive the Japanese onslaught.

That allowing pears to remain on the tree until sufficiently mature
reduces the astringent properties, tendency to wilt in storage, and on suscept-
ible varieties, scald in storage? Leaving the fruit on the tree too long
causes deterioration in quality and may cause trouble in storage or transit
such as core breakdown and too rapid softening, f'ruit rots are generally more
prevalent in pears that are harvested and packed when too mature.

That the term "Horticulture" originally referr«d to the grov;ing of
crops within walls as distinguished from the growing of crops in open fields?
Today the term relates to the cultivation of gardens or orchards, including the
growing of vegetables, fruits, flowers, and ornamental shrubs and trees. There
is no hard and fast line of distinction between horticulture and agriculture
although the wheat or corn farmer is strictly an agriculturist, while tha grow-
er of any of the specialty crops, vjhether for food or ornamentation, may be
considered as a horticulturist,

That mid-day seems to be the ideal time for applying hormone sprays?
Preharvest sprays containing napthalene acetic acid used on V/illiams, Delicious,
and Stayman Vfinesap apples v;ere more effective v/hen applied at certain concen-
trations at mid-day than at mid-morning, according to L. P. Batjer of the
Bureau of Plant Industry, Beltsville, Maryland. He found that early morning
sprays required nearly an hour to dry compared with a half hour at noon, but
that apparently absorption was much more rapid at the higher temperatures.
75° F. may represent the critical point above which the temperature may not
be an important factor.

That no less than 7 different brands of materials intended for prevent-
ing preharvest drop of apples are advertised in one of the fruit magaisines? All
of these materials contain the same essential ingredients and all may be expocted
to produce similar results if properly applied. None of them may be relied upon
to give good results if haphazardly applied.

That borax applications on apple trees susceptible to internal cork
tend to reduce the preharvest drop of fruit as well as the drop through harvest,
aa compared to trees not receiving borax? An application on trees previously
free from internal cork, has no apparent effect on the dropping tendency, ac-
cording to experiments performed at Ithaca, New York.

That about Z^ million pounds of applq syrup were m^de in 1942? This
year it is hoped that at least 15 million pounds will be produced for the pur-

-4-

pose of replacing glycerine used in processing tobacco. Tests at Michigan
State College demonstrate the practicability of using dairy equipment in con-
densing .apple juice. The dairy industry is becoming interested in apple syrup
because this material can be substituted for sugar in the manufacture of ice
creams and sherbets. One gallon of apple juice or cider can be condensed to
1 1/3 pounds of apple syrup.

That methods for extracting and preserving the juices of small fruits
for beverage purposes have been developed at the New York State Experiment Sta-
tion at Geneva? Strawberries, raspberries, dev;berries, blackberries and elder-
berries have been used in the studies and satisfactory products obtained, par-
ticularly v.'here tlie different juices have been blended with apple juice.
Because the small fruits generally come on v;ith a rush, making it difficult
to handle the fresh fruits to best advantage, the possibilities of extracting
juice from frozen fruits have been explored. With attention to certain details,
frozen small fruits have proved to be an even more satisfactory source of juice
than the fresh fruits.

That water core is likely to be more prevalent in the fruit of trees
bearing a light crop? An examination of the fruit of 7 Duchess troeo at Urbana,
111. by T/T. A. Ruth has revealed these facts: (1) On all the trees, v/ell colored
apples and those v;ith red tinted flesh tended to show more v/ater core. (2)
There was no correlation betv/een size of fruit and water core. (3) Apparently
a high leaf-apple ratio favored the development of water core but various other
factors were also involved.

That softv/ood cuttings of beach plums taken in mid-June liave been
rooted successfully when treated with a root inducing substance? V;. L. Doran
and J. S. Bailey, using a rooting medium consisting of a mixture of 2 parts
of sand to 1 part of peat moss, obtained 67% rooting on 4-inch cuttings of
short new shoots or laterals treated v/ith indolebutyric acid. The basal ends
were emersed for 4 hours prior to planting, and rooting v/as obtained in 25 days.

That the utilization of commercial fertilizers in Nev/ England last
year amounted to about A% of the total used in the United States? New England
consumption amounted to 390,327 tons while that in the United States amounted
to 10,005,238 tons. Massachusetts used 81,876 tons, or a little more than
half as much as Maine where 153,442 tons were used.

That the brilliant red color showing in the foliage of chokecherries
for several weeks is due to X-disease, an incurable ailment of peach trees?
Any grower planning to set peach trees next spring should first consider the
d&struction of all chokecherries within at least 200 yards.

That Hood River Valley fruit grov^ers are asking their employees to take
lOfo of their pay in v/ar bonds?

That each time a IS-inch gun is fired, 120 pounds of nitrogen goes back
into the air from which it originally came?

-5-

"HOPJiOlffi" SPMYIHG Aim DUSTPIG FOR LESSEIIIIIG PREHAir/EST D ROP

ITith tlie Mcintosh harvest season near at hand, the follov/ing comnents
and suggestions concerning "ilormone" sprays and dusts may be of interest:

1. Sprays are probably somewhat nore reliable than dusts,

2, Apply spray on Mcintosh as soon as sound apples begin to drop. A second
application 4 or 5 days later should increase effectiveness and will probably

be Justified this year.

3. ViTith dusts, tvio applications are reconmended,

4, Spray, as nearly as possible, during the hottest part of the day. Ap-
plications are not very effective when the air" temperature is balov/ 70<-' F,

5. Apply dusts vrhen air is quiet, preferably when trees aro wet v;ith dev;
and during hot weather,

6, Use plenty of material. Thirty gallons of spray or three poimds of
dust are noni3 too much for mature Mcintosh trees. Thorough coverage is abso-
lutely essential,

~ 7. Use' spray materials at standard strength (10 parts per million). This
strength is usually recommended by the manufacturer. For increased assurance
of effectiveness, use 1^ to double the standard concentration, especio.lly when
only one application is to be made, Hov/ever, the standard concentration is
likely to be sufficient if the spray is applied thoroughly and under favorable
weather conditions, particularly as regards temperature,
3. Do not use lower than standard strength spray,

9, If Mcintosh trees shov/ severe symptoms of magnesium deficiency, drop-
control applications probably will not be effective,

10. Remember that after about 10-12 days following an application, the
"sticking" effect may be dissipated, resulting in heavy dropping. This is
especially true with Mcintosh and harvesting must be planned accordingly,

-— Lav/rence Southwick

IClG?IES rjM DEFICIEIICY

Symptoms of magnesium deficiency are nov; prevalent in apple orchards.
Dead, brown areas on leaves, often accompanied by yellowing, are tj'pical of
the trouble. Growers who feel certain that this trouble is present at all
in their orchards are asked to drop a card to the undersigned at Mass, State
College, Vfe are endeavoring to get an estimate of the prevalence of magnesiijm
deficiency in this state,

La;;rence Southwick

OUTBREAK OF SPOTTED TEITTIFORM LEAFMINER

A general infestation of the Spotted Tentiform Leafminer has broken
out in eastern Massachusetts orchards, principally in Middlesex County. Al-
though all available reports on this insect state that "it has not been re-
corded as doing serious injury," the foliage in several orchards in this area
is already definitely damaged. Many leaves have 10 or more mines in them and
there is some yellowing and defoliation. The mines are about •§■ inch long and
^ inch vdde, being pulled together in a fold or "tent" on the umderside of
the leaf.

.6_

The insect is named from the spotted appearance of the mine on the
upper surface of the leaf v/here the chlorophyll is eaten in spots rather than
completely. A similar leaf miner eats out the chlorophyll in the mines com-
pletely and is called the Unspotted Tentiform Leafminer.

The life history and seasonal history is very sketchily reported and
apparently they have not been completely studied. References state that the
moths emerge in the spring and the larvae pupate; in September, spending the
v;-inter in the mines in fallen leaves, all of which indicates one generation
annually. However, the iiife stations r eoeiitly observed definitely show 2, and
perhaps 3 generations this year.

On August 11 to 13, moths were emerging and laying eggs for a genera-
ti')n T.'hich will develop in September and October. These moths "flew up" in
clouds from the heavily infested trees resembling a bad infestation of leaf-
hoppors in September,

It is evident that the usual sprays of lead arsenate and sulfur have
little effect on these leafminors since v;ell-sprayed leaves were badly in-
fested, nicotine sulfate and probably other ovicidal sprays should be ef-
fective but they must be timed carefully and applied thoroughly. Theoret-
ically, 7 to 10 days after the moths emerge, at virhich time the larvae are
hatching and starting their mines, v^ill be the most effective time to spray.
Preliminary trials with nicotine sulfate and v/ith DIT-111 did not kill full
grovni larvae and pupae in the mines.

- — W. D. V/hitoomb

PRESENT STATUS OF APPLE LE.'iF-CURLIN G IIIDGE

The Apple Leaf-Curling Ilidge is now generally spread throughout eastern
Massachusetts orchards. ITo practical control of this pest in commercial or-
chards by spraying has been discovered due principally to the necessity for
spraying the unfolding buds eacli 3 or 4 days during the egg laying period of
the midge flies and to the migration of flies from tree to tree and orchard
to orchard.

Operations which v/ill reduce the abiindance of the insect and delay
its establishment in nev/ly infested orchards are:

1. Spraying vrith oil emulsion or DN on the trunk and larger branches,
especially within loose bark, cavities and crotches at dormant or delayed
dormant application.

2. Broadcasting naphthalene flakes at rate of 2 pounds per 100 square
feet under infested trees about blossom time.

0. Cultivating under the trees about blossom time,

4. Using nicotine sulfate in the calyx and 1st cover applications.

5. Pulling and burning v/ater sprouts during July and August to kill the
second and third generation maggots.

6. Pland picking of infested leaves, especially on grafts and small trees.

\i. D. Vniitcomb

-7-

CP.CILIRD SPIUYIIIG EI-^PIJRIIEIITS uOii UIIDER V^AY IIJ AIIIERST AIID VfALTIIAlvi

?if;^ardl<3ss of the nany changes v;hich have been i^orced upon us as a
r'ssult of the var effort, the battle against insect a?id disease pests con-
tinues uninterrupted. In fact, the study of new materials by the departnents
of Entx.ioloj^y, Botany, and Pomology has been intensified rather than di-
minished.

In order that fruit growers throughout the state nay be informed of
the nature if the experiments which are being conducted for their benefit,
boti at State College and V.'altham Field Station, we are listing them in this
issuo of "Fruit Notes,"

1. A study of proposed substitutes to replace or supplement present
standard materials and practices giving special attention to roplaceraont
•of :.'iat3rials subject to curtailment because of the war emergency. These
include some of the non-arsenical compounds such as fixed nicotine sprays
and nicotine-pyrethrum compounds. (Araiierst)

2. Tolerance tests on standard varieties of apples of early summer ap-
plicati^ns of DII sprays. The purpose of these tests is to determine the
reliitive safety to foliage of applications at different periods of the grow-
ing season and under different conditions of temperature and humidity such
as :?.ay be encountered in summer applications for the control of red mito.
(A.ri'irst and li^althan)

o. Compatibility of Fermate, with and without lime, in standard spray
c "iLibinctions . (.•'iml'ierst)

4. A study of materials vmich are being sold as bee repellents. The
purpose Tf these experiments are:

a. To determine the effect of a particular repellent, in combina-
tion \.'ith a standard orchard spray, upon blossoms and leaves of fruit trees.

b. To determine hc/r the repellent nay act and the duration of such
action.

c. To determine the efficiency of each material as a repellent to
bees. (,^herst)

5. The effect of measured gallonage as an indication of thorough cover-
age. This is a continuation of last year's experiment using Plum Curculio
as the test insect,

6. A comparison of Cryolite with load arsenate and the compatibility of
Cryolite with Fermate. (Vfaltham)

7. A study of the effect of a complete spray schedule using DU-lll and
Fermate vith lead arsenate added in the calyx and first cover sprays, (V/altham)

8. A study of the comparison of Fermate v/ith various standard wettable
sulfurs. This experiment with test plots in various orchards throughout the
state is associated with the l.'ortheastern Spray Conference Cooperative Project.

9. A study to determine the effect of the addition of lime to the standard
le^^d arsenate-wettable sulfur mixture upon the initial deposit and loss of
sulfur from weathering, (V/althan and Amherst)

10. A study of the comparative scab control and rate of loss from weather-
in;, of coarse and fine grades of wettable sulfur, (Vfeltham)

11. A study of the effect of different r ates of dilution of wettable sul-
fur and the fungicidal value of lead arsenate. (ITaltham and ;\mhorst)

-8-

12. A study to dot^'nnine the offcct of various wettablo suli\irs and liiuo
sulfur in burninr; out scab. (VJalthfon)

13. A study to detormino tho cause of fruit russotting and the tii'ie during
the spraying season when apples are susceptible to this typo of injury.
(VJaltham)

14. A study of substitutes for sulfur and lead arsenate in relation to
insoct and disease control and the prevention of fruit russet injury. (Yfalthan)

0. C. Roberts

^^i^^iil-^ 0^' TliB 1942 HARVEST

Last year when nany types and .ages of individuals picked apples, the
experiences of va rious growers are proving of great help in the 1943 harvest.
Several growers have remarked that some of their most valuable pickers were
husband and wife combinations. Together they finished the tree completely,,
tiie man placing the ladder and picking the upper branches while his vdfe
picked from the ground.

Part time workers also did a good job in many orchards. Ambitious
factory workers ^rho found it possible to put in throe or four hours picking
apples in a nearby orchard cane to the orchard with a definite purpose in
mind and made an excellent showing. In contrast certain people who spent 8
or 10 hours in the orchard picked less efficiently.

A disastrous experience with a group of high school boys under no super-
vision is \;orth mentioning. Experiences of this kind must be avoided this fall.
One grower said that he hired 25 high school boys who in his absence staged a
pitched battle with Fancy apples. The next day he "fired" all but one of the
26. Vifithout in any v;ay excusing the boys for their actions, the writer be-
lieves that the grower v/as as much at fault as the boys. At least his ability
as a tutor is subject to criticism. And perhaps he doesn't recall his ovm
•teen age shortcomings.

Another experience involved a group of junior high school youngsters
Vifho v/ere transported to an orchard under the m.istaken notion that anyone could
pick apples and were then told by the owner that he did not need them. To make
matters worse, they v/ere compelled to walk home, a distance of about three
mil-is. These youngsters are not interested in picking apples this fall. YJq
must build good v;ill not only among consumers but among proapective pickers.
Next year may be v/orse than this from the standpoint of getting efficient
apple pickers.

A fevj-firemen found their way into apple orchards last fall and did a
first class job. Being accustomed to climbing ladders, thoy v/ere right at
home picking the tops of trees. It is unfortunate that v/e haven't enough
firemen in Massachusetts to pick the entire crop.

One grower paid his pickers in part with apples, and v/ith good apples
at that. One paid a bonus to pickers v;ho stayed through the season. Still
another rev/arded his key men in a special v;ay during the picking season. Un-
able, because of duties other than picking, to cash in on the good wages
received for piece work, thoy gained through a substantial voluntary "raise,"
YIe pass these ideas along for what they are vrarth»

October 21, 1943

Prepared "by the Fruit Program Conimittee
of the Extension Service

W. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

The Mbuse Situation in Massachusetts Orchards

Strav:berries in the Falnouth Area

Do ifou Know?

The Time Factor in Fruit Growing

The Fruit Situation as Related to 1944 Food Production Goals

Ceiling Prices on Fresh Apples

THE MOUSE SITUATION IN IIASSACHUSBTTS ORCHARDS

Imagine setting 128 mousetraps on an orchard area of one acre, and
catching 64 mice the first night and 30 the nextl That was the experience
of workers in the Fish and Wildlife Service who conducted a recent survey-
in a Brimfield orchard. This orchard has a heavy grass cover, and at the
time of the survey in September, mouse signs v/ere very much in evidence.

Quoting from a letter written by Robert M. Borg, September 29,
"The mouse population in Massachusetts is high. There are more nice per
acre in the western than in the eastern part of the state. Every tree base
examined in all orchards covered, even where there was sparse cover, was in-
fested with mice. And in one orchard in Franklin County out of 30 tree bases
examined 12 trees were partially girdled. Many other orchards visited had
a few trees partially girdled. The mouse population will vary from 80 to
100 or more to the acre. In one orchard near Brimfield actually 9imicG per
acre vrere trapped. This high population is due in general to a favorable
growing season, hence good cover and food conditions. With the present high
population of mice, and if weather conditions are favorable, the m.ouse popu-

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

■2-

lation may reach extromely dangerous and damaging proportions. Orchardists
should check their orchards immediately after the apple crop is harvested
and where girdling occurs, the orchard should be treated at once with zinc
phosphide apple bait to reduce the population and eliminate further damage
to the trees."

In vievf of the large number of mice now present in our orchards, every
apple grower in Mass. should place mouse control on the priority list, insofar
as fall jobs are concerned. We cannot afford to lose vigorous young fruit
trees at a time when maximum yields from our present plantings are urgently
needed. Another job which should be completed even before we tackle the
mouse problem, is that of finishing the apple harvest and getting the apples
properly stored. October 25 should be the deadline for the apple harvest.
In years past, too many apples have been lost by severe freezing in late
October or November because they were either unpicked or left standing un-
protected in a shed. All marketable apples should be stored in a cool, moist,
rat-proof building. If a suitable storage is lacking the apples should be
sold before cold weather sets in.

STRAWBERRIES IN THE FAL?:OUTH AREA

Records have been assembled from four commission merchants by County
Agent Bertram Tomlinson covering strawberry receipts from Falmouth growers
for the years 1943, 1941, and 1939. The total shipments received by these
concerns during the three years vrere as follows t 1943 - 419,800 quarts;
1941 - 652,515 quarts; 1939 - 938,606 quarts. The numbers of growers inr-
volved were respectively, 109, 150, and 211, while the average numbers of
quarts per grower were 3840, 4350, and 4450,

From these figures it will be seen that the receipts of strav/berries
in 1943 were less than half those in 1939, that slightly more than half as
many growers were in the strawberry business in 1943 and the average number
of quarts per grower was somewhat smaller than in 1939. These facts indicate
a shortage of help and to some extent disappointing prices in previous seasons.
It is estimated that the above data includes approximately 1^% of the Falmouth
strav;berry crop. Based on these figures the 1943 Falmouth strav/berry crop
was 35.6;^ below the 1941 crop, and 52,t belov/ the 1939 crop.

The drop in acreage for 1944 is not expected to equal that of the pre-
vious year. Strawberry growers on the whole made good returns on their in-
vestment this year, and despite the labor shortage, every effort has been
made to maintain production up to the 1943 level. In many cases, this is
being done by holding over a greater proportion of the old beds than v/ould
be done normally. Much depends on winter and spring v/eather conditions, but
the crop outlook for 1944 is about the same as for this year. There has been
a gradual increase in the quantity of berries shipped in the 24-quart crate
which is now the most popular package. 84/t v/ere shipped in that type of
container in 1943 and only 42.5,=^ in 1939,

WANTED - BOYSENBERRY INFORI'L^tTION. Many Boysenberry plants have been
sold in New England. A summary of growers' experiences with this new fruit
will be of interest. If you are experimenting with Boysenberries in your
garden or on a commercial scale please jot down on a penny postcard any com-
ments you may have to offer and mail to thj' writer.

That the output of 3,800 typical farms is required to load an average
ship with Lend-Lease foods? The following list of items might constitute such
an output: Eggs laid in one year by 230,000 hens; Fill: production from 6,000
cows for one year; Meat from 5,000 hogs; Lard from 27,000 hogs; 7/heat from
850 acres.

That total fruit production in the U. S. in 1944 will probably be about
11^ smaller than in 1943? Prospects are that only the prune and grape crops
will be larger, by 12 and llfo respectively, while deciduous tree fruits and
grapos are expected to yield about ll/o less than last season. Citrus fruit
prospects are about as favorable as a year ago.

That large amounts of ammonium nitrate fertilizer are likely to be
available for fruit grov/ers during the coming season? This material carries.
about 33;o nitrogen or approximately twice as much as nitrate of soda. It
does not keep well in handling and if stored should be kept cool and dry.
This new fertilizer may be widely used in New England orchards next spring.

That a number of items of farm machinery are no longer being rationed?
An increase in the allocation of steel for farm machinery in 1944 has resulted
in the removal of the following items from the rationing list, beginning Oct-
ober 16: dusters, disc harrows, tractors, moldboard plows, cultipackers, land
rollers, grain binders and threshing machines. All other heavy machinery is
still rationed.

That apple scab infection was so severe in certain unsprayed orchards
this season as to result in almost complete defoliation by early September?
0. C. Boyd and Thomas Sprostoh report commercial losses from apple scab rang-
ing from a trace to 25^^ in sprayed orchards, and 50-lOOj^ in unsprayed orchards.
A few inexperienced grov;ers have attributed the browning of Mcintosh leaves
and later defoliation to spray injury, whereas lack of scab control was large-
ly responsible.

That a total of 194,775 tons of lime, enough to make 3,900 car loads,
is used every year in the United States in connection with agricultural in-
secticides and fungicides? Fungicides make about 2/3 of the total or 125,000
tons, and the insecticides make the remaining 69,775 tons. In apple orchards
where large quantities of sulfur are being used, without lime, the soil is
becoming so acid that the growi^h of ordinary grasses and weeds is greatly re-
duced.

That the attempt to control harmful insects dates back to the early
days of the Roman Empire? Caterpillars on fruit trees could be controlled,
according to Cato, by moistening the tips of the twigs with the gall of a
green lizard. Pliny recommended that the bones of a mare's head be hung on

-4-

poles around the garden to control canker worm. In Pliny's time, all inhabi-
tants in the area v/hich is now the North Africa battle zone, were ordered to
wage war against the locust. People were compelled to hunt the locust eggs
and crush them, or to crush the young and adult stages. Neglect of this duty
was punishable by severe penalties.

That a nation-wide poll places the total number of Victory Gardens in
1943 at 20,000,0002 As a conservative estimate, all Victory Gardens grovm
this year total about 4,000,000 acres and produced 8,000,000 tons of food.
An estimate of 25,000,000 families did some home canning during the summer
and fall) 22,000,000 Victory Gardens, a 10^i$ increase, is expected in 1944.

That the decaying remains of plants exert a very beneficial influence
by facilitating the penetration of rainfall on a sloping area? Careful measure-
ments in Ohio showed that 5=l/2 inches of the total annual rainfall soaked
into the soil in a cultivated field, while 13 inches soaked into a forest soil.
In an orchard, we may approach the conditions of a forest floor by applying a
heavj'- mulch and by improving the cover crop.

That for the seventh consecutive year, American farmers set a new food
production record in 1943? Nevertheless, there is not enough food in total
to satisfy all the demands and there are definite shortages in a number of
our favorite foods. The increases during the past seven years are indicated
by the following percentages: 1937 - lOl^-^j 1938 - 103j^; 1939 - 106^;
1940 - 111^; 1941 - 115;^; 1942 - 126,1; and 1943 - 131/1.

That about 5,000,000 pounds of dynamite are used annually for agricul-
tural purposes? The various uses include ditching, land clearing, drainage,
irrigation, stump blasting, and to a limited extent, fruit tree planting.
Ditching constitutes one of the largest agricultural uses.

That 59 soil series and eight land types have been recognized in Massa-
chusetts. Glacial till soils are most abundant and of these the Gloucester
series is the most extensive, comprising 20.6^'^ of the land area. Glacial
outwash soils are second in expanse and of these the Merrimac is the most
important, occupying 10.4,1 of the total area. A Key to Mass. Soils has re-
cently been prepared by A. B. Beaumont, and is now available for distribution.
If interested, ask for Special Circular No. 64.

That a codling moth infestation is likely to be more severe on trees
adjacent to a packing house where boxes are stored during the winter, or to
a pile of apple wood? In one case where a Massachusetts apple grower cut down
a number of old trees and piled the wood next to tho orchard, the infestation
was so severe on adjacent trees that each apple showed one or more codling moth
blemishes. The infestation was so heavy that the grower removed the entire
crop from these trees during the summer and destroyed it.

That a mulch of straw or other suitable material on a strawberry plant-
ing may increase the yield by at least 50l? The ideal tine for mulching a
strawberry planting is about the time the ground freezes. In most localities
this means early November. If mulched too early there is some tendency to
smother the plant and if mulched too late there is likely to be some crown
injury from low temperatures.

-5-

That detailed information is nov/ available on the freezing of fruits,
vegetables, and meats for home use? A mimeographed publication, Special Cir-
cular No. 1043, can be obtained ft-om your county agricultural agent or from the
State College. At least three new frozen food locker plants have been made
available in Mass. during the past season. In addition quite a number of in-
dividuals have installed lockers for private use.

That complete immunity to ivy poisoning is rare? L. V/. Kephart of
the U.S.D.A. says, "l\'y poismLng is caused by a waxy or gummy substance present
in most parts of the poison ivy plant even after long drying. Direct contact
with this substance is necessary for poisoning to take place, but contact need
not necessarily be with the plant itself, since poisoning may occur by touch-
ing clothing, tools, dogs, horses, or other objects v/hich have been in contact
with poison ivy. Many persons b elieve themselves immune to ivy poisoning, but
complete immunity is rare. Severe poisoning frequently occurs after many years
of freedom from the disease, although the circumstances causing this change
are unknown."

That an excellent series of articles on Rodent Control by Robert M.
Borg is nov/ appearing in the American Fruit Grower? A heavy mouse population,
amounting in one orchard to 94 per acre, threatens severe damage in Mass,
orchards. Now is the time to do something about it. To obtain the recommend-
ed material, zinc phosphide, and directions for its use, consult your county
agricultural agent.

That the term, "ready to bear" fruit trees is a misnomer? Any nursery
advertising such nursery stock is deceiving the prospective buyer by inducing
him to believe that certain nursery trees, usually sold at a high price, will
bear a good crop the first year after planting. Any experienced fruit grower
knows that it takes considerable time for a fruit tree to become established
and that any fruit borne the first or second year is likely to be borne at
the expense of vegetative grovrth. The apple or two borne the first season
is less significant than the bushel or two v/hich it may bear at 8 years of
age.

THE TIl'IE FACTOR IN FRUIT GR07JING

Through the centuries poets and philosophers have stressed the import-
ance of grasping opportunities as they pass instead of lamenting their loss
afterwards. "There is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood,
leads on to fortune - -" . "Strike while the iron is hot." "Tim.e and tide
wait for no man." Nowhere is the truth of this philosophy better illustrated
than in the fruit business. The fruit grov;er cannot do in November what he
should have done in October. A few illustrations may be in order. Mouse bait
must be applied before the mice have turned from a diet of grass to a diet of
bark. If curculio are most active on May 30 it doesn't do much good to apply
a first cover epray on June 2. A hormone spray will be infinitely more effective
if applied a day before the Mcintosh crop shows a heavy drop than a few days —
later. Yife have all seen farmers who get around t o start haying operations in
mid- July while a thrifty neighbor- has his haying completed by July 1. As we
look forward to a busy 1944 we may well keep a calendar and so far as possible
do today those tasks v;hich should not be put off until tomorrow.

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THE F RTTIT SITUATION AS RELATED TO 1944 FOOD PRODUCTION GOALS

At a Food Production Conference held in Amherst October 13 and 14,
attended by representatives of all interested farm agencies and organizations,
Massachusetts goals in each comr.'iodity were carefully considered. The Fruit
Cominittee submitted the following report:

Apple Production in Massachusetts

The apple crop in 1942 amounted to 3,400,000 bushels. In 1943, it
amounted to 2,552,000 bushels while the 1934-1941 average amounted to
2,484,000 bushels. In 1944 we nay reasonably expect a crop somewhat larger
than in 1943 although not as large as the record crop of 1942. The 1944
crop nay total approximately 2 3/4 million bushels. This estimated increase
over 1943 vj-ill be due in part to a larger prospective Mcjntosh crop and to
the fact that next year is the "on year" for the Baldwin variety in many
orchards .

Unlike nost vegetables, and to a certain extent, eggs, apple production
caruiot be greatly increased over a period of a year or two, even under the best
orchard practices. The number of fruit buds vdiich may develop into apples in
1944 was determined several months ago, VJeather conditions at blossoming time
and also the amount of nitrogen available to the tree will be important factors
in the actual set of fruit. The apple grower can, of course, greatly influence
the percentage of apples which develop to maturity since he has at least par-
tial control over insects and diseases. He can also influence the number of
bushels to som.e extent as he increases the size of individual fruits through
fertilization and mulching.

The goal of the Massachusetts apple grower in 1944 will be to produce
maximum yields on present plantings. To do this Vifill not require saving every
tree in the state regardless of age, height or degree of crowding. In many
orchards high production of m.arketable fruit will be greatly favored by re-
moving filler trees. In many cases this will involve cutting out every other
diagonal row. In older orchards where the trees are too tall to be sprayed
and harvested efficiently the tops should be lowered by pruning. Since labor
is such an important item in apple production our orchards should be put in
order. This is an ideal time to lay plans for more efficient spraying and
easier harvesting in 1944,

Weeds of T'assachusett s Fruit Growers

Equipment . Difficulties in controlling apple scab in 1945 err:phasize
the need for both spraying and dusting equipment. Every fruit grower nust of
necessity have a good sprayer. Any grower with 20 acres or more should also
have a good duster. Since dusting can be done with less time than spraying,
and since it provides needed protection at critical tines, dusting should be
considered as a necessary supplement to spraying, particularly in our larger
orchards. We will need 100 percent as many dusters as were delivered in 1940,
We will also need at least 80 percent as m.any sprayers as v/ero delivered in
1940. Sprayer and duster repair parts nust be made available. Growers report
that repair parts were very slow in being delivered last season. A good sup-
ply of all needed parts must bo made available for prompt delivery, including

-7-

scarce metal parts such as stainless steel balls, aliiminum heads for spray-
brooms, etc. T/herever such parts are needed u strong claim should be made
by the interested grower. A considerable quantity of rubber hose will also
bo needed for replacement on our older sprayers. All of these items should
be ordered early. Early placing of orders will undoubtedly influence the
nuraber to be delivered and will also insure having the equipment in v/orking
order at critical times.

Spray and Dust Materials. Supplies of all needed insecticides and
fungicides for 1944 appear to be adequate, although manpower will be a critical
factor in their manufacture. Distribution may be a factor. This emphasizos
the need for fretting orders in early. Standard materials including lead arse-
nate and sulphur are not likely to bo more restricted than in 1943. Not
enough p^rrethrum was available last year for use on cranberry bogs. In view
of this fact, more pyrethrum should be made available in 1944.

Fer-'-.il izers t. If our orchards are to produce to the limit of their
capacity wt- nvx^z have enough nitrogen to maintain ^ood tree Arit^or and to de-
velop the 1944 crop. Certain forms of nitrogen, pr.rticu-arly :u.imoaium nitrate,
will apparently be available in quantity. Arrangements must be m&de to re-
lease enough nitrogenous fertilizers at tne right season to S'Vizlj- our orchard
needs. Fall application of nitrogen is not recommended. Iheru is danger of
winter injury at this latitude from such treatment. Farthe:.- sov;th that danger
does not exist. For this reason our growers must have an adequate supply of
nitrogen for early spring application. Where sufficient nirrcgcn for a broad-
cast application is not available, a ring application is recommended. The
wider use of nitrogen in impoverished orchards will help to attain the fruit
production goal in 1944.

The supply of phosphorus will apparently be ample for orchard needs.
Potash will be scarce, although this will not greatly handicap our growers
since Massachusetts orchards, in general, are well supplied with potash. Most
growers can well afford to release potash supplies for other uses. A liberal
potash application tends to encourage magnesium deficiency. Symptoms of mag-
nesium deficiency are now very prevalent in many orchards. The general use
of high magnesium, or dolomitic limestone, is therefore recommended. Liming
of orchards can best be accomplished through the AAA Program. Dolomitic lime
in bulk shipment, spread by means of an end gate spreader, will constitute a
valuable addition to the orchard fertilizer program. Mulching is also strongly
recommended.

Marketing . No particular problem can be foreseen at present,

Packages. More wooden boxes will be needed in 1944 than in 1943 on
account of the larger prospective Mcintosh crop. Containers made from substi-
tute materials are entirely unsuited for storage use since they do not hold up
under the high humidity conditions existing in a storage. Higli priorities
should be given to v/ooden containers for all fruits including apple boxes,
cranberry boxes, strawberry crates, peach basketc, etc. Delivery of apple
boxes should be made before July 1,

Transportation . Since fruits are highly perishable, and during peak
seasons the fruit grower is dependent upon truck transportation, trucking

-8-

facilitiss must not be reduced in 1944.

Storage. In view of a somewhat larger crop in 1944 more storage space
will be needed than was available during the past two years. To prevent the
waste which occurred in 1942, amounting in some localities to 10;;? of the crop,
adequate storage facilities for the 1944 crop are imperative.

Labor. Fruit growers will benefit greatly by the arrangements now being
worked out wEich will permit experienced workers to transfer to another essen-
tial industry during the off season and later return to the fruit farm when
needed. Labor requirements, except during the harvest season, should present
no more of a problem than in 1943. Harvest labor needs are likely to be greater
in 1944 because of the larger prospective Mcintosh crop. These needs should be
thoroughly surveyed during the summer. Consideration should also be given to
the discovery and training of crew bosses in advance of the harvest season.
Our experience in recruiting and placing harvest labor in 1943 vidll prove val-
uable in 1944 when labor conditions are likely to be more difficult than they
vifere this season. J4any growers have expressed their appreciation of the ef-
forts of Labor Coordinators, Extension Service workers, newspapers, etc. in
helping to solve the harvest labor problem.

Ladders and Picking Baskets. These items were scarce in some locali-
ties in 1943 and plentiful in others. In order to accommodate larger numbers
of pickers on weekends and other ruch periods fruit growers must provide them-
selves with extra ladders and containers. Early orders and wider distribution
of these items will facilitate the 1944 harvest.

Credit. Present farm credit facilities are adequate.

Price Su pports and Ceilings. In vie^v of the fact that present ceiling
prices are established at levels lower than those at which apples were moving
freely, support prices not far below the present ceilings are recommended. A
satisfactory price will provide an effective incentive for maximum production
in 1944.

CEILING PRICES ON FRESH APPLES

Following is an abstract of a statement on this subject, prepared by
Ellsv/orth W. Bell:

Ceiling prices on sales of fresh apples have been established by Amend-
ment 9 to WR 426, effdctive October 7, 1943. This order covers any and all
apples for TABLE USE except the Lady variety and crabapples. Apples for pro-
cessing are not covered by this order and, in the opinion of the Regional Office
of the OPA, establishes one price for table apples of all kinds, varieties and
packs, whether loose-packed, wrapped in individual wrappers, gift wrapped, or
in any other form.

For apples sold by growers and delivered to retailers, insitutional
users such as hotels, restaurants, schools, etc., government procurement agen-
cies and other persons, except to ultimate consumers and intermediate sellers,
the prices in Table 1 will apply for less than carlot sale (L.C.L.)* and less

than trucklot sale (L.T.L.)* For such sales by growers, delivered to inter-
mediate sellers (persons who buy for resale to retailers, institutional users
and other persons except ultimate consumers), the prices in Table 2 will apply.

For sales of carlot (C.L.)* or trucklot (T.L.)* quantities of apples
produced in and sold in New England, delivered at any terminal market or whole-
sale receiving point (except C.L. or T.L. shipments by C.L. distributors or
brokers), the prices in Table 1 and 2 less 1^ per pound shall apply, depend-
ing upon the type of receiver. For example, the grower's ceiling price will
be figured as follows:

(1) Growers making C.L. or T«L. sales, delivered to a retailer, uses
Table 1 price schedules less 1^ per pound. In other words, under Table 1, a
C.L. or T.L. sale of 40-pound containers v;ill be 40/ lower than the $2,85
price quoted for similar containers in October.

(2) Growers making L.C.L. or L.T.L. sales, delivered to a retailer,
uses the ceiling prices indicated in Table 1,

(3) Growers making C.L. ©r T.L. sales, delivered to an intermediate
seller, uses prices indicated in Table 2, less 1/ per pound.

(4) A grower making L.C.L. or L.T.L. sales, delivered to an inter-
mediate seller, uses the prices indicated in Table 2.

For a grower making a C.L. or T.L. sale not delivered at any terminal
market or wholesale receiving point, for example at his farm, there appear
to be no pricing provisions in the language of this order. The price ceilings
prevailing in this type of selling (f.o.b. farm), is being worked out and an-
nouncements will b e made later.

For sales by growers to the ultimate consumer, the schedule of prices
in Table 3 will apply. These prices apply to Zone 1 which covers all of the
North Atlantic states, all of the East-North-Central states, with the exception
of certain counties in Michigan and Wisconsin, and all of the South Atlantic
states with the exception of Georgia and Florida. These ceiling prices cover
all types of sales by growers, made by parcel post or express, as covered in
the footnote under Table 3,

* A carlot sale (C.L.) or a trucklot sale (T.L.) means a quantity of fresh
apples transported in one car or truck or other conveyance at one time
out of which 75% or more by weight is sold to one person. The sale of
the remaining quantity to another person may be considered a less than
carlot sale (L.C.L. ) "or less than trucklot sale (L.T.L. ). For example,
if a truckload of 100 bushels of apples is sold to one person, the sale
would be considered a trucklot and v/ould take the ceiling price for such
a quantity. If 80 bushels were sold to one person and 20 bushels to an-
other person, 80 bushels would be considered a trucklot sale and the re-
maining 20 bushels would be considered a less than trucklot sale. On
the other hand, if 70 bushels or less than 75^ were sold to one person,
and the remaining 30 bushels to another person, the entire load, accord-
ing to the order would be a less than trucklot sale. A 75% figure would
apply to any quantity of apples sold, whether 50 bushels or 500 bushels,
if transported in one car or truck.

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F->.r-i-.I^TT TT '' T T

November 23, 1943

Prepared by the Fruit Projjram Committee
of the Extension Service

17. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

Good Advice on Apple ;iark:eting

/inter Injury to Grape Vines
Do You Know?
Ilovie Films Available at il.S.C.

eport on the Boysenberry
Correcting Magnesium Deficiency
Questions and Answers on Apple Price Ceilings

GO OD ADVICE ON APPLE I-IARKETIN G

The follov^ing statement comes from John Chandler, Sterling apple grower
and Executive Secretary of the National Apple Institutes "At the risk of being
called visionary, your Secretary vdshes to make a suggestions which he believes
will prove practical in the long run.

The combination of a very short apple crop, a greatly accelerated demand,
and the preclusion by the apple price ceilings of realizing higher prices for
fine packs is tending to discourage careful grading and packing. At the same
time, the definite and substantial periodic mark-ups in the ceiling regulations
are tempting growers to v;ithhold their apples until the last possible moment.
Unfortunately both of these practices are working against the years of work which
all of us have put into building a greater demand for apples. If there are per-
iods during which the housewife cannot buy apples at all, and if, v;hen she can
get them, they are not of the quality, size or condition she wants, her thoughts
will turn to other foods and v/e will have crossed a good customer from our list.
By the sai.ie token, the store manager, the distributor and all those who depend
on regular supplies of apples will lose their interest in our product in some
degree.

Would it not be better if v/e all undertake to supply our usual trade
with a normal supply of properly packed apples? This ivill mean some financial
sacrifice. Yes. But let us remember that we are experiencing an extraordinary
year, in v;hich most of us can earn a fair profit, even if v;e pack and sell in the

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of Hay 8 and June 30,
1914, Vi/illard A. Ilunson, director, Ilassachusetts State College, United States
Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

-2-

nornal way, and particularly let us remember that other years are coning, years
of large yields when, regardless of ceilings and mark-ups, none but the best v;ill
command the naximuni price and when vj-e will be obliged to sell when the market can
absorb our apples regardless of mark-ups. Then we will need our outlets, our cus-
tomers and their good will. VHiat was that parable about the goose that laid the
golden egg?"

V;iIlTER INJURY TO GRAPE VINES

That grape varieties differ widely in their relative susceptibility to
severe winter tempera tures is shown by the results of an examination of the Col-
lege vineyard last spring combined with a study of yields this fall.

During the winter of 1942-43 there were two periods in Amherst whenihe
minimum temperature was abnormally low. The first of these periods came on Dec-
ember 20 and 21 when the minimum temperature on both dates vms 15 degrees below
zero. The second period came on February 15 and 16 Virhen the minimum temperature
was 19 below and 23 below, respectively. Vihile some injury may have occurred in
December, the greater portion of it probably occurred in February, From the fol-
lowing observations on the relative amount of injury it will be noted that Concord,
¥/orden and Fredonia withstood the lovj temperatures remarkably v/ell.

Agawam - Practically dead,

Athens - Vine 50/o injured,

Brighton - Vine 505;o injured; also remaining blossom buds injured,

Brockton -Canes all injured; trunk O.K,

Bronx - Trunk dead,

Buffalo - On one vine, 25^j of canes injured; on other vine, trunk dead.

Catawba - 75Jo injured.

Concord -,- Practically no injury.

Davenport Seedling (blue) - Blossom buds SO^o killed,

Davenport Seedling (green) - 25^o of vine injured.

Delffl'mre - 75^' of buds injured. Practically no injury to vines.

Dunkirk - 10^ of vine injured.

Eden - Trunk dead.

Fredonia - lO^i injured,

Hanover - Trunk dead.

Hector - One trunk dead; other vine, 25^o of canes injured.

lona and Keuka - Trunks dead.

Lindley - eo^'c of vine injured.

M«rrimac - 50^0 of vine injured.

Muscat Hamburg - 85',^ of vine injured (other pure Viniferas -

trunks dead).
Niagara - 90^^ of buds injured; practically no injury to vines.
Ontario - IQj' of canes injured.
Ruby - Trunk dead within one foot of ground,
Salem - 50jo of vine injured,
Seneca and Urbana - Trunks dead,
Vlayne - 60^0 of vine injured.
TiTilder - 50^; of vine injured,
y/orden - Practica lly no injury.

Yates - One trunk killed nearly to ground; trunk of other vine O.K.
but some cane injury.

— -rO. C. Roberts

-3-

W c>Z)<^ ^o-u. /\ ruTW ;

That the nunher of jars of fruits and vegetables preserved in Massachu-
setts last season is estimated at 61,00C',000? The total value is about ^9,764,000
or 900,000,000 ration points.

That peach and apricot pits may be transformed into charcoal which is
very satisfactory for use in gas masks? Extensive tests of this material have
recently been i.iade in Oregon.

That the Delicious apple is probably the most important variety in the
United States? This variety occupies more acres than any otlier and is more v;ide-
ly distributed. Its comi-ianding position is due in part to high quality and to
the publicity it has received.

That the total business of the 900 fruit and vegetable cooperatives in
the United States last year amounted to 325,000,000 dollars? This year's total
tonnage, packed largely for military and lend-lease purposes, will be much larger.

That the yield of pecans from wild or seedling trees in the United States
exceeds that from trees of improved varieties? iiore than 56,000,000 pounds of
pecans were harvested from the v/ild or seedling trees last year while less than
48,000,.000 pounds vj^ere harvested from trees of improved varieties.

That approximately 2,000,000 bushels of Fancy or higher grade apples in
Vfashington and Oregon have been ordered set aside by the \'iFA to meet the require-
ments of the armed Services for fresh apples? The regulations require all per-
sons who own (on or after November 6) 500 bushels or more of apples grown and
located in either of the tv.'o states, which meet the respective state standards
for Fancy or higher grades, to set aside 15 percent of each variety of these
apples for purchase by the armed services or any other governmental agency spec-
ified in the order.

That British scientists i/orking on the fruits of the Rugosa Rose, which
is used in that country as a hedge plant, have found it to be even higher in
Vitamin C than oranges? As a result they are using it to make marraalades and
vitamin concentrates to fortify the lack of these elements in wartime diets*

A. Li. Davis

That the Plov?eringquince, sometimes called Mexican Firebush, and more
conimonly referred to as Cydonia japonica (now correctly Chaenomeles japonica) ,
produces occasional fruits which are not altogether satisfactory for flavoring,
but will make a good jelly? A mixture of the fruits of the Japanese 'quince,
sOjCalled, and either our native apples or some other fruit such as some of the
flowering crabapple fruits, produces a d elicately flavored and delightfully
colored jelly. __.;^. h. pavis

-4-

MOVIE FIUIS AVAIIJiBI£_ATJ4^^SACJ2JSmS_^Sm^

Ilovie films on a wide variety of subjects may be obtained through
E. S. Carpenter, Secretary of the Extension Service, J.S.C, Amlierst, Mass.,
for showing to interested groups anyvfhere in Massachusetts. These films are
both educational and entertaining. Any group interested in the loan of one
of these films may communicate directly with Ilr. Carpenter, Following are
brief outlines covering two films which have recently been deposited at the
State College for general distribution:

Guardians of Plenty - colored - sound - 1 reel - 800 feet. This film is
"Foth entertalmTng and informative for any audience, but especially for any-
one interested in growing gardens or any conanercial crop where pest control
is involved. It shows what goes on in an up-to-date research laboratory
during the development and critical testing of new fungicides and insecti-
cides as v;ell as the demonstration of the effectiveness of old, standard
materials. The close-up color views of such pests as the house fly, the
fruit codling moth, aphids, Japanese beetle, are interesting and even fas-
cinating in most instances. It demonstrates very convincingly how important
is a spreader or sticker when added to an arsenical spray for codling moth
control. It leaves no question in the mind of the audience regarding the
scientific training and experience, as well as the technical, accurate equip-
ment that are back of the discovery and testing of fungicides and insecti-
cides that are eventually placed on the market for us'e in pest control.
Available December 1, 1945 to June 30, 1944, Ilade by Du Pont,

Soldie rs of the Soil - black and v;hite - sound - 1 reel - 1350 feet - running
time 4~d"miiiuteV.~ Put out by Du Pont but advertising not objectionable. A
drajTiatic movie illustrating the importance of agricultural production in the
war effort. The story is built around a young man v/ho is on the home farm
with his father and a brother who has lost his eyesight in the war returns.
The young farr.ier decides to enlist in the ilarines because he feels he is not
doing his part to help win the war. The blind young uan speaks at the Sunday
service in the Village Church not on his experiences in the war, but on the
importance of maintaining agricultural production on the home front. The
deferred brother finally decides to stay at home and maintain production.
Hade by Agricultural Extension Division of Du Pont,

REPORT ON THE BOYSENBErJRY

Two replies have been received in response to our request for information
about the boysenberry, in October Fruit Notes. Report No. 1 (from New Hampshire):
"V/'e have had boysenberries for several years, and under our conditions have found
that practically all the canes winter-kill every year. The only ones that live
through are those which are naturally covered by leaves or rubbish, which sometimes
happens because they lie so close to the^ound, T/.e think that they are a terrible
nuisance to take care of, and the production on the canes that live through the
winter has not been overabundant. Taken all in all, I consider they have no com-
mercial value and very little value even as a hoiae fruit. They should be classed
a^ a novelty. This applies equally to Nectarberry, Thornless Boysenberry, and
Thornless Youngberry, Of the whole lot, Boysenberry is probably the best,"

Report No. 2, "My attempt v/interkilled. Berry when ripe is like a
skin full of water. Color bronze, yield light, but flavor fairly good. It may
be different elsewhere and have some home garden possibilities,"

•5-

CO RRECTIilG l I AGHESIUII DEFICIENC Y

The use of magnesium sulfate spray applications on magnesium deficient
apple trees at Hassachusetts State Collelge this past season has shown that this
method may be a practical and effective treatment. Four special sprays v;ere
applied to young trees in an orchard showing considerable foliage scorch and
leaf fall in 1941 and 1942. Applications were made at approximately pink,
calyx, first and second cover. The sprays contained 16 pounds of Epson salts
per 100 gallons of water and were applied as special applications. Incident-
ally, it is probably safe (although we have no definite data) to add the Epsom
salts to the regular spray mixture thus largely eliminating any extra applica-
tion cost for the magnesium. Compared with the check or unsprayed trees, those
sprayed showed much less foliage scorch this fall. Of the 146 sprayed trees,
65% shov/ed no deficiency symptoms, compared to only 20yo for the sane nuinber of
unsprayed trees. Beneficial effects of magnesium spray applications have also
been reported from New York and llaine.

Soil applications of magnesium canpounds have likewise showii promising
results at Axiherst. Both Seawater liagnesia and Epsom salts applied at the rate
of 5 pounds per small tree in the fall of 1942 were beneficial in reducing
scorch prevalence and severity in 1943, These results are not in line v/ith
experience elsev^here, where benefits have not been apparent for some years fol-
lowing soil treatments. However, the trees at Amherst are young (just beginning
to fruit) and are growing under a heavy mulch system of culture. It is probable
that both of these factors have a favorable influence on the intake of magnesium
from compounds applied to the soil. Tests in an older orchard gave nt indica-
tion of benefit from the soil applications.

In orchards showing serious magnesium deficiency, the application of
magnesium in sprays seems to be a logical procedure. For instance, v/ith trees
requiring 20 gallons of spray for adequate coverage, 12.8 pounds of Epsom salts
would be provided per tree in the 4 applications described above. Thus, in
addition to the imraediat-? corrective effect of a foliage application, the amount
of magnesium applied (and most of it gets to the ground sooner or later) is equal
to or even greater than that in the suggested soil treatment.

Further experimental work is planned, but in the meantime growers should
be doing something to correct serious magnesium deficiency conditions. V/here
soils are very acid (and many orchard soils are), magnesium limestone should be
applied and vrorked in, if possible.

Lawrence Southvirick

WANTED - APPLES OF OID VARIETIES. An exhibit of apple varieties which
were common 50 years ago will be staged at the 50th Anniversary of the ^i.f.G.A.
to be celebrated at Horticultural Hall in Worcester, January 5 and 6. if vou
have a dozen specimens of one or more interesting old varieties available for
tnis exhibit, please comunicate with S. Lothrop Davenport, chairman of the ex-
hibit comr.uttee. North Grafton, Mass. Among the varieties needed are these:
Hubbardston, Porter, Blue Pearmain. Mother. Black Gilliflower, Ben Davis, etc.

-6-

(^UESTIONS AIID AIlfflTCRS ON APPLE PRICE CEILINGS

The following (Questions and Answers were released October 29 by the
Office of Price Administration for the guidance of the trade in pricing apples
sold for horae consumption under Anendinent No. 9 to Uaxiiauri Price Regulation
No. 426 (Fresh Fruits and Vegetables for Table Use, Except at Retail) v/hich
went into effect early in October. (Key words in each «^uestion are underscore d. )

1. Q. To what point does the first ceiling on shipments of apples apply v;ithin

a state?
A. The first ceiling which applies to intra-state shipments is the carlot
or less-than-carlot ceiling price in any terminal market or other v>rhole-
sale receiving point.

2. Q. Is it perr.iissible to price loose apples by the bushel or packed by the box?
A. No. Apples must be sold on a minimum "net weight basis. Under some cir-
cumstances, apples may be sold by the bushel or in any other container,
loose or packed, if the minimum net v/eight of the fruit is marked on the
container, and the price charged is not more than the applicable ceiling
price for that weight.

3. Q. Suppose a grower sells a trucklot of apples to a retailer making delivery

in his ovm truck, would he then be entitled to the maximum price for
sales to retailers?
A. No. He is entitled to the maximuiii trucklot price for sales to retailers
which is the same price as the maximum trucklot price to any other kind
of purchaser. There is a carlot or trucklot ceiling price for every
market, which is always the same price within the particular market for
sales to any kind of purchaser.

4. Q. Under what circumstances can a grov>rer or shipper perform the functions

of an interTiiediat e sell er and obtain the allov;ances therefor?
A. The only circumstances under which a grower or shipper may obtain part
or all of the intermediate seller's markup occur when he sells less-
than-carlot or less-than-trucklot quantities delivered to a retailer
or to an intermediate seller.

5. Q. If a person buys from three or four different grov/ers and makes up car-

lots, is he entitled to the carlo t distribution markup?
A. No, In order to qualify as a carlot distributor a person must buy un-
broken carlots and resell unbroken carlots.

6. Q. If a grower consigns apples to a cormnission merchant who sells in less-

than-carlots to retailers is the grower entitled to the proceeds after
deducting transportation charges and coinmission?
A. Yes, but the grower selling through a commission merchant establishes his
ceiling price by taking the carlot delivered price in the market or other
wholesaler receiving point plus the usual commission of the commission
merchant. The ceiling price is not permitted to exceed the applicable
less-than-carlot price to retailers or to wholesalers. If a commission
merchant sells in carlots, the price is the carlot market ceiling price.

7. (^. If a grovifer sells a half-car of apples through a broker to each of tv/o

wholesalers or jobbers, what ceiling price applies?
A. The ceiling price is the less-than-oarload" ceiling price for sales to
intermediate sellers.

-7-

8. Q. Is it permissible for the grower to add a brokerage charge to the f.o.b.

ceiling price, when making an f.o.b. shipping point salet
A. No, Brokerage may only be added when a carlot is sold delivered by a
broker in the terminal market or other v;holesale receiving point,

9. Q. ilay a shipper or grower qualify as a carlot distributor ?

A. No. Original shippers are specifically excluded from taking a carlot
distributor's markup.

10. Q,. Hay a chain store share with the original shipper in any of its markup

out of the consumer retail price?

A. No.

11. (ci. Vrnat is the maxiraun price a grovrer or grower's sales agent can quote to

a chain store organization?
A. If the gro\;er or his agent is selling f.o.b. shipping point in one of the
states listed, Idalio, Nev; York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Vfashington
and \rest Virginia, the grower's ceiling is the f.o.b. price listed. If
the grower or his agent is selling carlots delivered in the market, the
ceiling is the applicable less-than-carlot ceiling price to retailers less
one cent per pound. If the grower is located in a state having f.o.b.
ceilings, the ceiling for a delivered carlot sale is the f.o.b. price plus
freight to the market or other wholesale receiving point. If the grov;er
or his agent is selling less-than-carlot to an intermediate seller, de-
livered in the market, his ceiling price is the applicable less-than-car-
lot price. If the grovrer is selling less-than-carlot to a chain retailer,
delivered to the premises from v/hich the retailer resells to consuiaers,
the price is the less-than-carlot ceiling price for sales to retailers.

12. Q, Can a grov;er legally make an additional charge for boxes or other con-

tainers?
A. No, nor may a seller accept any deposit for any reason, whether he is
trading in containers or lending the money to the buyer.

13. Q. IThat price ceiling applies for sales to the Anay or Navy?

A. If the sale to the Armj^ or Navy is in carlots or truckl'ots , the ceiling
price is the same as the carlot or trucklot ceiling price to any other
carlot or trucklot buyer. If the sale to the Army or Navy is in less-thar>-
carlot or less-than-trucklot quantities, the ceiling price is the applica-
ble less-than-carlot or less-than-trucklot price for sales to retailers.

14. Q. Is a seller permitted to "roll a car unsold " in October for a market

arrival and sa le in November? ~
A. Yes. If delivery (see question and answer 36) is made in November the
November ceiling price applies.

15. Q. Are freight subsidies a part of the apple price ceiling program?

A. Yes. Freight subsidTes on v>restern apples sliipped into eastern zones
have been undertaken by the 17ar Food Administration.

16. Q. May the agent of a seller in his terminal market selling through an

auction return to the grower any amount of excess of tiie commission
or charge of the agent?
A. There is a specific ceiling price for sales at auction. The seller may
receive the proceeds of the auction sale less all auction charges, less
the agent's usual commission and less any other charges.

^8-

17. (^. Do the inaxinuin prices to retailers and interm ediate sellers apply on

apples t^rovm and shipped from llichii^an or o^fTer states not covered by

f.o.b, ceilings?
A. Yes,

18. Ci. Do the maximum prices covering sales in an auction market apply to pur-i

chases by an ultimate consuiaer in an auction market?
A. Yea.

19. Q. Is there any allovmnce made for grower ♦S sales agents ?

A. Growers' sales agents obtain their maximum 'prices if they are making
• sales f.o.b, shipping point,

20. Q, Can a subsidiary of a chain organiaation purchasing unbroken carlots

legally add the carlot ^STsTribution raarlcup when reselling unbroken cars?
A. Yes, '

21. q. Has any consideration been giv^n to price differentials for grades and

varieties of applee to b« nvado by regional or" district' offices of the

OPAf
A. The regional and district offices of the OPA have the authority to es-
tablish community ceiling prioes at the wholesale and retail levels,
but ar.iendiaent 9 was not intended to provide a basis for the making of
varietal and size differentials.

22. (^. In cases virhere it lias been the custom to add cartage for out- o f-tovm

deliveries to retailers or institutions, is it pen.iissible to add such
chafijes to the maximum prices?
A, No. The uniform zone prices established in araendir.ent 9 include nonnal
delivery charges to the place where the retailer or institutional buyer
is located. However, consideration is being given to provide higher
less-than-carlot prices for delivery to retailers or institutions lo-
cated substantial distances from primary receiving points where carlots
or trucklots can be received,

23. (^. Define a commission merchant .

A, A commission merchant is an agent of a grower or shipper, located in
the terminal market or other wholesale receiving point, v/ho sells in
less-than-carlot or less-than-trucklot quantities to wholesalers, i^-
tailers or institutions, who usually sells through a store and extends
credit and who remits to the grower or shipper the net proceeds of a
sale deducting therefrom his commission and all other applicable charges,

24. Q. A grower takes a trucklot of apples to Cumberland, Maryland, and sells

in 1 e_s s -than -truckl ot quantities to retai lers. Does he determine hia
maximum price by reference to the"Table covering sales to retailers?
A. Yes.

25. (^. A grower does not have time to go to Cumberland, Maryland and visit each

store to make sales, but he is in a position to sell in lol quantities
by phone to the retailers. He loads hia truck and sends it to a central
point where the apples are picked up by the buyers. He finds that sales
of this kind are considered pool trucks, V/hy is there a difference in
the ceiling price for this method of sale as co mpar ed to I'e s's -'than^oarl ot
sales to retailers? ""^ — — — -

-9-

A. Because the expenses involved in making this kind of a sale are consid^
erably less than if the grower himself performs the function of selling
delivered to the premises of the retailer. If the grcwer after having
taken his phone orders, delivers individually to each retail buyer he
takes the less-than-carlot price to retailers.

26, Q. Does a grower or shipper have the option of selling deli^rM^d to a mar-

ket or f .o.b. shipping point in order to FEtain the highest possible
legaT'return?
A. Yes, but the grower or shipper will not obtain a higher return on any
but an intra-state shipment (see question and ansv/er 34),

27. Q. In selling to truckers who come into the producer's area covered by the

f , o'7BT'ceTlTng''Y"-"ceT"i s the grower allowed to sell at a price higher
than the net f,o.b, ceiling price?

A. No.

2a. Q. In selling the consuiiier a fev.^ baskets of apples, may the grov/er take
the~ceil'ings on sales to consumers or does he have to make physical
delivery?
A. Delivery is not necessary. The grower in this case takes the ceiling
for sales to consmaers.

29. <^, If a shipper sells direct to a jobber is the shipper entitled to the

broke~age""or carlot distributor' 'al 'l'o wance ?
A. !!o.

30. Q. l/here a shipment is made from a point within a state covered by f .o.b.

ceilings to another point v;ithin the same state, but crosse» another
state's lines en route, is such sale an intra-state tale and -therefore
not subject to the f,o.b, ceiling price?
A, Such a sale is an intra-state sale since the point of ultimate delivery
controls the price to be charged,

31. Q. Suppose a seller does not v;ish to weigh each box. May he take a repre-

sentative sample? '~^

A. Any sampling runs the risk that the boxes will weigh less than the l«gal
minimum v/eight. If a seller "guesses wrong" as to the weight, he is in
*criolation,

32. Q, liay a carlot distribut or invoicing buyers include brokerage providing

brokerage is paid by the carlot distributor?
A» Wo. The maximum price for sales by carlot distributors is the price
set forth in paragraph (c) (2) of amendment 9 and no further addition
may be made. In any one transaction, both the carlot distributor's
markup and brokerage charge cannot be taken. These allovmnces are
mutually exclusive.

33. I). IThat is the ceiling price for export sales of apples?

A. Export sales of apples may' be made at prices which are composed of the
domestic ceiling prices per pound, plus certain premiums for packing,
^lus freight. The Second Revised Export Price Regulation covers export
sales of all commodities covered by domestic ceiling price regulations.

-10-

34, Q,. \Then the terminal narket price is greater than the f.o.b. shipping

point price"'pTus' fre'it^ht, 'protective services and other charges from
the states having f.o.b. ceilings, does the higher terminal market
price become the maximiun price?
II. The delivered price in carlots or trucklots for any interstate ship-
ments of apples from any one of the states having f.o.b. ceilings, is
the fjo.b. ceiling price plus freight to tlie market or other whole-
sale receiving point. The carlot delivered price computed by sub-
tracting 1 cent per pound from the less-than-carlot or less-thai:i-
trucklot price to retailers applies only to intra-state shipments
in sta tes having f.o.b. ceilings and to both inter-state and intra-
state shipments of apples from states having no f.Ocb. ceilings.

55, Q,. A carlot or trucklot of apples is placed in te rminal cold storage by
a grower under an arrangement that delivery to a retailer is to be
made from time to time in less-than-carlot quantities, with the grower
paying .cartage to the retail store, Would the maxii-ium price to re-
tailers for the appropriate month and zone be the ceiling price for
such transactions?
A. Yes, provided that sales of this type are made to retailers in less-
than-carlot quantities.

36. Q. IVhat constitutes "delivery" for the purposes of establishing a maximum

price?
A. There are four tests to be applied for the purposes of determining
wlien title passes to the buyer and delivery has taken place.
(l) If at any time delivery has been made to a carrier not owned or
controlled by the seller, "delivery" has taken place^ (2) If at any
time actual physical delivery has been made to the buyer, "delivery"
has taken placer (3) If at any time the particular lot being sold
has been car marked or citBnpletely segregated for the account of the
buyer, "delivery" has taken place.' (4) If at any time there has been
legal agreement between the buyer and the seller to the effect tliat
title shall pass to the buyer upon actual physical receipt of the
goods, then delivery takes place v:hen the buyer physically receives
the goods. In other v/ords on a "delivered sale" if the buj-'er and the
seller agree that title shall remain in the seller until such buyer
physically receives the goods, "delivery" has not taken place until
the buyer actually receives the goods.

37. Q,. Can a shipper, cooperative or grovrer's sales agent offer less-than-

carlot q uantities of apples through brokers at auction?
A. Such' sellers may legally sell" at auction. 'The ceiling price is the
same as the ceiling price for sales to intermediate sellers. Auction
fees and brokerage must come out of (not be added to) the ceiling
price for less-than-carlot sales to intermediate sellers,

38. Q. If decay exists in a package of apples, may the fruit be invoiced at

the v.'eight markeH~on tlie package, or must an allowance be made on the
invoice covering the amount of decay?
A. The apples in this package must be sold on the basis of their pf^r

pound ceiling price, derived from the net iveight marked on the pack-
age, without regard to the condition or quality of the fruit,

GFG 11/23/43

10 43

December 30, 1943

Prepared by the Fruit Program Committee
of the Extension Service

W. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

To Plant or Not to plant Peach Trees.

ontrol of Peach Tree Borers.

anger in Heavj'- Early "/inter Pruning.
List of Subjects Discussed in Fruit Notes durin[; 1943,
Do You Knoiv.

Spray Materials for 1944 Ilust be Ordered and Stocked Early.
^Pomological Paragraphs -
-T^Absorption of Nitrogen Through Apple Leaves.
/ Potash and T'agnesium Deficiencies,
( Potash Content of Apple Leaves.
\ Some Effects of Mulching,

^Sectional Meeting of A.S.H.S.

TO PLANT OR NOT TO PLANT PEACHES

This past season peaches were a "golden harvest," Six to nine
dollars a bushel makes a few acres of peaches look like a gold mine. But
looks can be deceiving. So if you're planning to plant peaches, let's con-
sider a few facts and what they mean.

The 1941 crop was 57% below the 1942 crop and 24^ below the ten
year (1932-41) average. With the exception of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and
New Jersey, which had fair crops, the crop in the eastern half of the United

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of May 8 and June 30,
1914, Willard A. Munson, Director, Massachusetts State College, United States
Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

-2-

States was very short. The New Ent;land crop was a total failure. It is
unusual for so nanyof the eatern peach sections to have crop failures in the
same year.

According to the 1940 United States Census, there were in the
United States in 1939 47.1 million peach trees of bearing age and 21,7 mil-
lion not of bearin;;; age. Assuming that l/3 as many trees not of bearing age
as those of bearing age are required for normal replacements, there is an
excess of 6 million young trees. In another 4 or 5 years, these should be
at the peak of their production. This indicates a considerable increase in
peach production with its consequent influence on price just as trees planted .
in 1944 are coming into bearing.

Therefore, prices in 1943 were far above normal because of un-
usual circumstances. Normal prices will tend to decline due to increased
production of young trees already planted and coming into bearing.

However, the picture for the commercial grower in Massachusetts
is good if he uses his knov/ledge and skill to best advantages The number
of peach trees in Massachusetts, both bearing and nonbearing, is the lowest
in many years. Locally grown peaches have always found a ready market at
satisfactory prices » However, six or seven dollars a bushel cannot be ex-
pected from locally grown peaches if the national crop is large-,

On the other hand, the novice better follow the time honored
advice to "make haste slowly," Just consider a few of the difficulties'

1. The orchard site is very important. Massachusetts is on about the north-
ern limit of peach growing. Unless the peach orchard is vrell situated,
frequent v/interkilling of buds v/ill make tlie orchard unprofitable, and
killing of the trees may ruin it. All too frequently crops are lost
even in favorably situated orchards.

2. Variety selection is important, A beautiful picture and glowing v/ords
guarantee nothing,

3. Among the insects and diseases to be controlled are the following ser-
ious one SI

a. The oriental fruit moth, which is the chief cause of wormy
peaches, has been in Massachusetts for many years. No ade-
quate control has been vrorked out for tliis pest.

b. The peach tree borer is a serious pest. A single borer can
ruin a young tree before it reaches bearing age,

&• The yellow-red virosis (X-disease) has come into Massachu-
setts recently. This virus disease can be controlled by elim-
inating all chokecherries in the vicinity of the peach orchard,
but this is no small job.

d. The plum curculio, vfhich also makes peaches wormy, is some-
times controlled with arsenate of lead. However, peaches
are very susceptible to injury by the arsenic in this material.

4. Peach orchards, except very small ones, require mechanical equipment for
their care. Under war conditions this equipment is high priced and hard
to get.

5. It costs money to bring an orchard into bearing, A crop failure or two
at the wrong time may turn that gold mine into a millstone.

-3-

The experienced peach grower knows where to locate his orchard
as regards site and soil. He knows varieties and what to look for in a new
one. He has the equipment and knows how to use it. But most important of
all, he has the "know how" for growrLg and handling peaches. The novice who
has all tliis to learn had better "stop, look, and listen" to make sure that
he gets onto the train and not onto the track.

— J. S. Bailey

CONTROL OF PEACH TREE BORERS

Dr. Oliver I. Snapp, the originator of the eythylene dichloride
treatment for the control of peach tree borers, has been looking for some-
thing more safe and equally effective. He reported recently that propylene
dichloride, even when l/4 to l/3 less is used, is as effective as ethylene
dichloride and much safer. However, his experiments have not progressed to
the point where he is recommending propylene dichloride for general use.

— J. S. Bailey
DAHGER IN HEAVY EARLY 17INTER PRUNING

An apple grower told at a recent meeting that he had started to
do a very drastic job of lowering the trees in an excessively tall orchard.
Some of the trees had been slashed back to about half their former height,
TJ'ords of caution from others at the meeting about heavy pruning before mid-
vanter will probably set him thinking. The following is quoted from the
October issue of "Food for Victory with King Apple," (University of Illinois)}

"Experience in Illinois indicates that fall and v/inter pruning of apple and
peach trees may result in serious tree-killing v;hen the pruning is followed
by sub-z«ro temperatures. During the v/inter of 1935-36 a 30-acre block of
peach trees pruned from December to February was killed to the ground by a
Feburary sub-zero cold wave. The rest of the orchard, which was unpruned,
was killed back to a height of about six feet. Durin.^ the severe v/inter of
1929-30 a block of '.wealthy and Duchess trees in the University orchard at
Urbana, which had been pruned before the cold v/ave, was so heavily damaged
that more than half the trees eventually died. The heavier the pruning, the
greater is the hazard. Pruning wounds heal better when cuts are made in
the spring. If it becomes necessary to prune during the winter because of
labor shortage, it is suggested that stubs about a foot long be left on all
cuts more than 2 inches in diameter. These stubs may thon be cut off in
early spring v/hen the danger of sub-zero temperature is past. This will en-
able the bremch to be taken out of the orchard during the winter."

Similar observations v/ere made in Massachusetts after the severe
winter of 1935-34. There is apparently much less danger from fall and early
winter removal of weak, drooping branches or parts of branches, than from
heavy cutting of vigorous branches.

In a recent release to Connecticut growers under the heading,
"Tall Trees are Expensive," H, A. Rollins says, "If you cannot reach the tops
of your a^jple trees with a 20-foot ladder it is time to lower the tops by
pruning, so that you can spray, thin and pick the apples more easily next year.

-4-

Growers are finding it very expensive t ) produce apples on the tall trees
and almost impossible to get them picked with inexperienced labor. Some
growers, in recent years, have lowered the tops of their tall trees by
rather drastic pruning. Others are planning to do something about it this
winter. To avoid v/inter injury, large cuts should be made in late T//inter
after the danger of extremely low temperatures has passed. Unless cuts are
made so that the main limbs will be partially shaded, sunscald on the tops
of the branches may cause serious injury. If the tops are pruned heavily,
the rest of the tree should have only a light pruning. Plan your pruning
program navi before you forget how difficult it was to pick those apples
from tall trees."

LIST OF SUBJECTS DISCUSSED IN FRUIT NOTES DURING 1945 - Page No . in ()

Apple Insects, May (1) June (2) Sept. (5) (6)

Apple Scab May (2)

Bees Feb. (8) Mar. (4) June (5)

Boysenberries Nov. (4)

Containers Feb. (8) Mar. (6) (7) (8) Apr, (6) June (4)

Contour Planting Feb, (5)

Cost of Production Mar. (4)

Do You ?Cnow Jan. (5) Feb. (3) Apr. (3) May (3) June (3) July (4) Sept, (3)

Oct, (3) Nov. (3) Dec. (5)
Fertilizers Jan, (1) (6) Feb. (6) June (7)

Foods and Food Production Mar. (l) (8) Apr. (8) June (6) July (9) Oct. (6)
Fruit Preservation May (7)
Fruit Statistics Apr, (6) June (l)
Grapes Feb. (2) Nov. (2)

Harvest Sprays and Dusts July (8) Sept, (5)
Harvesting Feb, (5) Apr, (7) Sept, (8)
Labor May (5) June (2) July (2) Sept. (l)
Magnesium Deficiency Jan. (6) July (7) Sept. (5) Nov. (5)
Marketing Jan. (5) June (9) Nov. (1)
Mice Apr. (7) Oct. (l)
Movies Nov. (4)

Nursery Stock Mar. (3) July (7) Sept, (2)

Orchard Management June (5) (8) (10) July (5) (6) Oct. (5) Dec. (7) (b)
Peaches Jan. (2) Feb. (7) Dec. (1) (3)
Price Ceilings May (4) Oct. (8) (10) Nov, (6)
Pruning Apr. (2) Dec. (3)
Raspberries May (8)
Russeting Feb. (5)
Spraying and Spray Materials Jan. (6) Mar. (5) (6) Apr, (l) (8) May (9)

June (8) Sept, (7) Dec. (6)
Storage May (9)

Strawberries Apr. (6) Oct. (2)
Taxation Feb. (lO)
T/inter Injury Feb. (l) Mar. (2)

A sign in a Connecticut Valley retail store window carries this
message: FANCY U. S. NO, 1 SELECTED MACINTOSH APPLES. The only things wrong
with this statement are (1) if the apples are U. S, No. 1 they can't be Fancy ,
(2) if of either grade they would naturally be Selected , (3) the apples &pZ
pear to be ungraded, and (4) the Variety name is misspelled. (The printing,
at least, is good).

2)."U

That the Common Barberry (Berberis vul^^aris L.) is one of the
first plants brought over by the early English settlers for the purpose of
providing a fruit from which jellies and jam could be made? This plant with
its sour fruit makes an interestingly flavored jelly. Since its early in-
troduction it has spread because of birds eating the berries and thus dis-
seminating the seeds, until now it is found all over our pasture hillsides
in the Northeast, This plant is frequently used as an ornamental in gardens,
and in the fall of the year the sprays are much used in decorative arrange-
ments. Of interest to fruit growers, however, is the fact that it was orig-
inally introduced from Europe for its fruit. It has always been interest-
ing to me that in a land which abounds v;^ith native fruits, the early set-
tlers, because they did not know these fruits, made an effort to introduce
some from the region v;ith v;hich they were familiar. Of the native fruits
three are outstanding, - the blueberry, cranberry, and native strawberry,
all of which soon offered stiff competition to a plant which was introduced
for its jelly possibilities. — A, M. Davis

That history records the finding of cranberries on Cape Cod as
early as 1602? In 1638 an English naturalist visited this section and in
making a record of New England "rarities" mentions "cranberries" which he
stated "The Indians and English use much, boyling them with sugar for sauce,
to eat with their meat".

That the use of magnesium as a soil treatment may become as com-
mon in some sections of the U. S, as the use of calcium, nitrogen, phosphor-
us and potassiura? An application of one of the magnesium compounds appears
to be very much needed on some iiassachusetts fanas.

That ground limestone obtained under the AAA program maybe ap-
plied to crop land, pasture, poultry ranges or commercial orchards? Ground
limestone may be secured by farmers up to a tonnage not exceeding that de-
termined by the total of the units on the farm, divided by 5, fi^jured to the
nearest ton on the basis of farmyard delivery. If lime is taken at the rail-
road siding, 20/j more material may be added. If taken at the lime manufact-
uring plant, another 20;,o is added.

That ceiling prices idll probably be established on all fresh
fruits during 1944? OPA is planning to bring under control, well in ad-
vance of next season's crops, all the remaining fresh fruits including sweet
cherries, apricots, peaches, pears and plums.

That certain gift packages of apples are exempt from price con-
trol regulations? The provisions of an OPA release dated November 25, are
as follows! "Apple growers and shippers v/ho package their apples in boxes
with a net weight of not more than 26 pounds, with not more than 5 boxes
sold at one time to one buyer, shipped by Express or parcels post, are not
under price control with respect to such sales."

-6-

That a recent ainendiaent to the apple ceilintj order increases the
ceilin,; in so-called sec mdary or rural markets? Under this araendment the
ceilintj on apples delivered in less than car lots or less than trucklot quan-
tities to secondary markets at a distance of 25 miles or more from primary
markets is 18/ per box higher than the primary market ceiling. This in-
crease of 18/ in ceiling price of apples delivered into these secondary mar-
kets will, it is hoped, result in a more equitable distribution of current
limited supplies,

3PHAY i.IATERIALS FOR 1944 LIUST BE OltPERED AIJU STOCKED EMLY

One of the most important questions that confronts the farmer and
victory gardener right nov/ is looking out for his supply of fungicides and
insecticides for 1944, It is equally essential that retailers estimate their
needs of these materials for the coming year, get their orders in and actu-
ally stock up on those supplies at the earliest possible moment. If these
matters are not attended to promptly, many of us are likely to find it im-
possible next summer to obtain the right kinds of dusting and spraying ma-
terials at the time they are most needed.

In the past season, supplies of copper fungicides, mercury and
nicotine dusts vrere short in many localities at the time they v;ere needed to
combat such pests as cucumber and potato blights, cabbage maggot and plant
lice on potatoes, tomatoes and a number of other vegetables and 'fruits. The
officials of both the Agricultural Insecticide and Fungicide Association, a
nation-wide organization of manufacturers and distributors, and the Tiar Food
Administration warn us in no uncertain terms that the situation is likely to
be even v/orse in 1944 due to increasing shortages of labor or manpower at
manufacturing and distributing points, and to the critical container situation
and tha limitations in transportation facilities.

VHiile the present outlook for fungicide and insecticide supplies
is fairly good for 1944 as regards allocation of rav/ materials for their man-
ufacture, yet the Agricultural Insecticide and Fungicide Association issues
the warning that, "Host important of all, the dii^ tributor s, dealers and con-
sumers all must place their orders and take their deliveries earlier than
ever before — to beat those manpower, container and shipping deficiencies.
This applies particularly to copper compounds," The Yiar Food Administration
recently sent out the following telegram directed to people over all the
country: "\fer Food Administration urges farmers to help make the 1943-44
distribution of insecticides and fungicides fully effective by placing orders
now and requesting early delivery, . . Because of transportation, labor and
shortage difficulties it is necessary to keep insecticides and fungicides
moving if manufacturers are to meet farmers' needs. . , Manufacturers have
been taking in raw materials for next season production since September 1st
and the finished insecticides are now building up in storage. . . Farmers ac-
cepting insecticides and fungicides now should have no difficulty
in storing them on their farms in a dry, floored, weather-proof building. , ,
Unless farmers cooperate with V/ar Food Administration by accepting supplies
early Vire may encounter serious problaas."

For the benefit of all concerned, it is hoped that farmers and
gardeners, as v/ell as retailers, throughout Massachusetts heed these requests
and i/arnings , and place their orders for and stock up with fungicides and
insecticides just as early this fall as possible,

— 0. C. Boyd

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'^-aiccLo /<uia

ABSORPT I ON OF NI TROGEN THROUCzH APPLE LEAVE S

All v;e 11- informed fruit grov/ers laiow that their trees obtain min-
eral nutrients, includinij nitrogen,, from the soil. Some people have been
very skeptical of the ability of leaves to absorb mineral nutrients, but it
is now viTell established that they may do so. However, it is unlikely that
the spray outfit will replace the fertilizer distributor. One difficulty
is that soluble minerals, as nitrate of soda, applied in a spray are likely
to burn the leaves. The Geneva Experiment Station has shown that Urarion
(urea) applied in the regular pesticide sprays, 5 lbs. per 100 gallons, v;ith
lime, did not burn Ilclntosh leaves but resulted in a typical nitrogen color
response and increased the nitrogen content of the leaves. These trees were
obviously deficient in nitrogen. I.hen applied to trees well supplied with
nitrogen, there was little or no response. It is suggested that this method
of supplying nitrogen may offer means of a more exact control of the nitrogen
supply of the tree. (Proc. Aner. Soc. for ilort. Sci. Vol, 43: p, 125.)

— J, K. Shaw

POTASH AMD LIAGI-JES lUl i DEFICIENCIES

Many Massachusetts fruit growers know Dr» A. B. Burrell and also
Dr, Damon Boynton who formerly managed an orchard in A;nherst. They have been
studying potash deficiency in apple trees in the Champlain Valley, They dug
in 3 pounds of sulfate of potash in a narrov; band under the tips of the
branches in successive years. In the second year, leaf scorch was strikingly
reduced and in the third year was almost eliminated and shoot grov-rbh was in-
creased. In the fourth year, potassium leaf scorch disappeared, shoot growth
about doubled and the potash content of the leaves also doubled. But there
appeared a ''fertilizer injury" to the leaves; the writer is willing to bet
a cigar that it was due to magnesium deficiency. On other trees, a \% sol-
ution of sulfate of potash applied 6 times as a spray, and sulfate or muri-
ate dug in or applies on the surface all increased the potash content of
the leaves and also increased growth. No increase in yield is reported.
Potash deficiency seems more prevalent in the Champlain Valley than in other
parts of Nev; York. (Proc. Amer. Soc. Hort. 5ci, Vol, 43, page 61.)

— J, K. Shaw

POT.^ SH CONTENT OF /iPPLE LEAVES

It has been found by Baker in Indiana that the application of
potash to culvivated orchards did not consistently increase the potash con-
tent of apple leaves over those from trees not fertilized with potash. How-
ever, v;hen trees were mulched with straw or tobacco and even witli paper,
sawdust, or glass wool, the potash content of the leaves was consistently
higher than that of leaves from trees not mulched. This is interesting as
it suggests that not all the greater available potash under a mulch cTmes
from the mulching material] there must be an effect of the mulch on the
potash of the soil. (Proc, Amer. Soc. for Hort. Sci. Vol. 43: p, 7).

— J, K, Shaw

SOME EFFECTS OF JIULCHING

Many Massachusetts fruit growershave mulched their orchards v/ith
good results. TTander and Gourley in Ohio have tried to find out the reason
for the favorable results of mulching. They compared the soil under mulch
and under cultivation and found that the available potash was much greater
under mulch even to a depth of 21 inches. The increase of magnesium and
calcium was less, although that of organic matter, phosphorus and boron,
while large in the surface 3 inches, was small or showed no increase at great-
er depths. The acidity of the soil was not affected. The potassium and
phosphorus content of both leaves and fruit was increased by mulching,
while the content of both magnesium and calcium was decreased in the leaves.
No comment is made on nitrogen, but it is always evident that i.iulched trees
have plenty of nitrogen. This confirms the belief of the v/riter that the
beneficial effects of mulching are largely due to increased available nutri-
ents. (Proc. Araer, Soc, for Hort, Sci . Vol. 43: p. 1)

— J, K. Shaw

SECTI ONAL l E nTIiJG O F A.S.II.S.

Host fruit grov/ers knov/ of the Aj-.ierican Society for Horticultural
Science, v^/hich is the national organization of the "scientific" horticul-
turists. This Society omitted its annual meeting last year and vdll do so
this year. Instead, group meetings will be held in different sections, thus
avoiding the congestion resulting from war time travel. The New England
members will meet in Worcester on January 4, 1944. V^Tiile this meeting v;ill
be devoted to discussion of Horticultural Science, any fruit grov/ers who care
to attend will be welcome.

-- J. K. Shaw

The national apple crop in 1943 was Cl^o below that of 1942 and
2'6'/o below the 1954-41 average. California v/as the only major state
with a larger crop in 1943 than in 1942, In l/.'ashington unfavorable
spring weather in 1943 reduced the crop about I'J/o below that of 1942,

In checking on a worthless crop of apples a few days ago the
writer was told that the orchard received three "pink" sprays. Fur-
ther inquiry brought this explanation;- "three applications of that
pink stuff, lead arsenate".

A number of instructive and entertaining movies are available
at the State Colle^je for general distribition. Ai'.iong the recent ones
are: "Farn ■' ork is l/Tar l.'ork," "l.ar Time Nutrition," and "Out of the
Fryinj^ Pan into the Firin^ Line,"

VmT:VA

January 31, 1944

PROF.. JOHN: S.EM LEY,
FREHCM HALL,

11 43

Prepared by the Fruit Program Committee
of the Extension Service

\7. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

Relative Iiiportance of Apple Varieties in the U.S.

l.Iid-winter Tasks on the Fruit Farm

Pomological Paragraphs;
ITater in the Soil
Intake of Nitrogen During Vfinter
Another Kind of Dwarf Apple Tree
Manganese and Copper Deficiencies-
The Yellow-Red Virosis

Seen and Heard in i,iaine

Apple Advertising

Soil Acidity in the Orchard

RELATIVE lilP ORTANCE OF APPLE VAR IETIES IN THE U. S.

The LIcIntosh variety is nov; one of the three most important varieties
in the U.S. V/ith a production of 9,249,000 bushels in 1943 and 13,609,000
bushels in 1942, it accounted for between 10 and 11 per cent of the total apple
production in the country. It is the most important variety in the Northeastern
and North Central States, particularly Nev/ England, Nev/ York, and Michigan. In
other sections of the country, except for iiontana, where the bulk of the apple
production is liclntosh, this variety is of minor importance. In 1945 and 1942
more than half of all apples grown in New England and almost a third of all New
York apples v/ere of this variety.

The volume of several other common varieties grown in the United States
in 1943 and the percentage of the national crop are as followsj Delicious,

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of Hay 8 and June 30,
1914, Ti7illard A. Munson, Director, Massachusetts State College, United States
Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

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14,130,000 bu, (about 16^,. Two-fifths of the Delicious apples in the U.S. are
produced in lYashington) Golden Delicious, 2,353.000 bu. (a little less than
5)1). Rone Beauty, 5,597,000 bu. (6.4:%). Stayman, 5,683,000 bu. (4.2^^).
ITinesap, 9,869,000 bu, (about ll^o). Yellov^ Nev/town, 3,898,000 bu. (4.4^o).
York Iiaperial, 4,250,000 bu. (5%). Jonathan, 6,854,000 bu. (about 8%).
Grimes Golden, 1,560,000 bu. (about Z%) . Baldwin, 2,637,000 bu, (about 3%),
V/ealthy, 2,336,000 bu. (2.7J^),

I.IID-Y/I1JTER TA SKS OIJ T HE FRUIT FARLl

Overhauling the sprayer and other fruit farm equipment should take first
place amon^; raid-vj-inter tasks. If the sprayer has not yet been put in the best
possible condition it should be overhauled at once and all worn parts replaced.

Ordering supplies, including fertilizers, spray materials, and boxes,
is another job v^hich should not be delayed. Even though boxes are not needed
for another six or eight months, there is urgent need for locating new boxes ^
box shooks, or used boxes this winter and spring. Boxes arq certain to be scarcer
than in 1943. Araong the ingeraois methods being used by some growers are;
getting out the logs and hauling them to the mill to insure a supply of raw
material, and in one case furnishing several workers for a short handed box
shop. There will undoubtedly be more buying of box shooks and nailing at the
farm than in years past.

A third item of utmost importance at this season has to do with "etream-
lining the orchard"for more efficient spraying and harvesting. Crov/ded trees
are being removed on a wholesale scale in a number of orchards. In a recent
meeting of 40 fruit growers in Yforcester this question was asked, "Hov/ many are
either removing fillers or are planning to remove fillars before next spring?"
Eleven of the 40 raised their hands. Pruning at the ground level or lifting
the trees out, stumps and all, by means of a bulldoasr, is a most effective
way to reduce the cost of production \/ithout materially reducing the actual
yield. l,7ithin tv/o years a crowded orchard from v.'hich half the trees are re-
moved will be back to its former production v;ith a considerably lov;ered pro-
duction cost. Vfashin.ton State College specialists say that the costs for
grov/ing and harvesting apples in central Washington decline rapidly as yields
increase from less than 200 boxes per acre to 350 boxes an acre. Getting rid
of the extra trees in an orchard is a big factor in increasing the yield of
salable fruit.

James F. Gallant of the Essex County Agricultural
School, Hathorne, Ifess, informs us that a graduate
of the School, now employed as a farm manager on an
estate, is available this spring for emplo^.onent in
orcharding, vegetable gardening, or general farming.
He is primarily interested in horticulture and is
well qualified to serve as an orchard manager.

In 1917 there were only about 50,000 tractors on farms, Toda- there
are nearly 2,000,000.

'C(zly h^vi^^'iM /ui^

WATER IN THE SOIL

In early spring or following a period of heavy rainfall, the space
between the particles in the soil may be nearly or quite filled with water.
Part of this water drains away by gravity and is good riddance, for fruit
trees will not grow in a v/ater-logged soil. Air in the soil is necessary
if tree roots are to grow and function properly, and air and water cannot
occupy the same space. After drainage has removed what water it can, much
still remains. The trees drav/ upon this water until it is so far exhausted
that the leaves wilt, and if not watered, the trees soon die. Considerable
study has been made to learn if this available v;ater is all of equal value
to the trees, and whether the trees suffer before the v/ater falls to the
wilting point.

Experimenters at the V^ashington State Experiment Station studied this
problem by measuring the carbon dioxide intake of the leaves under various
amounts of available v/ater in the soil. This is a good measure of the grov/th
of tree and fruit. They found that the trees v/orked efficiently until the
water dropped to within 3^ of the wiltin^, point. This 3U(^^fjsts that a drought
period v/ill not harm the trees if it is not too severe and prolonged, Vdien
the leaves begin to wilt, and do not entirely recover over night, the tree is
in a bad v/ay. If they V/ilt during a hot dry afternoon, it means that water
is getting scarce and it is time to pray for rain or do something else about
it. (Proc. Amer. Soc. for Hort. Sci. 42 j page 133.)

— J. K. Shaw

INTAKE OF NITROGEN DURIH G Vf lNTER

Experiments conducted by Batjer, Ilagness, and Regeimbal of the U.S.D.A.
show that young apple trees may take nitrate and ammonium nitrogen into the
roots under winter conditions, but that the nitrogen does not move upward in
the tree during the dormant season. The roots were subjected to a temperature
of 38-40° and the tops to 45-60". At 45-6C°, the roots absorbed no more nitro-
gen than at the lower temperature. The fact that apple roots take in nitrogen
at relatively low temperatures suggests one reason v;hy fall applications of a
nitrogenous fertilizer meet with favor in the more southern . apple areas. In
New England, there is evidence that fall applications may cause v^inter injury
to the trees. (Proc. Amer. Soc. for Hort, Sci., Vol. 42", p. 69. 1943),

--J. K. Shaw

ANOTHER KIND OF DY/ARF APPLE TREE .

Dwarf apple trees are produced by budding the desired varieties on
dwarfing stocks v;hich are small, slow growing kinds of the com^'aon apple.
Different stocks produce trees ranging from vsry dvmrf (6-8 feet tall) to
nearly full-sized trees. By budding or grafting a very dv/arfing stock oiato

^<.-

a seedling stock and then ^^^f "^^f^l; J^ J°,f Vt j''''' t ^"''''^' "'^ "^^^ -P-^o^t
a partially dwarfed tree, or in other words a tp .^ h^^^^^ ^ seedling root

anS a Mcintosh top, v.ith a section °f 7?,°f °J^|, ^^^ f^^^fing stock in betx^^en.
We may briefly describe such a tree ft,s LlcIntgaA/ Mailing ix/ French Crah
Seedling." Such a tree §hould not l^e confused. v;ith a Mcintosh on Mailing |X
which would be a v«ry dwarf tree. It ^9!^i-4 t>e more like a Mcintosh on Iviklling
I or II. (Proo, Arier. Bocs, fgr Hor^. Sol. ^^, page 357.)

— J. K. Shaw

MAIIGMESE ^JD^ ?£PPER_ MFIG^HCIES

It has been shov/ri :^hat def^cienc^les of Bproii and Magnesium sQmetimeg
QGOur in'apple trees in Massachusetts. In the area ^D^rdering the Gu^f of
MexiQ© and locally in California, deficienQies of other elements haye been
found, Perhaps similar deficiencies may appear here. In the Gulf regipji gul-
tivatidn of the tung tree is developing rapidly. Oil from tung m%s fiRda
many uses in Industry, particularly as a drying oil for painty i-^ h%s teen
found ^"hat tung trees sonetimec suffer from a lack of Manganese and Qf Qopper,
Pymptoirs cf Manganese deficiency are a ''f ranching" or chlorosis qf the leaves,
wxtt; small dead areas and r^/emature dropping of some of the leaves, It is
cured by applications of .manganese sulfate. Armoniuiu suifate is beneficial
as it increases soil acidity and releases Manganese which is fixh;d in the
soil by too little acidity.

Copper deficiency is indicated by small "cupped" terminal leaves,

chlorosis, and dying and drcpning of the leaves. Axillary shoot grov/th is

stimulated and shoot tips die. Application of a vrjak copper sulfate, eithar

to the soil or as a spray, corrects this condition. (Proc. itoier. Soc . for

Hort. Sci. 42, pages 74 and 79.) _j_ ^^ 2^^^^

THE YELLOV / -RED VIRQSI3

The "X-disease" of peaches is now acquiring a real name. It v/ill be
known as the Yellow-Red Virosis, because it turns peach leaves yellow and choke-
cherry leaves red. It vms discovered in Connecticut in 1933. It had doubt-
less been present there and probably in Massachusetts before that time. It
was discovered in the Iludsoii Valley in 1938 and is now pretty well spread
over the northern part of the peach country. A recent bulletin of the Geneva
Experiment Station reports the results of a study of the disease in that state.

It is caused by a virus vihich is "an exceedingly minute infective principle

not visible under the highest magnification of the microscope." The chokecherry
is very susceptible, and the virus is supposed to be carried to the poach by
some insect v/hose identity has not yet been discovered. It may pass from peach
troo to peach tree, but less rapidly. It may also be transmitted by buds from
diseased trees. Chokech^irry bushes must not bo allov/ed to grow v;ithin 500 feet
of a peach orchard. Sodiujn chlorate and ammoniuin sulfamate vjoro the only ma-
terials found satisfactory for killing chokecherries. Ho poach variety oscapod
the disease vjhen inoculated with virus-infected tissue but possibly some var-
ieties Jvre less susceptible than others. The common black cherry does not
carry the disease. (N.Y. State Agr. Expt. Sta. Bui. 704.)

— J. K. Shaw

-5-

S EEU AI ID l EAPJ ) IN ilAIIE

IIavin£; boen loaned to the Stato of Main'j for tvra wooks (Jan. 9-2^),
the v;ritor tak^s this opportunity to r eport a few of his observations. The
trip involved seven v/ell attond^^d fruit meetings, throe county agent confer-
ences and numerous visits vdth individual growers. Nev/spaper accounts of
heavy snowstorms this winter are not exaggerated. Snow plows, in some tov.'ns,
have been taxed to the limit and many of them are laid up for repairs. Some
telephone lines are dov/n, and certain orchards are so deeply buried that
mid-winter mouse control measures are out of the question.

Hardy Stocks. Cold winters have caused so much damage to apple trees
in i.Iaine in yoars"pa'st that there is real interest in establishing orchards on
one of the hardy stocks. The severity of Maine winters is shown by the fact
that Baldwin trees on ordinary seedling stock will survive only tv:o or three
years in the vicinity of Orono, But if grafted in the branches of a Hibernal
or Virginia Crab tree even the tender Baldwin will survive for many years.
The method of establishing an orchard on a hardy stock is briefly thisj An
ordinary seedling -v/hip is budded to Virginia Crab or Hibernal in the nursery
and after growing a year or t\io is transplanted to the orchard and developed
as a leader tj'pe tree. T/7ide angled branches develop naturally on these var-
ieties. V/hen the framev/ork is v/ell established the brandies and "leader" are
either budded or vihip grafted to the desired variety, the buds or scions being
placed on the branches as far out as 18 inches from the trunk. The resulting
tree is thus a throe-story affair, having a seedling root. Hibernal or Virginia
Crab trunk and main branches, and a top of the desired variety. This kind
of tree looks especially promising since much of the winter injury in ordinary
trees occurs in the trunk and crotches. A nursery pool under the supervision
of State Horticulturist Stanley L. Painter, makes it easier for growers to ob-
tain these custom made trees.

Leaf Scorch (Magnesium Deficiency). As in Massachusetts, leaf scorch
\_caused by magnesium deficiencyX presents a real problem in some Maine orchards,
The leaf symptoms include yellowing betv/een the veins, and later, a dropping
of the older leaves on the terminal growth. Tests have been conducted in a
Maine orchard for a number of years, using a v;ide variety of materials, V^Tiere
potash was used, leaf scorch was more apparent than before, V/ithin the last
two or three years the effectiveness of magnesium sulfate (Epsom Salts) has
been clearly demonstrated. At present, three spray applications, using 20 lbs.
in 100 gals., are recommended in magnesium deficient orchards, the first around
Calyx period and the other two at ten-day intervals.

Northern Spy an d Golden Deliciou s. Certain orchard locations seem very
well adapted to the grov;ing of Northern ^pies . At the fruit meetings in Buck-
field and T(/ilton large Spies of unusually (,ood color and quality (from the
Conant and Weeks orchards) v/ere distributed. On the basis of these saiaples
it appears that this old variety is very much at home in the Pine Tree State.
The Golden Delicious varies vddely in different orchards. From the Y/allingford
orchard in Auburn we sav/ some exceptionally fine Golden Delicious. These ap-
ples vrere the result of a good soil and good management, including thinning.
In other orchards this variety is snail in size and of mediocre quality, due
in part, perhaps, to a lack of thimiing.

-6-

Orchard Crov.'ding. Vjliile the snowisas too deep to walk through any
of 'the o rcli'a'r'cf s~,~th" "prob 1 e m of crowding appears to be as widespread as it
is in Massachusetts, Many of the orchards have just about reached the age
where something r.iust be done about it. Maine growers seem as much inclined
as \.'e to delay the removal of fillers "one more year." At most of the meet-
ings this point was brought out: Yi/hen a grov;er finds the branches brushing
the sprayer as he drives through, he should begin a drastic cutting back of
the temporary trees, or the trees in every other diagonal row, V/hen this
practice no longer allov/s ample space for efficient spraying, the temporary
trees should be removed entirely. And if the removal of filler trees is al-
ready ovt^rdue, as is so evident in many New England orchards, the sooner we
remove every other diagonal rov/, the better. A bulldozer is an ideal tool
for this purpose,

Appl^ Scab Control. In general, Maine growers seem to have an easier
time in "coivfcFo 1 1 i n g'Tcab' Ifh an vje have in Massachusetts, An exception to this
rule is found in counties near the coast where tr^jos seom to dry off lese
readily after a rain. Growers farth'^r inland and at higher elevations find
it possiblo to control scab, in some seasons, with only two or three sprays.
On*^ groi/er is actually reported to have qualified for th*^ 90^i Clean Apple Club
on a crop which receiv«:;d only tvifo sprays. There is considerable intf;rest in
dusting both for the control of scab and apple ins^;cts. One insect, known as
the mealy bug is causing consid-;rable damage in Maine orchards. Thus far, our
Massachusetts grov;ers have not had to v;orry about this particular pest.

Deep Snow Favors Mice. There is some cause for worry about possible
mouse damage unTeTTh" "sirow'^in some of the Maine orchards. T^vo very heavy
sno\7stormG have cor.f letdly covered all mouse runs, thus preventing growers
from doing effective mid-v/inter baiting. Unfortunately, quite a number of
orchards had not been baited when the first heavy snow came in rfovember. As
the snow thav/s, grovrers are advised to pack it dovm around the trunks of trees
as one means of checking mouse damage.

"A GOOD PRODUCT IS IT S BEST ADVERTISEIvJENT-"

In a release from the National Apple Institute under this heading
John Chandler, Executive Secretary,, says in part, " . , , Of recent years,
the economic factor has worked against good apples doing their own advertis-
ing. Back in the tvrenties, v;hen apple prices returned a good living to grow-
ers and when there were no ceilings, the better packs of apples resulted in
handsome returns to the growers for the extra expense incurred. Consequently
apples were their ovm best advertisement. Unfortunately, during the dark
decade of the thirties wlien most consiuners were buying the cheapest food avail-
able, the premium for fine packs practically disappeared, Du.ring the last
twelve years on] y enough grading and packing hae bcjn done to move the apples.
Many good Eastern packs disappeared entirely. Although growers far from i.iarket
maintained the high standards vriiich paid out during tho twenties; this was
done to retain an outlet for their apples rather than \;.-j.tii any hope of com-
mensurate returns, since they v;ere often obligt.d to accept prices disastrous
to them.

"So I feel that the long depresiion, rather than the attitude of
apple growers has been responsible for so many poor apples appearing in the
markets with the consequent falling off of demand and the further depression
of prices. By the same token most apple jrov/ers have had their pride in,
and enthusiasm for, quality packs pretty well atrophied over a period of
many years, during which better packs have meant only added expense. Since
the present economic outlook indicatee the possibility of profitable years
aJiead for apple grov/ers, nov/ is the time to stress placing attractivf^ appl«?s
before the public as the best possible advertisement for our products. Good
packs of apples, plus the promotional machinery brought into existencfj through
the depression years, should restore apple production to a sound and profit-
able business,"

TIIE SIGNIFICAIICE OF SOIL ACID IT Y IN Tl iE ORCHARD

For many yiars farmers have considered the various fruit crops as
being either very tolerant of acidity or as actually preferring a strongly
acid soil. An occasional orchard is found growing on a soil which is much
too acid for the grov^th of clover and other legumes. But vie should not
lose sight of the fact that cover crops in general have a shallower root
system than apple trees and are therefore influenced to a greater extent
by the acidity and availability of mineral elements in the surface layer.
Cur Massachusetts soils are generally more acid in the surface soil than
they are in the subsoil. This is due to at least four causes. (1) Crop
removal tends to take from the soil calcium, magnesium and other basic ma-
terials. (2) Leaching tends to carry these basic materials into the subsoil
or they may be removed in the drainage water. (3) Erosion carries some of
these materials to lower levels. (4) Heavy applications of sulfur have great-
ly acidified some of our orchard soils. This latter factor alone has actually
made the soil ben^jath some of our trees so .acid that nothing but moss will
grow at the present tine. All flowering plants, including the various grasses,
have bf;en completely excluded because of the acidifying action of sulfur.
Under th^jso conditions, one may wonder how an apple tree can continue to live,
to say nothing about producing crops of fruit. This mystery is explained by
the fact that the roots of an apple tree under good growing conditions range
deeply into tho subsoil and also far beyond the spread of the branches where
soil conditions may bo much more favorable.

There is a definite relationship between the availability of the var-
ioui mineral elen^'nts needed by a growing plant and the acidity of the soil.
If the soil is too acid nitrifying bacteria become inactive and as a result
the decomposition of organic matter becomes so slow as to affect the supply
of nitrates. Furthermore, if the soil is either too acid or too alkaline
phosphorus is believed to be locked up in unavailable forms. V/e may there-
fore think of lime as a soil conditioner. As we bring about the desired de-
gree of acidity we create conditions which favor the availability of minerals
needed for plant growth. In addition, tho lime which we apply contains calcium
and laagnesium both of vihich are essential in plant development.

Every fruit grower should determine tho acidity of the soil in his
various blocks to determine whether or not lime is needed, and if so, how much

-8-

should be applied. Unless the soil is obviously very acid we ought not to
apply lime vfithout first making a soil test. In grandfather's day, folks
took sulfur and molasses in the spring on the assuraption that it would do
no ham and it might do some good. Some folks lime the soil on the same
basis, a little now and then as a matter of insurance.

In the absence of a soil test, much can be learned about the need for
lime by studying the natural growth of weeds, grasses, etc. If orchard grass
grows waist high, we needn't worry about soil acidity. And if clovers thrive,
there is reason to believe that conditions are reasonably favorable for the
trees. But if the cover crop consists of a discouraged grovith of cinquefoil,
sorrel, dewberries, poverty grass, and certain sedges, there is ev^ry reason
to believe that the soil is very acid. Ordinary grasses fail to grov/ before
these miscellaneous acid tolerant plants occupy the soil. An occasional ap-
plication of lime is of great benefit in maintaining a good cover- crop which
exerts an indirect effect upon the troo. The continued use of sulfur in the •
control of apple scab has more or less completely changed the type of cover
crop in many of our orchards. Tliis is to be expected since 500 pounds of sul-
fur mixed with the surface six inches on an acre of fine, sandy ioam tends to
lov/er the acidity rating by about one-half a pH unit. In other words, a soil
rating pH 6 might actually become pH 5.5 after applying a quarter of a ton of
sulfur per acre. It is interesting to note that many of our best orchards
are on soils ranging betv/een 5.5 and 6.5,

One other factor in connection with soil acidity should also be con-
sidered. Magnesium deficiency is becoming a serious problem, particularly in
eastern Massachusetts. Many such orchards are on Gloucester or Merrimac soils
which are naturally low in magnesium. Such soils are also inclined t'l be
strongly acid. As a matter of good orchard management, soils of this kind
should be limed, using a high magnesium or dol :)mitic limestone. This will
aoc mplish two purposes. It will tend t'l c 'nditi on the s 'il by reducing
acidity, and it may ultimat^ily supply s me of the magnesium nw lacking in
the soil. But if the deficiency is severe, a more readily available form
of magnesium, such as magnesiuiii sulphate -tr epsom salts, should als'i be ap-
plied. An application of high magnesium limestone seems to be long overdue
on the average fruit farm. In view of the fact that 50 gears may have elapsed
since some of our fields received an application of lime, the 50th Anniversary
of the Massachusetts Fruit Qrowers ' Association is an appropriate time to satis-
fy a long felt need.

To clear up any misunderstanding concerning the relation of the pH num-
bers to actual soil acidity the following figures are presented: 7 represents
a neutral soil; 6,5 slightly acid; 6.0 moderately acid; 5.5 medium acid;
5,0 strongly acid; 4«5 very strongly acid; and 4.0 extremely acid. A soil
which rates pH 4 is ten times as acid as one v;hich rates 5, and one hundred
times as acid as one vihich rates 6. Practically all of our Massachusetts
soils fall within the range of pH 4.5 to pH 6.5.

Evolution of the apple box: Bin - Barrel - Basket - Box,
Perhaps the Bag deserves a place in this scheme of things.

February 29, 1944

Prepared by the Fruit Program Conmittee
of the Extension Service

W. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

Peach Moth Parasites

A Spraying Record

Heard in Ilaine

Apple and Pear Utilization

Do You Know?

Changes in 1944 Apple Spray Chart

Blueberry Varieties

Ilanure for Cultivated Blueberries

Developraent of the European Red Mite

PEACH MOTH P ARAS ITES

Because of the war emergency it v/ill not be possible to con-
duct the Oriental Fruit Moth parasite rearing project this season. Hot
only is the labor shortage very acute, but transportation conditions
are such that no assurance could be given us that breeding material
would not be delayed in transit. Any prolonged delay en route v/ould
endanger the life of the insects. Ar; effort v/ill be made to secure a
very limited number of parasites by direct purchase from Connecticut,
provided there is any surplus in that state,

—A. I. Bourne

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of May 8 and
June 30, 1914, Willard A. Munson, Director, Massachusetts State College,
United Sta tes Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services
cooperating.

-2-

A SPRAYING RECORD

Hoosier HorticulturQ, issued monthly by the Indiana Horticultural

Society, reports that Mr. Glen Jones of Mt. Sterling, Illinois personally

applied 268,000 gallons of spray material on his orchard in 1943. His only

assistant was the tractor driver . He used a sprayer with a 400 gallon tank

and did all the spraying from a ttwer. ^ .,.,•,

f J b — L, Southwiok

HEARD IN I.IAINE

At the annual meeting of the Maine Pomological Society the question
came up concerning what variety to plant to prolong the Mcintosh season. Many
Maine growers are interested in a hardy winter apple to take the place of the
once widely planted Baldwin. Some hardy varieties produced in the Middle West
and some unnamed seedlings from the breeding work in Maine and elsewhere may
find a place. Bat one of the most interesting comments to come out of the
discussion was made by County Agent Lovejoy who operates a sizeable orchard
venture of his own. He argued that instead of seeking a brand new variety
for the late market, Maine growers should first test extensively a variety
that has already proven itself. This variety is Golden Delicious. Mr. Love-
joy contends, on the basis of his own experience, that the Golden Delicious
can be grown successfully and profitably in Maine. Furthermore, a man who
has marketed many Maine apples in New York was present and he stated that
Maine grown Golden Delicious have topped the New York market. He felt strong-
ly that the market can absorb a greatly expanded production of well-grown
Golden Delicious apples and urged that grovrers who have the right soil and
growing conditions might well increase their plantings of this variety.

— L, Southwick

APPLE AND PEAR UTILIZATION

The Crop Reporting Board of the U.S.D.A., Bureau of Agricultural
Economics, reports that during the period 1934 to 1942 about two-thirds of
the country's commercial apple crop v;as sold as fresh fruit. Considering
the 1942 crop, 78,246,000 bushels were sold as fresh fruit; 6,541,000 bush-
els were used in farm households; and 35,102,000 bushels 'were manufactured
into products as follows: canned apples - 11,426,000 bushels; dried apples -
7,376,000 bushels; vinegar, cider, apple juice and other products - 16,300,000
bushels.

New York, Pennsylvania and Washington are the most important states
in the canning of apples, accounting for 57 percent of the apples canned in
1942, About 90 percent of the nation's production of dried apples comes from
California, 1/Yashington, and New York. The three leading states in the man-
ufacture of vinegar, cider and apple juice are New York, Pennsylvania and
Virginia.

Of the 1942 pear crop, 15,584,000 bushels were sold for fresh use;
10,797,000 bushels were canned; 3,244,000 bushels went for farm household use;
and 627,000 bushels were dried.

— L Southwick

-3-

^MfJ^Z^^

That a new insecticide, known as DDT, is found to be extremely and
instantaneously toxic to many insects? This material, the full name of
which is diohloro-diphenyl-tri-chloroethane, was first synthesized 70 years
B-go V-y ^ German chemist. It was not until 1959, however, that it was patent-
ed by a Swiss firm as an insecticide. DDT is very toxic against flies,
mosquitoes, bedbugs, and body lice, and in powder form may be dusted on
human skin without harm. One application of the pov;der to the walls of
a room makes the room a death chamber for flies for three months. At pres-
ent the entire output of this nev/ material is being used by the Army, Look-
ing ahead, one caji foresee a new era of insect control in the orchards of
America,

That the designation "Mailing," applied to dwarf apple trees, is de-
rived from the East Mailing Research Station in England, v/here the more common
root stock materials for the apple were freed from mixtures, standardized
and designated by number as Mailing 1, Mailing 2, etc.? Most of these dwarf-
ing stocks are relatively old, as plants go, although their standardization
and introduction by number has taken place within the last few years,

That several of the so-called "Hailing" stocks have been known for
many years under various names, including Doucin and English Paradise?
Mailing 1, for example, was known as Broad Leaf English Paradise, Mailing 2
as English Paradise, Mailing 4 as Dutch Doucin, Mailing 5 as Improved Doucin, etc.
Mailing 9 v;as selected as a chance seedling in France about 1879.

That a sodium salt of dinitro-cresol at concentrations of ,1 to ,2^,
applied at blossoming time, offers considerable promise as a means of reduc-
ing the set of fruit on certain biennial bearing varieties? This material
v/ill destroy a blossom that has been open for oniy a fev/ hours but does not
seem to prevent fruit setting if a blossom has been open for a day or more.
Thus it is possible by proper timing of the spray to destroy 5 of the 6
blossoms on the spur. It is a well knoi-m fact that the center flower tends
to open a day or so before the lateral flowers, ^ince this practice is still
in the experimental stage, it is recommended that trials be limited to cer-
tain varieties, including Transparent, Early Mcintosh, Duchess, suid Vfealthy,
in which the results have been quite gratifying.

That more than 10 million bushels of pears v/ere canned in the United
States in 1942? Pear production in the United States varies less from year
to year than apple production. The yield of pears in the United States, dur-
ing the nine years from 1934 to 1942, varied from 25,943,000 bushels in 1935
to 31,704,000 bushels in 1938.

-4-

That tho supply of nitrogenous fertilizers available to farmers this
season v/ill be about 35^.0 greater than in any previous year? There v/ill,
therefore, be more nitrogen in mixed fertilizers and for direct application
as top and side dressings. This increased supply will be equivalent to about
850,000 tons of annonium sulfate. Ammonium nitrate is at the present tine,
and may continue to be, a lov; cost source of nitrogen for direct application.
More than 200-,000 tons of ammonium nitrate will go into mixed fertilizers in
1944.

That a probe for hot haymows is now available? This piece of equip-
ment consists of a pipe with a thermometer inserted in a pointed nose. A
reading as high as 150*^- F. indicates danger from spontaneous combustion.
If a similar gadget were available for investigating the subsoils in some
of our orchards, we venture the opinion that the cause of poor yields would
be apparent. Unlike haymows, some of them would probably register "not so
hot."

That an individual in Stevirardstown, Pa. is interested in buying apple
logs, for which he pays $40 a thousand board feet? The logs must be green,
not dead or wormy, and must measure 13 inches or over in diameter at the
small end, and may be as short as 3 feet. For further information, consult
R. B. Parmenter, Extension Forester, M.S.C.

That the ability of a rye plant to withstand deep freezing of the soil
may be due in part to the elasticity of the roots? Unlike the roots of many
other plants,, including strawberries, a rye root may stretcli an inch or more
without damage. Thus the rye plant possesses at least two advantages as a
cover crop, namely, its ability to grow in late fall and early spring, when
the temperature is too low for most other plants, and the ability of its
roots to withstand stretching.

That thavdng of the soil in spring takes place both from above and be-
low? In view of the fact that the soil just below the frozen layer is con-
siderably above the freezing point, thawing from below may be relatively rapid.
Thus a deeply frozen soil is ready for tillage much oarlior in the spring than
if all the thawing were to take place from above.

That one of the most efficient packers of apples in the Wenatchee
district in Yfashington is totally blind? At first she packed about 50 boxes
per day although now she is able to pack more than 90.

That the interval between full bloom and fruit maturity is fairly con-
stant from year to year for a given variety? The apple is more consistant
in this respect than other fruits which have been studied. There appears to
be a greater variation in the bloom-maturity interval in early maturing than
in late maturing varieties. H. B. Tukey of the Geneva, N.Y. Experiment Sta-
tion suggests that growers, by keeping records, may obtain information v;hich
should be useful in planning their orchard operations. M. H. Haller of the
U.S.D.A, in a study of four varieties, T/illiams, Jonathan, Grimes Golden, and
Yellow Newtov/n, found that regardless of locality and seasonal variation, the
number of days from bloom to maturity is quite constant. VJ'ith the above var-
ieties, he suggests that harvest should not begin until at least 70, 130, 135,
and 150 days, respectively, after full bloom. The optimum maturity stage
v/ould be somev/hat later.

-5-

That sawdust is proving to be a desirable mulching material for blue-
berries? In a study of mulching materials in Georgia, where temperatures are
high and there is frequently a deficiency of soil moisture, sawdust because
of its ability to reduce evaporation and runoff, v;as by far the best mulch
material tested. Being cheap and easily available, it is recomiaended for
mulching blueberries in the Southeast. Looser materials, such as straw and
oak leaves, were better than clean cultivation but not so effective as sav;-
dust .

That strawberries sometimes yield better under a spaced runner system
than in a matted rovj? In YiTest Virginia, five varieties, Blakemore, Catskill,
Culver, Fairfax, and Howard 17, were spaced 8 inches apart. In each case the
spaced plants outyielded the same varieties in matted ro\/s . Under Massachu-
setts conditions, we sometimes get a better yield v;ith certain strong grov/ing
varieties like Catskill, although the Howard 17 may do almost as well in a
matted row.

That there are at least four reasons why some grov/ers have failed to
get satisfactory results with sprays applied for controlling ilclntosh drop?
Among these reasons are: (l) Faulty coverage. It takes much more material
and a better distribution to wet the stem of each apple than is applied in
the average spray during the spraying season. (2) Temperature too low. The
spray is much less effective if applied v;hen the temperature is 60 degrees
than at 75 degrees. (3) Faulty timing. Since the spray is effective on
Mcintosh for only 9 or 10 days at best, the effect in some cases wears off
before the apples are due to drop. In otlier cases, the apples may begin
to drop before the material tecomes effective. This latter interval is about
two days. (4) The Mcintosh variety is less easily influenced than certain
other varieties. VJ'illiams, Duc?ie5S, Delicious, and certain other varieties
are apparently held on the tree more easily than Mcintosh.

That more than 7,000 varieties of apples have been named and intro-
duced? As late as 1900, 340 varieties were recommended, and nurseries v^ere
selling at least 1400 kinds. The variety list has rather steadily narrov/ed
down until today only about 30 varieties are of commercial importance. Con-
sidering the 1942 and 1943 production, Delicious led all other varieties in
importance, followed in order by Vfinesap and Mcintosh,

— L. Southwick

CHAIIGES IN 1944 AP PLE SPRAY CHART

V/e have been informed by the printer that the 1944 Apple Spray Charts
have been shipped. They will be distributed to county agents and growers
immediately upon their arrival. The chart this year has been printed on two
sheets so that the notes can be referred to more conveniently. In general,
changes in the Spray Chart this year are of a minor nature. It vdll be noted
that v;-ettable sulfur may be used in Emergency Spray A instead of lime sulfur
provided that this spray is applied merely as a protective cover. Line sul-
fur must be used if scab spots are to be burned out.

A revised Spray and Dust Chart for Peaches is expected to be available
for distribution presently, __^^ ^^ ^^^^^^^

-6-

BLUEBERRY VARIETIES

During the past tv;o or three years there has been an increasing
interest in the planting of cultivated blueberries. As with other fruits,
a careful selection of sites, soils, and varieties is highly important in
making a good start.

Better blueberry varieties are being introduced so rapidly that
in a very few years much better varieties than those in our present list
will be available. Since this will probably be just as true 3, 5, 10, or
100 years from now, the grower who always \vaits for those better varieties
will probably die waiting. "Time is now," so let us make the best of v>rhat
we have.

Since blueberry varieties vary from partly to totally self unfruit-
ful, tv;o varieties are needed for cross pollination. The coirunercial list
is short, - Pioneer, Rubel, and \Tarehain. To these might be added Gabot where
an early variety is desired for roadside stand or local trade.

Pioneer is a midseason variety, ripening from middle to late July or
early August. The berries are large, fine flavored, attractive, and good
keepers, Tlie bush is of medium height and fine appearance for ornamental
planting. Unfortunately the yield is lov/ and it is difficult to propagate
and prune. It is being rapidly replaced in other sections and will probably
be replaced in Massachusetts as soon as a better midseason variety appears,

Rubel is a late variety, ripening a few days after pioneer. It is
a good producer. The berries are only fair in size, but their color and
quality are good and they ship well. The bush is tall, upright, well
shaped, vigorous, and easy to propagate and prune. This is one of the
best varieties for the home gardener because it will withstand adverse
conditions as v^ell as any and better than most other varieties,

y/areham is an excellent late season variety, ripening a week after
Rubel"]! The bush is vigorous, upright-spreading, easy to propagate and
prune, and yields heavily. The berries develop good size throughout the
season and have a highly aromatic, wild flavor v/hich is v;ell liked by most
and highly pleasing to some. Although it starts v/ith Rubel, it ripens about
15^ of its crop after all other varieties are through. Unfortunately, it
is dark in color and, therefore, not so attractive as other varieties and
cracks badly following rains,

Cabot is an early variety, ripening a few days to a vieek before Pioneer,
The berries are largo and ship well but are rather flat in flavor. The
plants are low and spreading and not so vigorous as Rubel, but yields are
good. They are hard to propagate, costly to prune, and very susceptible
to Phomopsis gall, a trouble v/hich looks much like crown gall.

Other varieties which are recoLuiended for trial only are;

Stanley is a promising midseason variety. The fruit is large, handsome,
and excellent in flavor. The bush is upright, fairly vigorous, productive,

-7-

and easy to propagate and prune, but doesn't sprout so freely from the
base as could be desired. It may be a suitable replacement for Pioneer.

Jersey, which ripens with Rubel, looks very promising. The bush is
very vigorous, upright, productive, and easy to propagate and prune, but
does not sprout from the base so freely as is desirable. The berries are
long sterimed, making for easy picking, large sized, very attractive, and
keep and ship v/ell. The flavor is excellent if the berries are v;ell ■
ripened, otherviise they are sour. Since the berries turn blue a couple
of days before they are ripe, it is very difficult at times to keep pick-
ers from picking the underripe, very sour fruit.

Pemberton is a very promising nev/ variety which ripens with Rubel.
The bush is upright, very vigorous, productive and winter hardy. The fruit
is unusually large, attractive, and fine flavored. It is easy to prune
and is said to be easy to propagate. It's worst faults are a large v/atery
scar where the stem separates and the tendency for a little piece of skin
to tear off v;ith the stem. This leaves a place for molds to enter and
start decay if the berries are not used within a fevif days,

Atlantic and Burlington, tvio other nev/ varieties, have not yet been
fruited at the Massachusetts Experim'^nt Station, but information available
indicates they are v/orthy of trial,

Dixi, although introduced several years ago, has not been tried ex-
tensively enough yet to warrant any very definite opinions about it. The
berries are very large, attractive, fine flavored, and ripen late. It is
worthy of trial,

— J. 3. Bailey

IvIAIIURE FOR CULTIVATED BLUEBERRIES

Dr. F. V. Coville, the father of blueberry culture, in his early
greenhouse experiments \vith blueberries found that manure was so very toxic,
in fact killed some of the plants, that he never carried the 'ixperiments
into the fi'jld. Ilis repeated warnings against the use of manure were heeded
for 20 or more years. Then a few grov/ers of blueberries because they wore
more venturesome, or hadn't heard of Dr. Coville 's v/arning, tried manure in
the field with apparently good results. For this reason, an experiment was
started at Amherst in 1941 to compare three manures, cow, horse, and poultry,
on cultivated blueberries.

Horse manure v/as applied at the rate of 10 tons per acre, the
first year, and 20 tons per acre the next two. The other two manures v/ere
applied at such rates as to give approximately the same amount of nitrogen
as in the horse manure.

It is noteworthy that the blueberry plants have thrived and pro.»
duced heavily under this treatment with no signs of the toxicity reported
by Dr. Coville. The choice of a manure seems to be immaterial as all gave
equally good results.

— J. S. Bailey

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MR. WILLED A. laUI^bUW
DIRECTOR u'^^^X

SOUTH CfQLLicjS^ ^\^--aO 43

Ijftrch 27, 1944

Prepared by the Fruit Program Coi.mittee
of the Extension Service

\J, II f Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Con tents

Cause of Injury from Oil Sprays

Peach Crop Prospects for 1944

Can 17e Thin the 1944 Apple Crop?

Do You Know?

Orchard Soil Tillage in New England

Gumming of Poach Trees

Spring Control of Peach Tree Borers

Planting Cultivated Blueberries

Little Known Facts about Apple Scab

CAUSE OF IIIJURY FRO M OIL SPRAYS

Oils cause injury by smothering or excluding the supply of oxygen and
possibly by breaking da;irn the cell contents. On the bark of dormant trees
injury is apparently due to the penetration of the oil through the outer
bark to the caMbiuir.. Under favorable conditions the reoomi;iended Eimount of
oil in a spray will evaoorute or dry before it penetrates to the living
cells. Howe-ver, if mere than a safe amount is applied^ or the rate of
evaporation is decreased by cold, or by high humidity, the oil may have
time to penetrate the oaiabium before it dries.

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of Hay 8 £ind June SO,
1914, Y/illard A. I.Iunson, Director, Massachusetts State College, United States
Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

• 2-

Many remember that when dormant oil sprays were first recommended
caution against freezing was strongly emphasized. If the emulsion freezes
before it dries, the oil separates and collects in larger drops which do not
dry as rapidly as the smaller drops dispersed through the emulsion. There-
fore, oil sprays should be applied when the weather is clear and drying may
be reasonably expected in a few hours. Oil injury frequently develops first
and more seriously on the small twigs v/here the bark is thin. Here the, cam-
bium is less protected and the living cells are nearer the surface.

— 17. D. YJhitcomb

PEACH CROP PROSPECTS FOR 1944

If the College peach orchard can be taken as a good indicator, the
prospects for a full crop this summer is very bright. None of even the most
tender varieties, such as Elberta, Hale, Goldeneast, and Halehaven, has lost
over 35 percent of its buds and most have ].ost less than 25 percent. The
more hardy varieties such as Charapion, liarigold, and Oriols have lost only
a fev! buds.. Varieties like Champion, v>rhich set fruit buds very poorly, us-
ually average 10 buds per foot of shoot. Ordinarily a tree should not be
allov'/ed to bear more than 2 fruits per foot. Therefore, 60 percent of the
buds can be lost and still have left tv'vice as many as should be allovred to
develop into fruits. Varieties which set fruit buds very freely, 30-40 per
foot, such as Cumberland or the old Greensboro, can lose a higher percentage
and still have enough left for a full crop,

— J. S. Bailey

CAN Y/E THIN THE 1944 APPLE CROP?

Probably few fruit growers do as much thinning as they should. This
year will present an especially difficult situation. Several Experiment Sta-
tions have studied the possibilities of applying a caustic spray at blooming
time to control the set of fruit. Vie have in preparation a brief summary of
the results of these experiments. It is a little early to advise the general
use of these blossom sprays but they show promise. Me expect to make some
trials next sumiaer. If any grower wants to try them in an experimental way
we are glad to offer assistance and advice,

— J. K. Shaw

(The Extension Service is in position to cooperate with at least five Massa-
chusetts apple growers interested in testing the material mentioned above.
Any reader of Fruit Notes interested in mapping out a test in, his own orchard,
with the idea of checking results, is invited to drop a line to V/. H. Thies,
II.S.C, Ai'iherst, Mass.)

HELP.' J . - Two eastern Massachusetts apple growers are looking Ibr orchard
foreman. One of these vacancies is in a largf" orchard and the other in a
medium sized orchard. Both appear to be good opportunities for experienced
men. ^jnother apple grower is interested in buying a good orchard of at
least 500 bearing trees. Detail.s concerning these three inquiries may be
obtained as indicated in the paragraph above.

-3-

That the importation of dried fi^js into the UnitRd States has dwindled
from a high of 20,300 tons in 1925 to only 700 tons in 1940? From 4-5 to lb%
of the imported figs formerly came from Turkey. The state of California
shipped its first carload of dried figs to eastern markets in 1389. During
the ensuing 50 years production has increased to 32,800 tons of dried figs
and 19,000 of fresh fruit frorii a bearing acreage of 34,82G.

That about 3,000,000 lbs. of apple syrup was made from the 1942 apple
crop? 100 lbs. of apples make approximately a gallon of apple syrup weighing
11-g- lbs. At IG/ a lb. for syrup, the processor should be able to pay about
60;^ per 100 lbs. for apples. The largest single use of syrup is in the to-
bacco industry where this syrup is being used in place of glycerin.

That about 20,000,000 Victory Gardens were planted in 1943? The goal
of 18,000,000 v/as exceeded by 2,000,000. In these 20,000,000 gardens,
8,000,000 tons of food v/ere produced, viforth conservatively half a billion
dollars. Yet probably a third of the Victory Gardeners were rank beginners.
The goal for 1944 is 22,000,000 Victory Gardens, 6,000,000 on farms and
16,000,000 in towns and cities. These gardens should be laade to produce
10,000,000 tons of food.

That a shorter storage life of horiaone sprayed apples is due not to the
use, but to the misuse, of this material? If the sprayed fruit is harvested
during its normal maturity range over a period of 10 days to two weeks from
the time of application, the storage quality of the crop is not materially
lessened. It is only when the grov.-er elects to permit his hormone sprayed
fruit to hang on the trees to acquire additional size that increased ripening
and impairment of storage quality will result from the use of the hormone spray.

That apples left loosely stacked under the trees over night may be
cooler by morning than if placed in a crc(v;-ded storage room? Fruit picked in
the afternoon is ordinarily hotter than if picked in the morning. For this
reason, there is a decided advantage in bringing fruit to the cold storage
during the morning hours, only.

That top grafting of a single branch provides an effective v^ay of solv-
ing the cross pollination problem? To provide a showy permanent bouquet of
the pollinating variety a prominent limb vfell up in the tree and on the sunny
side should be selected for grafting. Growers sometimes make the mistake of
selecting an insignificant, low limb for this purpose.

That the farms of Georgia derive an estimated annual income of betv;een
^800,000 and ^.2, 000, 000 from pecans? If we consider the nearly 2,000,000 trees'
of bearing age, the yield per tree is disappointingly low.

-4-

That lack of crop due to insufficient pollination or to a poor spray
program are two reasons why many apple trees grow too tall? By the time these
shortcomings have been corrected, branches which would otherwise bend down-
ward, are too stiff to be influenced to any extent. Other reasons for tall
trees are orchard crovuding and the development of two or more leaders.

That a Quad spray nozzle with 5/64th inch disc opening will deliver
about 6 3/4 gallons at 300 lbs. pressure and 8 l/S gallons per minute at 400
lbs. pressure? The spray drive, or distance the mist \dll carry, is stepped
up from 15 to 17 feet by increasing the pressure from 300 to 400 lbs. Added
spray drive helps to provide coverage on otherwise poorly covered top branches.

That the civilian population of the United States consumed about 75^0
of our total food supply last year? In reality the civilian supply is slightly
higher than 75%, although for practical purposes the total food supply may be
divided as follows: civilians, 75^o} our armed forces, 13^^; our allies, lO^j,
and our territories and neighbors, including Porto Rice, Hav/aiian Islands and

That a bushel of apples sold in Ilichigan last fall for 4-325? This was
the svireepstake bushel at the apple shoi'/, a bushel of liclntosh grovm by Homer
Waring, and ii/as auctioned to the highest bidder, the money being used for charit-
able purposes.

That our first knowledge of the plow, as used by man, comes from wall
paintings in the tombs of Egyptian nobl»)s of 3,000 years ago? The plowman is
shovm at work in a field with a plow rnade of a forked tree, one branch left
long and attached to the ox yoke, the other cut short and pointed, to be dragged
through the soil, and the butt of the tree was shaped into a handle. The Greeks
used plows of a similar type^ to which they added a metal point. The points for
this primitive type of plow, made of a forked tree, were still made in Connecti-
cut as late as 1923 for shipment to the backwoods in South America.

That almost 17,000 food stores distribute fruits and vegetables to Nev\r
York City customers? Of this number, independent grocery stores number about
one-third, chain grocery stores about one-tenth, and meat markets only 3jo.
The weekly sales of fruits and vegetables averaged in chain stores from 12 to
14^^ of all sales and they handled from 14 to 17^j of the total fruit tonnage.

That the term "bearing age fruit trees" is very often a misnomer?
T/Yriting in the Rural New Yorker, II, B. Tukey says, "There is nothing wrong
with the idea of bearing age trees, \j7ien trees are well grown in a nursery
for this purpose, are transplanted in the nursery once or twice to develop a
compact root system, and v/hen a first class article is delivered, there is much
to be said for the bearing age tree. The difficulty lies in the fact that so
many bearing age trees are nothing more than left overs from seasons when the
demand for nursery stock was not high. Such trees may have been neglected in
the row, may have suffered foliage injury and borer attack} and may have other-
ivise been subjected to mistreatment. Vflien such trees are dug and delivered as
bearing age trees the planter really gets an inferior product and is inclined
to be disgusted, not only with bearing age trees, but v>rith the nurseryraan who
supplies them,"

-5-

That prunes, steamed before dehydration, produce a dried prune very
similar to the fresh prune in color? These new prunes have the pink to red
skin color of the fresh fruit and the flesh is a golden yellow. The steamed
fruit dries much more quickly than that treated in the usual manner, and after
drying it cooks quickly. It is believed that the new product, if produced
commercially, will make new friends for the already popular dried prune.

That the number of days between bloom and fruit maturity for a given
variety is remarkably similar from year to year? The Geneva New York Experi-
ment Station reports the following time intervals for several fruits j Early
Harvest apple, 77 days; Oldenburg, 98 days; Uclntosh, 127 days; and Rhode
Island Greening, 135 days; Montmorency cherry, 62 days, Bartlett pear, 121
days, and Elberta peach, 128 days.

That Vitamin C is being extracted from green vralnut hulls? These hulls
have 20 tines the vitamin C potency of orange juice. This extract is used for
fortifying food products. Incidentally, Vitamin C is now being made syntheti-
cally and can be sold for about i^l per ounce.

That the average prices received by farmers for fruits of various kinds
in 1943 were just about double those received in 1941? The average index mem-
bers for the past four years are as follov;s: 1400 - 73; 1941 -. 85; 1942 - 114;
and 1943 - 179. For the first month of 1944 the index number was 204,

That the War Food Administration will establish support prices on cer-
tain fruits in order to encourage the utilization of prospective 1944 supplies?
These support prices will apply to producers and processors of peaches and
pears for canning and for the following dried fruits; Apples, apricots,
clingstone and freestone peaches, pears, prunes and raisins.

That a decided shift from apples to nut crops has occurred in Oregon
during the past few years? The apple acreage declined between 1910 and 1943
from 73,000 to 15,300 acres. During this time the walnut acreage jumped from
7,500 to 24,100 acres while filberts increased from 100 acres to 15,200 acres.
Cherries increased during that period from 8,800 acres to 15,200 acres.

That the total supply of processed foods available in 1943 was 321,000,000
standard cases, a decrease of 38,900,000 cases from the 1942 total of 360,700,000?
A standard case of fruit contains 24 No. 2^- cans each holding approximately a
quart. Production of processed canned fruits decreased 16,800,000 cases in
1943, the total supply being 41,400,000 cases compared to 58,200,000 in 1942,

IN TODAY'S MAIL - A letter has just been received from the district manager
representing the manufacturer of one of the commonly used orchard sprayers
asking that v/e refer to him, for prompt attention, any case in which a grower
is having difficulty with that particular make of sprayer. He says, "If you
know of any service problems of any particular grower I wish you v;ould tell
me about it. Vlhenever you have done this in years past it has been a service
to the grower and to myself." This is too good an offer to pase up. Regard-
less of the make of sprayer, it should be put in first class working order be-
fore the beginning of the spraying season.

-6-

ORCHARD SOIL TILIAGE IN ITB7 B NGLAIJD

Fifty years ago, plowing and continued cultivation of apple orchard
soils in Nev/ England v/ere fairly commoji practices. Today the Sod-Mulch system,
which is subject to iTieiny modifications, has been adopted by practically all
of our commercial grovrers. The latter system tends to encourage good yields
of well colored fruit. It also facilitates the penetration of rainfall and
thus prevents, to a large extent, the erosion which was so common in clean
cultivated orchards.

Our better orchard soils have a sloping or rolling topography and
a fairly high elevation. Under these conditions, in the absence of contour
planting, any extensive tillage is certain to encourage both sheet erosion
and gullying. But if mulch material is applied around the trees in sufficient
quantity to smother the grftss more or less completely as far out as the tips
of the branches, ideal conditions for tree growth and production are main-
tained without danger of erosion. Furthermore, the tremendous demands of an
apple tree for water are better satisfied if rainwater penetrates v/here it
falls instead of flowing to a lower level, as occurs when a heavy rain falls
on a bare soil.

Another advantage of the Sod-Mulch ^stem over plowing and cultiva-
tion lies in the maintenance of a smoother orchard floor. This makes it
easier to travel through the orchard with a power sprayer or a truckload
of apples. Plowing leaves dead furrows which are difficult to level off
even v/ith a disc harrow.

Many of our orchardists are broadcasting a complete fertilizer be-
tween the trees, in addition to supplying the nitrogen needs of the trees
through a ring application of nitrogenous fertilizer. This practice, of
course, adds to the reservoir of organic matter since it encourages a better
grovTth of the existing cover. It nay also bring about some replacement of
plants in the cover, as for example, clovers in place of grasses. Since the
supply of organic matter increases frora year to year under this system if of-
fers an opportunity to disc once or twice, in spring, the strip between the
trees and thereby bring about partial decomposition of the organic matter.
This releases nitrates and other mineral elements for the tree and eliminates
for a brief period the competition betv/een the tree and the cover crop. The
tree is thus stimulated at a critical season, and later in the summer when
tree (_^rowth should be completed, the cover crop has reestablished itself, and
it proceeds to take up the nitrates which the tree no longer needs.

Partial cultivation of the surface six inches and incorporation of
some of the organic matter into the surface soil offer these additional ad-
vantages i Soil aeration is improved. Compacting, due to heavy machinery, is
corrected. And, in case the soil needs lime, an opportunity is offered to
work it dovm beneath the surface. The magic influence of organic matter on
the surface of the orchard soil and in the surfact layer are nov^ so apparent
to the New England apple grovrers that plowing and clean cultivation are becom-
ing obsolete practices.

-.1*'

GUinJING OF PEACH TREES

Persons with peach trees are often disturbed by the formation of
masses of gum on the trunks or branches. This gurming is the natural means
of the peach tree in protecting itself. ' YiTherever there is a break in the
bark, the sap oozes out, thickens, and forms a guiimy mass. It may or may
not be a sign of serious trouble depending on the cause of the injury.

If Johnny took a few shots at that peach tree v;ith his air rifle
or cut his initials in the bark with his new jackknife, there is no cause
for v/orry. The injury will heal over in time and the gum will disappear.

On the other hand, there are some insects which e«it into the bark
and cause trouble. The most common of these is the peach tree borer. The
grub of this insect eats the inner bark, or carnbiuia, and young sapwood. It
usually v/orks near the ground line or just below it, although occasionally
it is found v/ell up the trunk or even at the base of the main branches,
Masses of gum at or near the ground level are a pretty good sign that peach
tree borers are present. They are a serious pest and should be dug out with
a knife or treated with paradichlorobenzene. Directions for the use of this
material will be sent on request.

Occasionally, when peach trees become very weak from improper care,
shot-hole borers v.'ork in the tree. These little beetles make hundreds of
little holes in the bark so that the tree looks as if someone had peppered
it with a shotgun. The real remedy is to keep the trees growing vigorously,
since shothole borers seldom attack vigorous trees. Strong stimulation of
infested trees by heavy fertilization, pruning and cultivation may help the
tree to outgrow the trouble but badly infested trees usually die.

Although there are certain diseases which cause slight gum forma-
tion on small branches and twigs of peach trees in this state, diseases
which cause serious guriiming on the truiiks and main branches are not present.
Therefore, any serious gum formation is probably not due to disease.

Y/here the bark splits as a result of winter injury, where a branch
is broken off, or v;here the bark is chewed by rodents, gum formation will
take place. The remedy is to make the tree outgrow the injury if possible*

— J. S. Bailey

SPRIITG COIITROL O F PEAC H TREE BORERS

Can peach tree borers be controlled in the spring? This question
is often asked by those who failed to apply control measures at the proper
time in the fall.

Because of low soil temperature in the spring, paradichlorobenzene,
or PDB, has given universally poor results at that time of year and is, there.
fore, not recomi.iended.

Then v/hat about ethylene dichloride emulsion? Dr, Oliver I. Snapp
of Georgia says, "Ethylene dichloride emulsion is effective at ■ low soii

temperatures and, therefore, caii be used late in the fall and early in the
spring, vifhen it is too cold for paradichlorobenzene to be effective," Fall
applications of ethylene dichloride emulsion have been tried in the Experi-
ment Station peach orchard for three years. Very good control of borers was
obtained and no injury resulted when applications were made according to
Dr. Snapp's recommendations. Since severe injury has occurred in some states
and the rosipon for it is not known, this material is not being recomiTiended
for general use at any time of year. However, directions for its application
are available and vrill be sent to anyone wishing to use ethylene dichloride
emulsion experimentally at his ow n risk .

— J. S. Bailey

PLAITTIN G CULTIVATED BLUEBEIglES

planting tine is fast approaching and blueberries like other fruits
are best transplanted in the spring, the earlier the better. -But first, where
shall they be put? The place to plant blueberries is largely determined by
the nature of the soil. If the soil isn't right, the bushes ivon't grov/. Lov/
"frost pockets" are not good pj.aces. In such locations the bushes may be in-
jured by cold in winter or the crop nay be ruined by spring frosts.

The cultJ.vated blueberry requires a moist, acid soil well supplied
with organic matter. Tlie amount of moisture in the soil is very important
because the blueberry will not thrive with either too much or too little.
Being a native of the sv/amp^ it will stand flooding during the dormant season
but its roots must be out of water during the summer^ Hcn.vever.. a soil that
is merely saturated with water but not flooded is very unsatisfactory. The
freezing and thawing of such a soil heaves the plants out of the ground,
breaks their roots and results in very poor grov/th. On the other hand, the
plants grow poorly and bear little in a dry soil. A soil that is constantly
moist but well enough drained to prevent "water logging" is the ideal.

Most of the soils of New England are acid unless they have been
lined. 1/fliile these blueberries will grov; in extremely acid (pH 3.5) to fairly
acid soils (pH '0.6), they usually thrive best in soils classed as very acid
(pH 4.5 - 5.0). The presence of wild swamp blueberry, leather leaf, cranberry,
white cedar, or red maple indicates a good blueberry soil.

V/hile most commercial blueberry plantings are on soils composed of
mixtures of sand and peaty material, such a combination is not necessary as
is shovm by the fact that so:ne plantings are grOT/ing well on sandy loaras,
loams, and even mediura clays.

For a coLimercial planting the land should be ploived and harrov;ed
thoroughly before planting. If this can be done a year in advance and a cul-
tivated crop grovm, or the land fallowed for a year, there v;ill be less dan-
ger of grubs destroying the roots of the young plants.

Those v;ho wish to grow a few plants in the backyard can remedy minor
soil deficiencies if they are v/illing to take the time and trouble. If the
soil has been limed, it is usually not acid enough for blueberries and is dif-
ficult to acidify. Otherv>rise, a bushel of acid horticultural peat, which

-9-

should be thoroughly v;et before use, partly decayed leaves from liardwood
trees, woodland turf or rotten wood from a decayed stump or log mixed with
the soil in the planting hole helps to acidify the soil and retains moisture.
More acidity can be developed by the application of sulfur or aluminum sul-
fate. During dry periods in the summer, it maybe necessary to water the
bushes .

Commercial plantings of blueberries are generally set 5 x 8 or
6 X 10 feet. The planting distance depends on the fertility of the soil,
that is, how large the bushes will grow, and the cultivating tools to be
used. If cultivation is to be by a one-horse cultivator, rototiller or
some similar narrow equipment, 8 feet between rovrs is enough. Hov/ever, if
a large tractor and tractor equipment are to be used, 10 feet is none too
much. If the plants are to be mulched - rotted sav;dust, shavings, acid
peat, v/aste hay or straw are all good - and/space is at a premium they can
be set 7 feet bet\:een rows.

Blueberry plants transplant best if they are moved with a ball of
earth. However, from nurseries in areas where Japanese beetles are present,
it may be necessary to ship i/ith bare roots. VjTien the plants are received,
they should be set as promptly as possible in holes a little larger than the
root ball, and the soil firmed vrell around the root ball. They are best set
a little deeper than they stood in the nursery. If the plants ai'e received
ivith bare roots, the roots should be c arefully spread out in the hole and
fine dirt sifted around them and thoroughly packed to eliminate air spaces.
Ile'ver put fertilizer in the planting holes. It is likely to burn the roots.

— J. S. Bailev

LITTLE KIICT'ni FACTS ABOUT APPLE SCAB

Several growers have shovm an interest in the details of the apple
scab disease. Some of the following facts might serve a practical purpose.
However, they are intended for the most part as informative and interesting
information.

Apple scab has been knovm since the early part of the nineteenth century. The
fungus that causes the disease was first described by Elias Fries in Sweden,
1819. The first authentic record of the disease in America v/as from Hew York
and Pennsylvania in 1834.

The disease is world wide, occurring practically wherever the apple is grov-m.
Pear scab is caused by a distinct but closely related organism. The pear scab
fungus cannot attack apple or vice versa,

A large share of the 80,000,000 lbs. of sulfur sold as fungicide is used against
apple scab.

Cordley of Oregon in 1908 successfully used sulfur as lime sulfur for control
for the first time (per record).

An estimated loss due to apple scab in Massachusetts for 1943 is 20^o and this
is an underestimation. New York State figures a loss not less than' t. 3, 000, 000
annually. Yearly loss in Australia is estimated at ^48. 50 an acre.

-10-

There are tv/o spore stages of the fungus, the spring spores called ascospores
and summer spores termed conidia. It is well to know these terms.

Ascospores are shot forcibly from the old leaves on the ground a short dis-
tance into the air enabling the air currents to carry them farther.

At ttie peak of ascospore production, usually in the late pink, it is stated

that in 45 hours 8,170,200,000 spores can be ejected from the old leaves on

the ground in a 1600 square foot area. Keitt found an average of 2J9 ascospores
per cubic foot of air in a 4 hour rainy period.

Mature ascospores are ejected 5 minutes after the leaves become wetted. The
spores change color in maturity thus making it easy to tell when they are ready
to be shot out.

Ascospores are four times larger than the majority of the sulfur particles in
most sulfur sprays,

A moderate amount of infection can take place on unprotected leaves between
63° F. and 75*^ F., when the young leaves are wet for 12 hours. It takes only
13 hours of v/etting \;ith temperatures betv;een 64° F. and 75° F. to get severe
infection.

On terminals, leaves below the fourth loaf are resistant to the scab fungus.
If scab appears on such leaves they were inoculated when young.

Although Daldv/ins are considered by many to be resistant to the scab fungus
they may have as much infection as liacs. The fungus can change in its capa-
bilities of attacking certain varieties.

Careful cost and production records have shown net profits, due to spraying,
of 4^65 to v<'00 per acre.

The above are little knovm facts of my own choosing; the well knovm fact, of
course, is that we still have plenty to learn about the disease and tlie fungus,

— Thomas Sproston

WORCESTER CONCERIT TfAI JTS AP PLE ITOOD

A much better offer for apple wood than was reported in February Fruit
IJotes comes from a large manufacturer in Worcester. This concern needs sound
apple wood of these dimensions; 2" tliick, 6" wide or wider, and at least
1* long. One gro\jer who plans to deliver some of this material says it takes
about 1-^- cords to make 1,000 board feet.

For further details contact 'J. D. l/eeks, 1/orcester County Extension Service,
Post Office Building, 1/orcester, Mass.

April 20, 1944

Prepared by the Fruit Program Conmittee
of the Extension Service

T/Y. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

Earliest Year on Record for Apple Scab Spore llaturity

Schedule of Spray Message Broadcasts

Adventure in Soil Conservation

Poultry llanure as a Strav;berry Fertilizer

Bee Repellents

Impressions in the Hudson Valley

Controlled-Atmosphere Storage in New York State

Costs of Production

Peach Prospects for 1944

An Easy VJay to Thin Fruits (?)

Treatment for Magnesium Deficiency

New Seedling Apples

F'Jrtilizing Cultivated Blueberries

EARLIEST YEAR ON RECORD FOR APPLE SCAB SPORE IvIATURITY

Mature apple scab spores were observed this spring in one of the
College orchards on April 1, at the time fruit buds v/ere barely in the silver
tip stage. In view of this unusual situation, it is of interest to reviev; the
factors which are believed to influence the time of maturity of the v/inter
spores.

Past observations indicate that, as a rule in Massachusetts, winter
spores begin reaching maturity about green- tip stage; a very small por cent
are ready to discharge at delayed dormant; the period of heavy discharge is

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of May 8 and June 30,
1914, V^illard A. Uunson, Director, Massachusetts State College, United States
Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

-2-

fram pink to crIjoc; and spors disoh&rg© thereafter f&ilS off sharply •vrith
light dischErgea lasting until around Jun« 10-.15. In some seaeons, epor«
development lags behind this so-oalled average or normal course, and in
others, it is ahead 6f fruit bud de7*lopment» In aay season, leavas under
any particular tree may vary considerably regarding the time at which the
scab fungus reaches the spore-discharge stage.

One reason for the above mentioned variation among leaves is the
difference in the tine scabbed leave* drop from the tree. Those that drop
first, other factors being equal, usually develop winter spores first the
follw;ing spring. Mild, wet weather in the fall between leaf drop apd the
onset of winter usually favor* marked development of the young perithecia
(winter spore-caseS) before winter weather forces them into a dormant state.
Such perithecia are therefore likely to produce spores somewhat ahead of
schedule the following spring. Hence, either premature defoliation or a *alld,
damp fall may result in early winter apore maturity the following spring.

An unusually late anow cover ysuaily is followed by a comparatively
late period of winter spore Maturity. Likewise, regardless of what trans-
pired in the fall and winter, a dry spring usually contributes to late spore
maturity and delayed discharge, as oqcufred during the unusu&lly warm, dry
ftpring of 1942 which forced fruit bude far ahead of the normal season. Con-
versely, a wet spring, starting about the time fruit buds begin to swell,
favors scab spore development even though the temperature may be so low that
fruit buds make very slow progress. Such prolonged wet periods early in the
8pri3:>g are usually accompanied by cold v;eather, and such weather is likely to
constitute a back^vard season for plant growth, as occurred in 1943.

IThat is the situation this spring? premature defoliation last fall
was common for scabbed leaves, and was followed by a comparatively dry fiill.
There was very little snow cover during the winter, and spring, this year,
started out cold and wet« At present, apple fruit buds are about two or three
days earlier than in the very late season of 1943. Mcintosh buds jumped into
silver-tip stage in Amherst on April 9-10 and they have remained there until
the present (April 18), due to low temperatures. In Block A of the College
orchard, on April 3 v;ith fruit buds dormant, the farthest advanced perithecia
showed asci formed, but not spores. On Api:*il 11 with buds in the silver- tip
stage, immature spores were plentiful, but no ripe ones. On April 17 with
buds still in the silver tip stage, a small per cent of winter spores had
reached maturity and discharged during the preceding night. In Block D, scab
spores viere equally developed on April 11, following the warm period which
forced fruit buds into the silver tip stage.

Other orchards in Amherst ahow various intermediate stages of spore
development, between sligf;tly earlier than normal and the stage in Block p at
the College. If the season is normally wet from the present until blosscming
time a majority of the spores in our Blo»k D will have been discharged by that
time. And if scab spore development in commereisl orchards in other parts of
the state is correspondingly early, which ia probably the case, there v/ill be
an abundance of spores ready for discharge when the fruit buds reach the. delay-
ed dormant stage. This means that, generally over the state, growers will have
to be doubly cautious to prevent primary infection^, beginning at the full de-

-3-

layed dormant stage of fruit bud development, particularly since the scab
carryover is heavy this year. Grov;ers vrho apply an oil spray will very likely
need to add a dry Bordeaux, to give 2 lbs. of metallic copper to 100 gallons,
or make an 8-8-100 Bordeaux, and add the oil to it,

— 0. C. Boyd

SCHEDULE OF SPRAY MES S AGE BROADCASTS

Following is a schedule for the broadcasting of fruit pest control
information to be released by the Extension Service of the State College.
The first message will be issued Monday, April 24. The message released
each Monday afternoon will be broadcast Tuesday and repeated V/ednesday, while
the message released Yfednesday afternoon will be broadcast Thursday and re-
peated Friday. Y/henever occasions justify, new messages will be telephoned
or wired to the radio stations for V/ednesdays and Fridays to replace the re-
peat announcements. In compiling each spray service message, the Extension
Service v/ill have access to vreather information directly from the East Boston
Airport Station of the United States ViTeather Bureau,

1. YffiZ, Boston and YQZA, Springfield; 1030K; at 6j25 a.m. following
"the" weather report, and again at 6:55 a.m. Also, at 7j25 a.m. the
weather report and spray message are repeated.

2. TOTAC, Boston (and Yankee Network); at 6j25 a.m.

Y/IJAC, Boston, Massachusetts 1260 K

VJ'AAB, Vforcester, Massachusetts 1440

YffiAN, Providence, Rhode Island 790

V^ICC, Bridgeport, Connecticut 600

VrcSH, Portland, Maine 970

YiTLNH, Laconia, New Hampshire 1340

3. YffiEI , Boston, The "Farmers Almanac of the Air"j 590 K; at 6s35 a.m.
immediately following the weather forecast,

4. YJTAG , YJ'orcester, Massachusetts; 580 K; 6;45 a.m. daily; again fol-
1 owing the 1 p.m. news, and will include a new weather forecast
received at noon.

5. WTIC, Hartford, Connecticut; 1080 K; 6:05-6:16 a.m. following
weaTher forecast.

6. Possibly Y/LA17, Lawrence, Massachusetts; 680 K; ? a.m.

ADVENTURE IN SOIL CONSERVATION

Anyone who advocat*3S new agricultural practicis runs the risk of
being called an upstart, radical, or crackbrain. But come to think of it,
many of the now approved farm practices were novel not many years ago. The
use of commercial fertilizers made headway slowly in the beginning. Some

-4-

farmers thought that fertilizers would poison the soil, and, strangely, some
few still think so. The fanner who built the first silo in his community
vms probably laughed at. Doubtless, the first orchardists to begin spraying
were considered queer by their neighbors.

So it is to some extent with conservation practices, albeit many
of these have been used for years in some sections. Some New England farmers
have always used conservation methods, some are now trying then for the first
tine, and still others are considering their use. No doubt, the tine v;ill
come v;hen fundamental conservation practices will be as common as certain
cultural practices now are. Fruit growers as a group are among the most
open-minded and progressive farmers, and it is expected that they will adopt
soil conservation practices when they become convinced of their soundness and
practicability.

There are a fev/ good conservation demonstrations in orchards of
Massachusetts. More are needed for educational purposes. Orchardists v;ho
may want to try an adventure in soil conservation by way of contour planting
v:ill be given technical aid in eo far as available technical personnel permits.

— A. B. Beaumont

POUL TRY ItANURE AS A STRAVraERRY FERTILIZER

Ov/ing to its relatively high nitrogen content, poultry manure is
recognized as an excellent fertilizer for stimulating vegetative growth. It
is used to good advantage in a young orchard, and if certain precautions are
observed, in a strav/berry planting, but not during the bearing year, for at
least four reasons; (1) It is a mistaken notion that a strav/berry plant can
be forced into heavy production by liberal fertilization in the spring of the
bearing year. Fruit buds develop in Septenber for the following June. For
that reason no aiaount or kind of fertilizer between September and June will
increase the actual number of berries. (2) Wiile an application of a nitrog-
enous fertilizer in the spring of the bearing year encourages additional leaf
growth, and consequently larger size berries, it also results in berries of
poorer shipping quality. Loss in transit may be often traced to soft berries,
resulting from a spring nitrogen application. (3) Increased growth of leaves,
and incidentally of weeds, not only renders picking more difficult, but it
prevents the berries from drying off after a rain. In a rainy season, such
a planting presents a real problem in the form of decayed berries. (4) For
obvioua reasons, the mere thought of clusters of luscious berries resting on
a layer of poultry manure is distasteful, to say the least. Clean berries,
such as are harvested in a planting mulched with straw or pine needles,
represent this fruit at its best.

It is not the intent of the writer to discourage the use of poultry
manure in grov;ing strawberry plants. It is a question, not of the material
itself, but of the time of application. Poultry manure harrowed into the soil
in advance of setting the plants, works wonders in growing vigorous runner
plants. The amount of poultry manure to be harrowed in will vary, of course,
depending upon soil fertility. There is probably no better fertilizer for

.5-

growing strawberry plants thEin either poultry manure or v/ell rotted stable
manure. More poultry manure should be used for this purpose in Massachusetts.

Another very effective way of using poultry manure is found in stim-
ulating the cover crop to be plowed under in advance of setting the plants.
For example, if rye is sown on a soil which has received a liberal application
of poultry manure, a heavy growth may be expected. Then as the rye is plov»-ed
under, soil organic matter is greatly increased, and the strawberry planting
is directly benefitted. One of the large producers of strawberry plants in
Nev; England has adopted this practice with good results. He grows fine straw-
berry plants on a soil well filled with organic matter from a rye crop stimu-
lated by poultry manure.

One other disadvantage of applying poultry manure in the spring of
the bearing year is briefly thist As the strawberry plants develop in the
spring, the tender pedicels or fruit stalks are likely to be burned if they
come in contact v/ith this material. The writer recalls seeing a planting
several years ago which looked as if it had been scorched by fire. The ex-
planation was found in a layer of poultry manure wliich the v/ell meaning owner
had applied around the plants in early spring, V/ith large quantities of poul-
try manure available for agricultural use in Massachusetts, v/ays must be found
to utilize this material to good advantage, A considerable quantity can be
used by strawberry growers, not as a spring tonic in the bearing year, but
as a means of encouraging a strong grov/th of runner plants the first year.
If vigorous plants are grown, and if they are v;ell mulched in the fall, there
is little or no need for fertilizers of any kind the following spring,

BEE REPELLENTS

In the spring of 1943 some experiments were conducted at the State
College by F. R. Shaw and A. I. Bourne to determine the repellent value of some
of the suggested bee repellents. The reader may ask, "Vfhy repel bees from fruit
trees when they are known to be necessary for pollination?" The answer, of
course, is that bees are needed only while the trees are in full bloom. They
should leave promptly after they have accomplished their viork, since they may
later be poisoned by spray materials. In these experiments the following test
was made on 10 Cortland trees. Applications were made on May 22, using car-
bolic acid, creosote, and a phenol preparation. The west side of each tree was
Sprayed v/ith one of these materials, and the east side with a standard spray
mixture, without any repellent.

The most apparent result was blossom injury. This appeared in all
treatments, varying from 10 to lOOjj. The injury was indicated by a curling
and browning of the petals which dropped sooner than the untreated petals.
There was also some leaf injury, evident as a browning and drying of the tis-
sues. Some of the veins appeared blackened, followed by a cupping and crinkling
of the leaves. Fruit counts at harvest time shov/ed no consistent differences in
in the number of apples on the treated sides of the trees. Observations during
bloom indicated that within one day's time there V\rere about as many bees on the
treated as on the untreated branch'js. In these experiments there vms more in-
jury to the tree from creosote than from the carbolic acid or phenol preparation.
Feeding tests indicate that the addition of these materials tends to reduce the
length of life of the bees. Y/liether this reduction is due to starvation or to
actual poisoning has not been determined. 17ith our present limited knowledge
of bee repellents, the general use of such materials cannot be recommended.

-6-

II'IPRESSIONS IN THE inJDSON VALLEY

A recent visit to Ulster County across the Hudson from poughkeepsie
renewed our impression that it is the habitat of up and coming fruit growers.
17e came away with a few definite impressions. (1) The absence of old neg-
lected orchards. Practically all the trees Mere young to middle aged and
vrare well pruned, vigorous and apparently productive. Spraying was already
under v/ay (April 6). (2) Diversified plantings. 7/hile apple tro^^s were
most evident, many pear, plum, cherry, and some peach orchards v/nre seen.
Currants and grapes were common. This locality is v/ell adapted to fruit
growing, and market connections v/ith New York City are good. But the most
important factor is Y/ide awake, up-to-date ^^rov/ers. Vfc will not adnit that
they are any smarter than Massachusetts growers but v;e must put on steam if
v;e are to compete successfully with them.

Many of our good orchards are growing old and we must have new plant-
ings to replace them or we will fall behind in the race. V/hether v;e should
grov; more fruits other than the apple may be doubtful. We cannot grow sweet
cherries, and currants are out of the question in many localities because
they harbor white pine blister rust. But why should vre not grow enough pears,
plums and peaches to satisfy state markets during our season? Grov/ers would
have to learn the fine points of the game, but that can be done.

Incidentally, two grov/ers applied the new blossom thinning spray in
1943 to biennial bearing VJ'ealthy trees. At the time they thought they had
ruined the trees, but they harvested a good commercial crop last year, and
the same trees promise to have a good crop this year.

— J. K. Shaw

CONTROLLED- ATMOSPHERE STORAGE IN liWJ YORK STATE

Our trip into the Hudson Valley on April 5 and 6 was mainly to in-
spect, and discuss with the owners, two controlled-atmosphere storages. One
of these storages is in Clintondale, operated by Mr. Jerome Hurd. The other
is in I.Iilton, operated by Mr. Claude Hepworth. These men operate both con-
trolled-atmosphore and regular storage rooms,

Mr, Hurd's 8,000-bushel controlled-atmosphere storage was built
some three years ago and was made "gas-tight" mostly by lining with sheet
metal. He opened this room on April 1 and the apples were in good condition.
Demand for them, of course, has been heavy, Mr. Hepworth 's 13,000-bushel
room was made over into a controlled-atmosphere storage by the use of special
paint over concrete v:alls and floor and aluminum foil on the ceiling. Many
of the Mcintosh in this storage v/ere grown in Upstate New York,

Both men are satisfied v/ith their controlled-atmosphere storages,
even though this year they cannot get the usual premium of 50 cents to a
dollar over ordinary cold storage Mclntoeh. Mr. Hurd is building another
large storage and is planning to make up to one-half of this new space into
controlled-atmosphere storage. Two such storages were operated this year

-7-

in V/estern Uevr York. At least three other nen in New York State are planning
to build this type of storage and it is believed that after the v/ar, some 10
or 12 will be constructed. In short, there is an active and growing interest
in this improved method of late storage for Mcintosh. The apples keep longer
and in better condition, and stand up v;ell after removal. In the spring of
1943, controlled-storage Mcintosh were listed separately on the Nev/ York mar-
ket and will probably be so listed again when pfice ceilings are a thing of
the past.

Considering its apparent success £ind its projected expansion in New
York, it would seem that this type of storage should have a place in Massachu-
setts. Controlled-atmosphere storage of LIcIntosh in this state should prob-
ably be undertaken at first by a fov; individuals v/ho fully appreciate its
special problems and advantages. The experience of the fev/ "pioneers" in
Nev; York v/ould seem to justify the expectation of similar success on the
part of a few progressive Massachusetts storage operators. ITe have had some
experience in the -operation of a small controlled-atmosphere room at the
Massachusetts State College and are convinced of its practicability.

— Lawrence SOuthwick and 0. C. Roberts

COST S OF PRODUCTION

All fruit growers are and should be interested in costs of produc-
tion, not only his own but those of his competitor, because his survival in
the industry may depend on lower per bushel costs. The grower has little
control over selling price, but he can exercise some control over costs of
production. In central l.'ashington it was found that the average cost of
grovfing and harvesting apples in 1942 was 92/^ per packed box, but it varied
from less than 60/ to more tlian 01. 60 per packed box. Packing and storage
costs averaged 72/, making a total average cost of $1.64 per packed box,
ready for the buyer. This total cost varied from $1.32 to $2,32. The prin-
cipal cause of this variation was yield* Grov/ing and harvesting costs for
those averaging less than 200 boxes per acre was $1.71 per box. This cost
decreased with increasing per acre yields so that grov/ers v;ith yields of
over 750 boxes per acre grew and harvested their apples at a cost of only
72/ per box. Growing and harvesting costs v;ere generally less in larger
orchards varying from 80/ in smaller orchards to 67/ in larger orchards.

(V;ashington Bui. 429). . „ ou

^ '^ ' — J. K. Shaw

PEACH PROSPECTS F OR 194 4

The cold weather of early April seriously reduced crop prospect*
in southern areas* South of central Virginia to central Illinois there wafc
more or less severe injury varying with area and orchard site. None has
been reported north of this line. Indications are that while the crop in
the southern area will be nearly tv^ice that of last year, it will be not
much over half that of the 10-year average. Perhaps the northern peach
grower is going to get a break this year,

-- J. K. Shaw

-8-

Aii EASY y;ay to tiiin fruits (?)

The use of caustic sprays applied at full bloom to thin apples and
peaches has been investigated in various fruit growing states, in view of
the prospective shortage of labor some of our growers may wish to try this
method of thinning and promoting annual bearing of biennial varieties » No
experiments have been made at the College but we expect to try it this year.
We are not yet ready to recomriend this practice except as an experiment.
We v/ould be glad to make suggestions to any fruit groiver v;ho wants to try
it. Blossom spraying to thin fruits offers promise and v;hen v;o learn just
hov; to do it, vre may adopt this nev/ practice in fruit grov/ing.

— J. K. Shaw

TREATIvlEHT FOR I.IAGIIESim.I DEFICII^NCY

Some suggestions for the treatment of magnesium deficiency in apple
orchards in Massachusetts are as follows;

(1) Broadcast one to tv;o tons per acre of a high magnesium limestone,
and work into the soil if possible. The limestone should contain more than
15 percent MgO. High magnesium limestone is available under the Atik program,
it is often spoken of as dolomitic limestone. The use of limestone is ex-
pected to help tremendously in effecting a lasting cure of the trouble.

(2) Apply 5 to 10 pounds of Epsom salts per tree depending on tree size
and previous symptom severity. This may be applied about the same time and
in the same v/ay that nitrogen fertilizers are applied. The magnesium in
Epsom salts will be more quickly available to trees than that in limestone.

(3) Probably the quickest way to relieve magnesium deficiency is by
spraying the foliage of affected trees with Epsom salts solution. Three
special applications are suggested at v/eekly to ten-day intervals, beginning
just after the calyx spray. Use 20 pounds of Epsom salts per 100 gallons

of vmter. Lacking sufficient evidence on the safety of including the Epsom
salts in the regular spray mixtures, special or separate applications are
suggested.

(4) Be cautious in applying potash to orchards that have shown definite
magnesium deficiency sj,Tnptoms, Considerable evidence shows that potassium
fertilization aggravates magnesium deficiency symptoms and there are appar-
ently few orchards in this state that are suffering from an actual shortage
of potassiuiii at the present time,

— Lav;rence Southwick

HEW SEEDLING APPLES

Some years ago. Professor F. C. Sears started a Small apple breeding
project at Massachusetts State College. Most of the trees have nov/ fruited
for one or more years and, as might be expected, they vary widely in both
tree and fruit.

■ 9-

A very few have shewn sufficient promise to merit propagation and
further testing. We have a limited supply of one-year trees of four of
these seedlings propagated on semi-dwarf rootstocks in the Experiment Sta-
tion nursery. Any grower who would like to set a few of these trees for
trial may contact the writers at French Hall, Massachusetts State College,
Amherst, Mass, Only a few growers cem be accommodated, of course, due to
the small number of trees available. 1/e will allot the trees and send them
out as soon as possible. There will be no charge except for express trans-
portation and naturally there is no guarantee that any of the s<^edlings
will prove to be worth naming.

Seedling

Numb er Description

A-13 Cortland x Red Astrachan. Color like Cortland or well-
colored Gravenstein, V/hite flesh, good quality. Season -
late August.

A-17 Cortland x Red Astrachan, Bright red striped or splashed,
25-30 percent colored, attractive, good quality. Season -
late August.

C-31 Mcintosh x Red Astrachan. Color deep red, good quality,
ripe before Aug. 25.

F-IO Northern Spy, selfed. Good color, somewhat small.

Red Baldv/in. \le also have a few trees of a new red sport of Baldwin
v/hich v;e will~sVn'd" out to tv/o or three interested growers. This red pport
was discovered on a tree in the Experiment Station orchard about 10 years ago,
It was propagated and has nov; fruited at imherst. There seems little doubt
that it is a red sport. It colors some\<iiiat earlier and takes on a very deep
red by harvest. It may possibly be too dark or it may have other faults,
but it seems to be worthy of further testing. Available trees are one-year
whips.

— Lav/rence Southwick and J. K. S^^aw

FERTILIZING CULTIVATED BLUEB ERRIES

No fruit plant will grow and yield well if starved. The cultivated
blueberry is no exception. Although care must be used not to burn young
plants by too much soluble fertilizer, bushes in full bearing will regpond
favorably to heavy applications.

At present, the combination to use will be largely determined by
v;hat is available. Fortunately, a 7-7*7 combination, which is available
this year, has been found to be excellent for blueberries. If the materials,
labor, and time are available for home mixing, a good combination isi

Nitrate of soda .,.«»»,.., 450 pounds

Calcium nitrate ......,<.« 450 "

20fo superphosphate 800 "

Sulfate of potash ,....,.. 300 "

.10-

This combination analyses about 7-8-7 and is especially good for
very acid soils, belov/ pH 5, In soils above pH 5, it is better to substi-
tute 710 pounds of sulfate of ammonia for the sodium and calcium nitrates.
This helps to make the soil more acid. The home gardener, to whom only
5-10-5 is available, does not need to worry. Since phosphorous is so rapid-
ly fixed in the soil, the extra amount in this combination v;ill probably
make little difference ono way or the other.

Since young plants are so easily burned by soluble fertilizer, it
is better not to use any fertilizer the year the plants are set. The second
year a very small handful v;ell spread out may be used. Mixing an equal
amount of dry sand v/ith the fertilizer will facilitate spreadiiig. In suc-
ceeding years, the fertilizer can be gradually increased until GOO to 1000
pounds of the 7-7-7 mixture is used vihen the bushes are in full bearing. A
good rule to follov/ is 1 ounce per plant the year follov/ing planting and
increase this 1 ounce per plant per year until a total of 10 to 16 ounces
is reached. The amount to apply to bearing bushes depends on the fertility
of the soil and the response of the plants. In this climate, fertilizer had
best be applied in the spring. Fall applications may result in winter injury.
Although the fertilizer can be put on all at once, just as growth starts,
it has been found advantageous to split the amount and apply half v;hen the
plants start to grov; and the other half 3 to 4 vieeks later. In the Exper-
iment Station planting, v;here the soil is about pH 5, it has been found a
good practice to apply v;hen growth starts, 600 pounds per acre of the recom-
mended combination made up with sulfate of ammonia in place of nitrate of
soda and then about June 1 apply 100 to 150 pounds per acre of sulfate of
ammonia.

Experiments carried on at Amherst have shown that manure can be used
on blueberries without producing the toxic effect that has previously been
supposed to follow its use. Two tons of good poultry manure v/hich contains
20 pounds of nitrogen per ton would be roughly equivalent in nitrogen to
600 pounds of 7-7-7. Two tons per acre is about 4 pounds per plant. The
amount of manure applied can be increased if there is considerable litter
in it. Since horse manure contains about 14 pounds of nitrogen per ton
and cow manure 12 pounds, 1 l/S times as much horse manure and 1 2/3 as
much cow manure as poultry manure can be used,

— J. S. Bailey

194 4 Fruit Prospects . Assuming average growing conditions in 1944,
total deciduous fruit production should be from 10 to 20^^^ greater than in
1943. Indicated percentage increases over 1943 for various fruits are about
as follows: apples 25, peaches 50, pears 15. There may be a decrease of
about 10/i for gi-^^s and~pr'JneT. C i'tr'u s p r oduc ti on will probably be main-
tainer near tKe'liigh leve'r~6*F~the past two years.

Farm Income. The total cash farm income is higher in this war per-
iod than ~"3urlng' World War I. In 1943, it totalled 19.1 billion dollars,
31^0 more than the previous record income in 1919, yet prices per unit received
by farmers averaged considerably lower in 1943 than in 1919. (Agricultural
Situation, March, 1944). — Lav;rence Southv;ick.

May 31, 1944

Prepared by the Fruit Program Committee
of the Extension Service

W. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

Winter Injury to Red Raspberry Varieties

Frost Damage

Dwarfing Effects of Mailing Stocks

Heavy Borax Application May Cause Injury

The Peach Situation

Peach Thinning

Controlled-Atnosphcre Storage for Mcintosh

Orchard Depreciation

Prevent Accidents

Review of Literature on Bee Repellents

Keep Newly Set Trees Growing

Plum Curculip Pays Annual Visit

Used Container Situation

Blossom Thinning Sprays

A Poen

WINTER INJURY TO RED RAS P BERRY VARIETIES

Even though the winter of 1943-44 seemed to be a rather mild one,
considerable damage occurred on bramble fruits, due probably to a combina-
tion of factors, December temperatures, vAiile not extreme, averaged lower
than for many years. The extremely light snowfall for the v/inter permitted
the ground to freeze deeply, thus reducing the available water supply of
shallcnr/ rooted plants. The mildness of late winter probably caused bud tips
to open fairly early and while the ground was still frozen the drying south
winds contributed materially to the situation.

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of May 8 and June 30,
1914, 1/Villard A. Munson, Director, Massachusetts State College, United Stat«6
Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

-2-

IThil'J the amount of injury is generally less than a year ago,
the crop of sorae varieties will be reduced. In tiie college planting, Indian
Sunraer, Ca;,aiga, Chief, LathaiA, Sunrise, Tahoma, aiid Reoiere showed lO^J or less
of damage. Taylor, Ohta, Milton and Tennessee Autuian showed from 13 to 20^o;
Y/ashington, Lloyd George and Newburgh from 30 to bOfo; while Cuthbert, Marcy
and Viking had from 60 to yoj^o of their total cane growth killed.

The above order of varieties, based on amount of injury, is con-
siderably different from that of a year ago. This offers further evidence
that a number of factors contribute to winter killing of bramble canes and
that varieties react differently to these several factors.

— A. P. French

FROST DAI il AGE

The serious injury to fruit crops by frost on the morning of May 19
reminds us that even Massachusetts orchards occasionally suffer frost damage
Although injury has been reported in some orchards in the state in other
years, only once before in 37 years have we seen serious frost injury to
tree fruits in the College orchards. Orchards planted in frosty locations
suffer rather frequently ,

This year's experience emphasizes the oft repeated advice to plant
orchards only on sites considerably elevated above the stream level of the
vicinity with opportunity for free air drainage and without bare areas above
v/here heat radiation is considerable.

The question has been raised as to what temperature will kill
blossoms or young fruits. Probably the temperature at which the tissues
are actually killed varies v/ithin rather narrow limits. Since ive measure
the temperature of tho ■ air, near or even at some distance from the tree
itself, v/e cannot easily tell vAiat is the exact temperature of the plant
tissue. These temperatures vifill differ somovjhat. Hence, one camiot toll
from a thermometer reading whether or not it has been cold enough to kill
the fruit tissue.

Air temperatures at different points in an orchard on a still,
frosty morning may differ several degrees, or enou^ to cause injury varying
from none at all to complete. The differences in temperature between dif-
ferent orchards will be much greater. Hence, it will be found in some or-
chards that the crop has been completely killed while in others no injury
has occurred.

It is probable that the tissue of young fruits will not survive
temperatures of more than 3 or 4 degrees below 32° F. Tissue temperature
tends to lag behind air temperature. Consequently, if the air minimum con-
tinues only a short time, the tissue temperature does not fall to that of the
air. But if it continues long enough, the temperatures will be the same,
Contrary to a comraon belief, young fruits in general are more easily injured
than blossoms, and peaches in the balloon stage are hardier than at a later
stage.

-3-

It will be three or four weeks after the frost before the full
amount of damage can be estimated. The core se^jms to be most injured and
such apples may drop later.

Fruits at different

stag*

3S of

dev€

ilopment

have endur'

the follow.

ing temperatures for 50

minutes or

less

•
•

Buds

Clos

led

but

Full

Small Green

Showing Col<

Bloom

Fruits

Apples — Delicious,

—

25°

28°

29°

Rome Beauty

'27

Pears — Beurre Bosc

V/inter lie lis

Poaches

Cherries

Plums

Grapes

-- J. K. Shaw

DTfAPJING EFFECTS OF I/IALLING STOCK S

Some people have the mistaken notion that all Mailing stocks <exert
dwarfing tendencies. That, of course, is not the case. Certain Mailing
stocks result in trees of standard size, as for example. Mailing XII. At
the other extreme. Mailing VIII results in a tree so dwarfed that it usually
must be supported in order to remain upright. This is even more true of
Mailing IX. The latter is a very brittle stock but it is preferred to Mail-
ing VIII because it is easier to propagate. The following Mailing stock
numbers are arranged in approximate order of dv;arfing!

Very dv;arfing: VIII, IX
Semi-dwarfing: VII, II, III, V, IV, I
Standard or near standard: X, XIII, XV, XVI, XII

— J. K. Shaw

HEAVY BQR.^ APPLICATIO II MAY CAUSE INJ ITRY

Apple trees are known to be quite resistant to boron toxicity.
Yet experiments in Hew Hampshire shav that it is possible to injure trees
by excessive soil applications of Borax. Im application of 5 lbs. per 18-
year-old tree v;as as much as was safe. Applications of 10 and 20 lbs.
caused injury. Trees on soils that have been liiaed will stund more borax
than those on soils that have not been limed. If one k-^eps borax applica-
tions within the recommended amounts of not over 2 lbs. per tree, there is
no danger of injury. (Proc. Amer. Society for Hort. Science, Vol. 43, page 21)

~ J. K. Shaw

17e are interested in knowing what has been done or is
being done concerning the correction of magnesium de-
ficiency in Massachusetts apple orchards. We would
appreciate it if grov/ers having a magnesium problem
would drop us a line, — L. Southv;ick and J. K. Shaw

-4-

THE PEACH SITUATION

(The follovdng information was obtained before the freeze of May
18-19. Honce tlie prospects here roport'^d are subject to modification)

Judfjing from the results of a questionnaire sent to a number of
peach ^rovrers o-ror the state, the crop prospects are good. The information
sent in indicates the followingj

1. Fruit bud killing has been less than 25^3 in most orchards even on
tender varieties. The highest killing reported v;as GOf^,

2. Most young trees have made a good recovery from the severe v^inter
of 1942-43.

3. Many trees 15 years old or older have not made a good recovery,

4. In a few orchards, trees under 3 years of age were severely damaged.

5. In most orchards, the bearing trees under 15 years of age appear to
be in good condition to boar a crop.

Of 56 questionnaires sent out, 40 have been returned, representing
abt)ut 15,000 trees. This is an unusually high proportion of replies. At a
time v;hen so many questionnaires are being circulated such a rcsponso is very
gratifying. The writer wishes to thank the peach grov/ers for their help,

— J. S. Bailey

PEACH THINNI NG

Although many peach trees appear to have made a good recovery
from the cold v/inter of 1942-43, examination will reveal that they have
much dead, dark brovm heartwood. In spite of the thrifty outward appear-
ance of the trees, their framework has been seriously vreakened. The result
is going to be a lot of broken branches and split trunks if the trees are
allowed to carry too heavy crops. The ansv/gr, of courso, is thinning.
Thinning should pay additional dividends this year in the number of trees
saved.

— J. S. Bailey

CONTROLLED- ATHO SPHERE STORAG E FOR I;IC IIITOSH

It is a r.ecognized fact that the practicable limit of the storage
life of Mcintosh apples held in refrigerated storage at 52° F. is reached
by the first to the middle of March and that Mcintosh held later in the
season lose most of tliat quality which has made this variety famous in
the Northeast. A contributing factor limiting storage life of Mcintosh
in 32° F. storage is the danger of cold temperature troubles such as core
flush or internal brov/ning of the flesh near the core.

-5-

Extensive and careful experiments at Cornell University have demon-
strated that Mcintosh apples can be stored for the late spring market much
more satisfactorily at 40° F. in controlled-atmosphere storage than at 32° F.
in regular cold storage, Exp^-riments at the Massachusetts State College
support these findings.

C on trol led-Atmo sphere Storage - THiat it is. Controlled-atmosphere storage
is "a"recently developed type of cold' storage. Instead of the usual air
(21^0 oxygen, a trace of carbon dioxide, and 78^0 nitrogen) in most ventilated
cold storage rooms, the three constituents of air are maintained at artifi-
cial levels. In controlled-atmosphere storage, the oxygen is maintained at
approximately 2%, carbon dioxide at 5^o, and nitrogen at 93^. The tempera-
ture is kept at 40° F.

Vrhat it Doe s .

rr This typo of storage is especially adapted to extend the
storage season of Ilclntosh, Apples from controlled-atmosphere storage
can be taken out in April and Uay in similar condition to those removed
from average 32° F. cold storage in January and February.

2. Apples taken from controlled-atmosphere storage will usually
keep several days longer at room temperature than apples from ordinary
cold storage.

3. The 40° F. temperature elirainates most internal brovming,

4. Shrinkage losses due to decay are reduced,

IIovj itWorks. Apples respire and in so doing they use oxygon and give
off "carbon 'dioxide. The rate of ripening and breakdovm of apples in stor-
age depend largely on the speed of this respiration. Therefore, any storage
condition that tends to retard or slow dovm tho respiration process prolongs
the storage life of tho fruit. The speed of respiration may be reduced in
several vvays, tvio of which are; (1) by lowering the temperature and, (2)
by reducing the amount of oxygon. In ordinary 32° F. storage, low temper-
ature alone is utilized; in controllod-atnosphoro storage, both 1 )v; temper-
ature and low oxygen operate to slov/ dovm respiration and, hence, ripening.
In short, apples "live" more sloi-^ljr over a longer period in this nev; type
of storage.

Sp ecial St orage Room Re quirements. The maintenance of the artificial at-
mosphere requires that the st orage be practically gas- or air-tight. This
is achieved by special gas-proof linings (often galvanized sheet iron),
caulking compounds, and special enamel paints in both novz-ly-constructed and
remodeled rooras. Most we 11- cons true tod rooms can be made sufficiently gas-
tight for controlled aimosphore storage.

Special Equipment Requirements. An atmospheric vmsher or scrubber to remove
carbon dioxide is necessary. V/lien a gas-tight room is filled v;-ith apples and
sealed up, respiration of the fruit proceeds quits normally. Oxygen is used
up; carbon dioxide is given off. As the room is gas-tight, the oxygen con-
tent is gradually lov/ored and the amount of carbon dioxide increased. Since
a high accumulation of carbon dioxide may be harmful, the concentration of
this gas usuallj'- is not allovrod to go above 5 percent, '^fhen this level is
reached, the atmosphere in the room is forced through a simple washer con-
taining a solution of caustic soda v/hich has the capacity to absorb carbon

-6-

di oxide. Through this means, the level of this £&$ can be maintained at
or belov; 5 percent.

Also, frequent analysis of the atmosphere in the room necessitates
the purchase or construction of a gas-analysis apparatus. This job is not
difficult but will require from 5 to 10 minutes per day. It must be empha-
sized that in this type of storage, the levels of carbon dioxide and o::y£en
must be controlled rather accurately; otherv/ise results may be disappointing.

Extra costs. As already indicated, there are certain added costs involved
in both the construction and operation of controlled-atnosphere storage. It
is estimated that the total cost per bushel in addition to ordinary cold
storage costs is around 10-15 cents per season. Fifteen cents vias the addi-
tional charge for storing Mcintosh in a controlled-atmosphere storage in
New York in 1943-44 over cold storage in the same building.

The Future of Controlled-Atmosphere Storage. Four storage rooms varying in
cETpac'ity'lYam' 2,000 to* 13 ,l)Otr'BTrsTieTs~vifere~successfully operated in New York
this past season (1943-44). All of those have been operated for two or more
years to the satisfaction of -the ov/ners. Tv-fo more are under construction now;
probably at least 10 will be built as soon as the v;ar is over.

It seems that there is definitely an opportunity for the successful
operation of a limited number of these storages in Massachusetts.

Construction in Massa chuse tts. The Departments of Pomology, Food Technology,
and Agrrcultu'rirr"Engi ne'e ring' v;ill be pleased to counsel and assist in every
v;ay possible any proposed construction of controlled-atmosphere storages in
this State.

(Prepared by the Departments of Pomology, Food Technology,
and Agricultural Engineering, Massachusetts State College.)

O RCHARD DEPRECIATION

The question of orchard depreciation has been recently called to
our attention by two growers, Donald Priest of Groton and John Rice of Marl-
boro. Following is a copy of a letter of explanation written to Mr. Rice
by \l, G. Simmering of the Massachusetts Farm Bureau:

"As requested in your letter to Mr. Howard Russell, we are pleased
to explain briefly our general procedure in handling depreciation for fruit
growers. In this past year, we established a value on apple orchards at the
rate of $300 to $^400 per acre average, setting up this amount for each tax-
payer in proper asset form and depreciating this amount at the rate of four
and as high as five per cent per year. These amounts were properly estab-
lished in reserve for depreciation form, thereby allowing for continuing the
S£une procedure each year, also taking into consideration new additions to the
orchard. As to a ruling fraa the Collector of Internal Revenue in Boston,
there has been no such basis established, yet they toll us our figures are a
fair allowance and would no doubt bi:; acceptable. Should there bo any further
question, do not hesitate to v;rite us so that your depreciation records may
be established as early as possible this year."

■ 7-

PREVENT ACCIDENTS (From Circ. issued by U.S.D.A., February, 1944)

Suggestions for Accident Prev ention on the Fa rm

(1) Are you protecting your fami l y and prope rty against fires? Do you —

Regularly inspect and clean chimneys and stovepipes? Avoid using kerosene
and gasoline in starting fires? Insulate wood and other inflammable ma-
terials from the heat of stove and stovepipes? Store gasoline and other
inflammable or explosive materials at safe distances from major farm build-
ings? Properly clean and adjust kerosene ajid other burners? Have handy
means available for putting out fires?

(2) A re yo u pro tecting your famil y a gainst preventable falls ? Do you —
Use on'ly"~afe ladders "securo'ly fastened? Provide adequate ' hjindrails f
steps, porches, stainvays? K-^ep steps, porches, and stairways in good re-
pair and clear of rubbish and all tripping hazards? Keep v/ells, cisterns,
pits, etc., securely oovorod?

(3) Are you protecting your fsyrdly against preventable injuries f rom animals?
Do "you -- Keep bulls, boars*ji and ' rams securely peniied? Use care in hand-
ling animals with nev;born young? Keep vicious dogs tied up and away from
children? Speak to animals before entering stalls?

(4) Are you protecting your family against preventable injuries by machinery,
tools, equipment of all kinds? Do you — Keep all hazardous belts,
gears, etc., v;ell guarded? Permit only experienced operators on machinery?
Stop equipment before adjusting, refueling, etc.? Keep children away from
dangerous equipment? Safely use a nd store sharp-edged tools? Keep yard
clear of broken tools, machinery, etc.?

(5) Are you encouraging accident prevention in your home? Do you -- Urge mem-
TJeVs of your faraily'to work safely, play safely, drive safely, ai^d other-
wise prevent accidents by correcting conditions that might cause accidents?
Have first-aid materials on hand for treatment of minor scratches and
injuries? Are such materials safely placed away from children?

Accidents touch tirie life and pocketbook of one out of every four
Americans, In 1942, accidents in the United States caused 93,000 deaths and
9,200,000 injuries and cost v5. 200, 000, 000. Approximately 5 perctjnt of these
losses occurred on famis. This means that accidents killed 4,600 farmers,
injured 450,000 farmers, and caused a loss of $26,000,000 to farmers and their
properties. By being careful you can do your part in preventing farm acci-
dents. Here is whao 'you~can do; Locate tho dan;:er spots on your farm.
Get rid of th ose danger spots. Remember that nest accidents do not ''just
happen." They are caused. Accidents that can happen usually do happen. Soon-
er or later an accident is likely to occur from a neglected dangerous condi-
tion. Know the causes of accidents and get rid of then.

Inspection points the way to protection. Find it and fix it.

The compiler of Fruit Notes will spend the week of June 5 in Maine, attending
a series of four tv/ilight meetings and visiting as many orchards as time will
permit.

-8-

BEVim OF LITERATURE 0^ BEE RSPELLHITS

Since certain individuals are urging the use of so-called repellents
in spraying as a possible safeguard for bees, the following sfuramary of experi-
mental work is presented*

One of the earliest known references to the use of bee repellents was
the reconnendation in 190D of carbolic acid for this purpose.

In 1921, Melander conducted some tests to detejrmine the value of several
naterials as repellents. Among his conclusions are the following: (1) Creosote,
craosol and carbolic acid are -^ery repellent. (2) Carbon disulfide, nicotine
sulfate and napthalene are quite repellent.

In 1922, Morse in eastern Massachusetts, suggested the use of a proprie-
tary cresol confound, "Milkpl." The only "evidence" was that bee losses were
reduced even though all shade trees had been sprayed,

Dadant, 1923, declared that liiae sulfur and bordeaux mixture were repel-
lent to bees. He stated that these materials, mixed with spray solutions,
would prevent bees from sucking up the poison.

Bourne, 1927, stated that nicotine sulfate acted as a repellent. Bees
v/hich had a choice of blossoms sprayed with solutions containing nicotine sul-
fate or untreated blossoms alv/ays preferred the latter.

In 1936, Root declared that the odor of creosote was not offensive to
bees so far as is known,

Bottchor, 1937, stated that nicotine, lime sulfur, and sodium fluoride
or sodium fluosilicate act as repellents.

Southv;ick, 1928 and later, has insisted that creosote, at the rate of one
pint to 100 gallons of spray solution, is an effective bee repellent. He states
that the use of this material has reduced bee losses.

Milum, 1940, stated that llilkol had been used as a repellent apparently
with good results . He also thought that Black Leaf 155 might have some value
since its residue would contain nicotine.

In 1941, Shaw and Mendall tested many materials including creosote, tar
oil, phenol compounds, Milkol, naphthalene and alpha and beta naphthols. The
number of visits of bees to treated foliage in all cases V^as less than to the
untreated foliage. The materials were applied by means of a compressed air
sprayer. It is realized that agitation might not have been adequate even
though the sprayer was shaken thoroughly before any spraying was done. In
all Milkol combinations, from alight to moderate blossom injury occurred. Both
creosote and tar oil compounds produced severe blossom injury.

In 1942, Butler stated that in England no very Satisfactory results had
been obta ined with creosote and its use at present is not recomi:iended.

— F. R. Shaw

KEEP imrLY SET TREES GROTIIIG

Recent drj'' weather is likely to raise havoc with youn[^ fruit trees,
particularly on dry soils, unless water is supplied during this critical per-
iod. In a recent issue of a national magazine, John C. Snyder of Washington
State College makes these pointed statements i "The root system of young
tr«os is reduced about nine tenths when they are dug from the nursery row.
It is considered a good practice to prune the top somewhat in order to tut
down the amount of water needed; the reduced root system obviously can't
supply the original water-losing leaf surface. However, it is not advisable
to reduce the top to one tenth of its former spread in order to get balance
between roots amd leaf surface. Some orchardists reduce the pruning required
by keeping the soil more moist than usual during the first half of the growing
season. Keeping the soil moist around the roots and never allowing it to dry
out helps the reduced root system to supply the tree vdth water. Plenty of
wator can be responsible alone for doubling the size of the tree by the end
of the first growing season."

PLUf! CT.IRCULIO FAYS AIuTlIAL VISIT

The last fev; days of May and the first few days of June are almost
invariably the season of intense activity on the part of the plum' curculio.
Tbis insect, which probably bleraishes as many fruits as any other single in-
sect in r'assachusetts, is running true to form this season. 17. D. Vfiiitcomb
reported on May 51 that curculio emergence was practically completed. This
report is further empiiasized b^ limited jarring tests in the Connecticut Val-
ley, A 5- year -old peach trce/jarred twice on Thursday, June 1, netting 18
beetles in the morning and 6 in the evening. About 50 beetles have been
collected from that tree thus far. Incidentally, the tree 3hov/5 a heav^''
set of fruit and there are prospects of bringing a crop through to maturity
by frequent jarring and collecting of beetles, even thouph no lead arsenate
is applied. Can the reader visualize combatting curculio with a baseball bat?
This weapon, vrell padded, is being used on the above peach tree as a means of
jarring the individual branches and thus dislodging the beetles.

USED COOTAINBR SITUATION (Maine Fruit Notes, by R. N. Atherton)

With the increased arrivals of southern vegetables, some types of
used packages are more plentiful in Nev/ York State markets, but in general
the demand still exceeds the supply of most types. The general over-all con-
tainer situation has not improved, and in some spots is somewhat worse, due
to continued manufacturing difficulties. Barring further and nev/ linexpected
disaster, prospective c rops will require every new and used container that
can be made available. Reports on the probable carry-over of new baskets,
hampers and boxos from last year's short crops are necessarily incomplete
and inconclusive, but they range from 10 to 25 percent of requirements in
IJeAv Engl'^ndj the four Appalachian States, South Carolina and Georgia, the
most pessimistic outlook being in the Middle West and New York where the car-
ry-over is practically negligible. In only one or two instances (liaryland
and South Carolina) does it appear that actual delivery in appreciable quan-
tities has been made on confirmed orders,

-10-

BLOSSOM THIMJING SPRAYS

The Experiment Station has started work to learn something about
the value of caustic sprays for thinning apples and peaches. Comparisons
are being made o.^ different concentrations, time of spraying, and number of
sprays. It ir boo early to draw many conclusions. The injury to the foliage
was less thr^n crp^-oted and the trees now shovi little or no injurious effects
of the sp-ay. It 1:^ e""idRnt that the sprays were more or less effective and
we hope to le.y]— i soruething of the best procedure. We would be glad to hear
from groviirs who have tried this method of thinning. The frost was more ef-
fective but lejs discrminating. Fortunately, most of our experiments were
on trees which suffered little or no frost injury.

— J. K. Shaw

Too many apple tree trunks in Massachusetts are coverod by
a dense growth of poison ivy. It is no wonder that apple
pickcrp who are susceptible to ivy poisoning stay aviray from
such orchaxdo, M'-J d- sumir.er is the time to tackle the poison
ivy problem, using as a v/er.pon that nev;ly developed chemical.
Ammonium Sulfamate.

ORCHARDS ALL OVER THE HILLS

New orchards now grow near the woodlands

They're plonted all over the hills,
Overlooir tho Lroud valer and deep valleys.

The brook'3 ■-■■'.-'. tne rivers and rills.
On lands o.'.jb pb^naored ^nd barren^

A] 3. cc'v^Tod vii'.h mc«fes an^ fern
The porf'.^.n'- oT l.lc.i- in the tpr.'.ngtime

Returns and fond mA-nori^s burn.

The spirits of folks who one? lived here

Have '■■ciui ba-^k to ecrth onc^ rigain.
To guide jr anc. cheer us and b'.ef-s us

And r'^iward us for trouble yrd pain.
Restored are 'ri" fo/^mp cf ou' fathsrs^

Brcug'it ha-k are th'j ] -Ji^di cf their toils.
Now life r.iS .u-av cc-ae tc The.sf. hillsides,

Nev/ enterrrisi: b^cj: to tr.oi^e soxls-.

The fruit'j of cur latox-s shall fill us

171 th g?.-\dnesijj cortcntP'r.rt and cheer.
And fruit.3 of t.hese crchari.'.s E-h'\ll ever

Bring f'-.^e-icn fr-.v.i wai.vt and frcn fear.
And now t^ ou;" C'~d ■m Hi 3 Heaven

■■.Ye pr?.y fos- the strengbh to go on
Until all thaL-o }:ills of our birthright
Return to prosperity's dawn.

— R. H. Lovejoy

County Agr'l. Agent
Sanford, Maine

mMM^^m

June 28, 1944

Prepared by -yie Fruit Program Committee
of the Extension Service

VT. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

X-Disease Control

Notes on Fruit Insects

Seen and Heard in Maine

Grass

Fruit and Nut Crop Prospects

Orchard Sites as Related to Freeze of May 19

Summer DN Bums Out Scab Spots

MORE ON B L QSSQLI THINNING SPRAYS

VJ'e are looking for reports from growers who tried caustic sprays
at blossoming time for thinning apples or other fruits. We tried this method
on V/ealthy, Duchess, and Mcintosh, also on several varieties of peaches, using
concentrations of from 1 to 3 piats of Elgetol in 100 gallons. A comparison
is being made of one and two applications, and times of application as rela-
ted to the development of the blossoms. It is too early to draw final con-
clusions, but some preliminary statements may bo ventured. A spray of 2
pints in 100 gallons took off all or nearly all the fruits on moderately
vigorous Mcintosh. Duchess trees were sprayed once, 2 pints in 100 gallons,
on either May 9, May 11, or May 12. All sprays were more or less successful.
Thespray on Muy 11, v/hen practically all spur flowers were open and a fev^
petals were falling, gave the best results. These trees need little or no
further thinning. Similar treatment on VAjalthy on the same dates, when the
flowers v;ere less advanced, apparently show no results from the early spray
and only partial thinning from the medium and late sprays.

-8-

Concentrations of from 1 to 3 pints in lOa gallons applied once or
twice on Y/ealthy in another orchard gave varied results. The first spray
was applied on May 12 and the second (whan used) on May 15. Only the double
spray, 2 pints in 100 gallons, seems to have thinned the fruits effectively.
The weaker and the single sprays seen to have had some effect on the weaker
trees which v/ere somewhat lacking in nitrogen. Nearly all sprays were less
effective on the more vigorous trees which have been heavily mulched.

These preliminary statements suggest that Mcintosh is easily thinned
while Wealthy requires severe treatment, especially v/hen the trees are vigor-
ous and high in nitrogen. Duchess takes an intermediate position. Perhaps
we should use strong or double sprays on trees known to have the habit of
setting heavily, and weaker sprays on trees known to set only moderately.

Injury to the trees v/as less than expected. Measured by what we
would expect from pesticide sprays, it v;as rather severe, but the trees now
look all right and perhaps the spray injury weakened the trees less than
would the setting of an excessive crop. All these trees (except the Mcintosh)
have been distinctly biennial. Vflnether any of them will set a crop next year
remains to be seen.

Sprays of 1 and 2 pints in 100 gallons applied to peach trees in
full bloom vfere only partially effective. All trees required further hand
thinning. These trees showed little injury.

-- J. K. Shaw

FIRST YEAR TRAINING OF GRAPE VINES

A recent bulletin from Ontario describes a new method of training
a young grape vine which results in a straighter trunk and may hasten fruit-
ing. A twine is tied to a side stub on the nevfly set vine, the other end
of the twine being tied to the top wire of the trellis. Only one shoot is
allowed to grov; and no lateral shoots are allowed to develop on it. As this
shoot grows it is twisted loosely about the twine, two or three times during
the season. liVhen the cane reaches the top wire it is cut off and tied. If
the cane does not reach the top v/ire by the end of the first season it should
be cut off above the lov;er wire and tied to it. Nothing is to be gained in
pruning a vigorous vine back to two buds at the beginning of the second
season as was formerly practiced.

A word of caution is necessary on tying the lower end of the twine
to the vine - be sure it is not attached to the main trunk below the shpot
lest girdling result, Jf the trellis is not to be erected the first year
a tall stake vali suffice in place of the twine, in which case the growing
shoot should be tied to the stake,

— A. P. French

UNSCRAIvIBLING PLUM VARIETIES . A new bulletin, (No. 413), "The Identification
of Plum Varieties From Non-Bearing Trees" by Lawrence Southwick and A. P. French
is just off the press. It is well illustrated and v;ill help to accomplish for
plum varieties what has already been accomplished through nursery certification
of apple varieties.

July 31, 1944

Prepared by the Fruit Program Committee
of the Extension Service

W. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

The Apple Maggot and the Blueberry Maggot

Seen in the Field

Fighting Farm Fires

Thinning Peaches by the "Clubbing" Method

Dusting for Oriental Fruit Moth Control

Notes on Apple Insects

Apple Crop Prospects

THE APPLQ MAGGOT AND THE BLUEBERRY MAGGOT ARE THE SAME — ONLY DIFFERENT

In comparing the apple maggot with the blueberry maggot, we find
a brilliant example of "a gray horse of another color."

The apple maggot has long been widely known as a destructive pest
through eastern apple growing sections from Nova Scotia to Massachusetts,
New York, and Pennsylvania. In Maine, it was a live subject of discussion
in the State Pomological Society as early as 1882. Probably it was known
in Massachusetts at an even eai-lior date.

Although infestation in blueberries had been observed on wild land

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of May 8 and June 30,
1914, Yfillard A. Munson, Director, Massachusetts State College, United States
Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooporating.

-2*

for many years, it was not until 1906, that the late Dr» IJ. E. Britton, while
State Entomologist of Connecticut, showed that the insect attacking blue-
berries ia the same species as the "railroad worm" in apples. During more
recent years a number of careful studies have been made of both the apple
maggot and the blueberry maggot. A, D. Pickett and M. E. Neary, working in
Nova Scotia, have shovm very clearly some of the relationships between the
two pests.

The apple maggot attacks apple* and thorn apples (Crataegus spp.).
The blueberry maggot attacks blueberries, huckleberries^ snowberries, June
berries, and a number of other berries. The apple maggot is larger than the
blueberry maggot in every stage (egg, maggot, pupa, and fly), but', except
for size, the two pests are as nearly alike as identical twins. The inter-
esting observation is that the apple maggot can be forced to attack blue-
\jerries, and the blueberry maggot can be forced to attack apples. Apparently
in nature, however, the apple maggot does not attack blueberries, and the
blueberry maggot does not attack apples. In experiments conducted in Wash-
ington Coimty, Maine, very young maggots were transferred from blueberries
to apples, and others were transferred from apples to Talueberries. After
the transfer to apples, n^ormal, small-sized blueberry flies were produced,
just as when the maggots fed upon blueberries. In the blueberries, the
apple maggots developed to their normal, large size, but a single blueberry
did not furnish sufficient food for an apple maggot. An additional blue-
Ijerry was provided to enable the apple maggot to complete its development.

Does this show a stage in the evolution of two separate species?
Vfho knows? Perhaps some entomologist in the future can answer the question.
(F. H. Lathrop, Maine Agr^l, Exp. Sta.)

£[EEN tS THE FIELD

Gangplank for Bees . For transferring a swarm of bees to a new hive
Prank Foskett of Orange is using a sort of glorified gangplank consisting
of a box, somewhat smaller than an apple box, with large holes bored in all
sides, attached to the end of a long pole. V/hen this device is placed along-
side of a sWarm of bees on a branch, they more or less promptly go aboard
euid the o«mer carries them (at a safe distance) to their new home* This
contraption may not be new although it is the first time the writer has
seen it. Mr. Foskett rates recognition in the Gadget Department.

Duster on a Skid . For his ingenuity in solving a thorny problem^
the CaoWs Corsage goes this month to Roger Peck of Shelburne. In the midst
of a dusting operation a few weeks ago, a broken axle on a trailer supporting
the duster gave way, and put one wheel out of commission. Instead of going
fishing that day, Roger corralled a nearby fence post which he attached
firmly as a Skid on tie disabled side, and in a few minutes the dusting op-
fration proceeded without further interruption. When it's dusting time in
the Peck orchard a little thing like a lost wheel or two cannot be allowed
to interfere.

-3-

One Gallon Instead of Ten . A few days ago an extremely poor job
of controlling scab was observed in an orchard where the present operator
is getting his first experience in spraying. Although he thought he had
sprayed five times, the trees show very little evidence of it. On inquiry,
it vms found that a spray tank of. material is being stretched too far. The
trees are receiving about one gallon instead of the ten needed for good
coverage.

Last Year's Spray Lime . Imagine using in the spray tank, hydrated
lime held over from 1943. Although the spray chart specifies "freshly hy-
drated" lime, one grower has been demonstrating that old lime will not do
the trick. Having stood for a year, the lime is now partly carbonated and
is gritty enough to resemble ground limestone. Clogged nozzles and a les-
sened corrective effect generally result from using old hydrated lime.

Bridge Grafts Too Short . Twice in recent weeks the writer has ob-
served failures in bridge grafting. In one instance the ovmer said, "I
seera to have very little luck in bridge grafting." V/e tried to convince
him that success in this venture involves much more than luck. His diffi-
culty lay in cutting the scions too short and in failing to insert them far
enough beneath the bark above and below the girdled area. If ordinary pre-
cautions are taken, including tacking the bridges in place with small flat
headed nails and waxing the wound to prevent drying, at least nine out of
ten of the scions should unite. A first class job of bridge grafting of
a tree trunk one foot in diameter can be completed in less than an hour,
and that's not a bad investment of time, on a tree which required 20 years
for its development.

Frost Rings on Pears . Some peculiar looking pears have been ob-
served in a number of orchards this season as a result of the freeze of
May 19. Some Bartletts have a v/ide russet band extending entirely around
the pear about midway between the stem and the calyx, suggesting a variety
v/hich combines Bartlett and Bosc. Maybe they'll rate a special market as
"Fcincy" pears.

Wild Morni ng Glory . This rank grovfing perennial with strong root-
stocks seems "to be~closely associated with a pest of apple trees, the buf-
falo tree hopper^ which lays its eggs in the wood of the terminal growth.
V/liile this pest selaom causes severe damage, many trees shovY badly scarred
branches ar, a result of the deeply inserted eggs. And very often, the more
wild morning glory in the tree the more scarred branches are in evidence.

TOiite Grubs, The need for a rotation of crops in strawberry grow-
ing is well illustrated in a planting visit^jd a few days ago. A planting
which bore in 1943 vras plowed under after the crop was harvested, beans were
then planted, and last spring strav/berry plants v;ere again set on this par-
ticular land, instead of waiting the usual three or four years before reestab-
lishing a strawberry bodr in this field quite a number of the plants look
wilted and on digging around the roots every one of them showed a white grub.
Half a dozen plants were dug up v;ith the same result. This suggests the need
for grov/ing tvro or r.iort. crops between crops of strawberries, for the purpose
of elL'ainating white grubs. There are, of course, other reasons for a ro-
tation, aiaong them the destruction of weeds, increasing fertility, and add-
ing organic matter.

-4-

New Ras pberry Seedling . A few years ago a raspberry plant, apparent-
ly a seedling, grev; up in the flovi/er garden on the farm of Arthur Lundgren,
in Orange. It was transplanted, and as new canes grew, the planting was ox-
tended until now it covers an area about 30 feet square. This nevi unnamed
variety looks promising. The fruit is large, of fairly good quality, and
thus far the foliage shows no signs of mosaic.

Planting Strawberries on Run Out Land . On a Hampden County farm
a particular field of excellent soil "type shows evidence of continued crop
removal v/ith little, if anything, put back. Fifty years or more of "mining"
has left this field in an impoverished condition. None of the ordinary
grasses are in evidence and the scanty weed grov;th consists mainly of acid
tolerant plan'ts. The previous owner had continued to plow and cultivate
until it may have been necessary to "prime the hayrake with last year's hay"
in order to gather up the scanty crop. The present owner would like to es-
tablish a strawberry planting of half an acre or so next year, if possible.
To do so successfully v/ill mean strenuous efforts, to say the least. Brief-
ly, these things v/ill be needed: 2 tons of lime per acre, a heavy applica-
tion of manure, or of a complete fertilizer, and a cover crop sown immediate-
ly to provide as much organic matter as possible. Even then, the chances of
providing a soil good enough for strawberries next spring are very remote.
It v/ill be easier to get the land in shape for planting in 1946,

Sunburned Apples . In a Northboro orchard, quite a number of apples,
amounting to perhaps 1% on some trees, show distinct sunburn. There is
reason to believe that spray materials may be a factor. The trees have
been well sprayed with a wettable sulfur, and in mid-summer an application
of DN was made for red mite control. On the side of the apple exposed to
the sun the skin has turned almost black. A combination of sulfur, DN, and
strong sunlight may be the answer.

Fewer Tentiform Leaf Miners . The heavy outbreak of spotted tenti-
form leaf miner in eastern Massachusetts, so evident in certain orchards in
1945, seems to be on the wane. One orchard where this pest was very preva-
lent last year shows very few miners this summer. Vif. D. Y/hitcomb hae found
at least one parasite working on this insect and is of the opinion that the
leaf miner may disappear from an orchard after about three years,

Gypsy Moth in a Woods Orchard . In a Connecticut Valley orchard,
immediately adjacent to pine trees, we have seen one of the worst outbreaks
of gypsy moths in years. For protection against this pest, it seems highly
desirable to "bring an orchard out of the woods."

A Poor Combination . A combination of circumstances in one part of
an orchard in the llashoba area indicates at least three things in need of
serious attention. Those particular trees, on the average, look exceedingly
sick. In fact, some of them are practically dead. The reasons are winter
injury and mouse injury, induced by the follovnng system of management: A
hear;/ application of poultry manure vms apparently placed around the trees,
about tv;o years ago, in late summer. As a result, the trees grew too late
for their own good and suffered from viinter injury. The poultry manure also
caused a heavy growth of grass around the trees and that in turn encouraged

-5-

a build up in the mouse population in the heavy grass beneath the trees. To
make matters still vrarse, the strips between the trees have been so persist-
ently cultivated that serious erosion has occurred and only a scanty growth
of grass is in evidence. We point out these three items, namely, applying
poultry manure at tnevfime, failing to control mice, and long continued strip
cultivation, as three reasons for an extremely poor block of trees. Fortu-
nately, the rest of this orchard is under a much better system of management.

Soils, Good and Bad . If it were possible to place side by side two
orchards visited during the past few days, we vrould have an object lesson
worth travelling many miles to see. In the first orchard, the soil is very
sandy and the trees are seriously crowded. The foliage has a sickly appear-
ance due to lack of nitrogen and v;ater, and the apples are failing to size
up as they should. The grass turned brown during the recent dry spell. In
the second orchard, conditions are the exact opposite. A fertile, retentive
soil has shovm no sign of drought in either the tree or the cover crop. A
rank grovfth of grass is in evidence and the leaves on the trees are unusually
large and green. Yellow Transparant trees bearing a heavy crop show many
apples 2 3/4 inches in diameter. The soil and the manager are two extremely
important factors in fruit grov;ing.

Magnesium Deficiency in a Middlesex County Orchard , A few trees
about 25 years of age in this orchard showed mild symptoms of magnesium de-
ficiency in 1943. These same trees are beginning to show symptoms again
and the evidence is a little more widespread than it was last year. Evi-
dently this particular orchard is on the border line as regards magnesium
deficiency. An application of epsom salts will be highly desirable. In
another block on this farm where symptoms'isere more pronounced, an applica-
tion of epsom salts has corrected the difficulty. Other striking examples
of the effectiveness of this material in providing needed magnesium in apple
orchards are to be found elsewhere in the state.

Rainy Day Jobs . Nailing apple boxes is one of the favorite rainy
day jobs on a fruit farm, -fhis summer we have had so few rainy days that
this important task has in many cases been left undone. As we approach the
harvest season, we may have more rainy days, and we certainly have more reason
to survey the box situation. Spare time should be used in such jobs as nail-
ing box shocks, repairing boxes, and if both of these tasks are completed,
we night use the next rainy day in looking around for more apple boxes to
take care of the extra bushels on those trees vxhich we thought were entirely
frozen out,

Hold-Over Maggot Flies , In one of the YJ'altham cages v;hich housed
maggots of the 1942 season only, \i. D, V/hitcomb has observed five flies
this siunmer. In other words, five flies failed to come out in the summer
of 1943 and have emerged after spending two winters in the ground. This
behavior has been reported before, although it is interesting to have actual
evidence of hold-over flies in Massachusetts.

Meeting of lfe.ssachusetts Fruit Growers -
Rice Orchard, Ilarlboro, 10:00 A, 11,, August 19.

.6-

FIGHTING FARM FIRES

A few days ago Edwin S. Hartley, V^yben Orchards, V/estfield, Mass.,
told of tv/o experiences with fires in his locality. In both cases, a power
sprayer of the type used for orchard spraying was used to very good advan-
tage. Mr. Hartley was asked to Jot down the facts as ho recalled them.
Here they are. It is just possible that someone in Massachusetts may prof-
it from Mr. Hartley's experiencej

"Last spring a brush fire broke out in a 5-year-old block in our
orchards. I discovered the fir© when it was quite small, but the wind was
blowing and it v/as so very dry that three men couldn't keep up with it. I
drove one-half mile to the barns on the tractor (at 18 m.p.h.) to get the
sprayer and found that it had just been emptied in another part of the or-
chard. ¥/o took five minutes to fill the tank two- thirds full and that gave
the fire good headway. On returning to the fire it was burning over an acre
of groimd on a hundred foot front and the brush and mulch were burning as
high as fifteen feet in the air. Using a heavy duty type gun with a nozzle
delivering 10 gallons per minute one could walk into the fire and smother
the flames and drive the fire back into the burned area. A 12 or 14 gallon
per minute nozzle v^ould have given a heavier fog but the smaller disc was
in the gun. In five minutes the fire was under control. The city fire de-
partment arrived but they realized thftt their equipment was hardly needed,
oven the regular forest firo truck, so they left in a short time. Later,
the crew that was off duty appeared in the sarvioe truck to see how good
a job the sprayer v;as doing.

"On another occasion a brush firo was burning in the Shaker Village
district of V/estfield when a bam caught fire, both inside and outside. A
farmer who was spraying nearby was called on for assistance. He drove across
fields to the barn and sprayed it, smothering the fire promptly. Some C.C.C.
boys v:ho were fighting the brush fire with knapsack sprayers emptied their
sprayers into the power sprayer tank, and in fifteen minutes the bam fire
was out and the house was wet down to prevent the flying sparks from setting
that, too*

"For ordinary grass fires a 6 or 8 nozzle head delivering 12 or 14
gallons per minute v;orks best. The man with the gun rides, and the driver
moves along the fire line about 10 feet away. Using a power sprayer to fight
firo is very fast and efficient. Several mon need to follow the sprayer
with bags or brooms or knapsack sprayers to put out small flare-ups and
stray sparks."

The last radio spray message of the 1944 season
(Number 22) was released July 24. The objective
of those messages is not so much to tell each
grower just what he should do in his particular
orchard, but to furnish fundamental information
about the seasonal behavior of fruit pests and
to provide frequent reminders at a time when he
can still do something about it.

-7-

THimJING PBACIIES BY THE "CLUBBING" I^ETHOD

Hero are two reports on a nev; methvod of thinning peaches »

Carl Henry of V/estboro says, "I am satisfied that the method I used
saved rae considerable time and money. I used a light stick about the size
of a brooi;i handle with about eight inches of rubber hose slipped over one end.
I found tliat I could hand thin the lower branches nearly as quickly as I
could vdth the stick. Therefore, I "clubbed" only the branches that I could
not reach without the use of a ladder. It took me about a half day to get
into the swing of this method. "I'/hether I shall continue to use this method
next year v;ill depend on how the peaches look v/hen I harvest them this fall.
I don't believe any injury was done to tlie tree or the remaining peaches
but of course you cannot select the peaches to be taken off as carefully
as by the hand method. By the hand method you should get a distribution
of peaches something like this: d — By the clubbing method

it will be more like this: .0^. .. ... ^ .

C5 «:j —

Vfalter D, V/eeks of the Vforcester County Extension Service gave a
demonstration of this method at a meeting of fruit growers in Leominster,
He says, "'Club thinning' consists of knocking off the peaches with a short
stick such as a broom handle, A piece of old garden hose is attached to
the stick to prevent severe bruising of the peach limbs. Tw^'o such sticks,
one about 18" long and one 30-40" work very well; the longer stick is used
to reach the higher branches, \7ith a little practice one can thin much
faster by the 'club' method than by the conventional hand method."

DUSTING FOR ORIENTAL FRUIT MOTH CONTROL
j i I I ■ . .

Oil Dusts were developed and first used for the control of Oriental
Fruit Moth in_Illinois in 1929. Extensive work by the Natural History Survey
Division of Illinois has showTi that Oil Dusts are quite effective in combatting
this insect. The use of this material has become a standard practice among
grov/ers in many peach sections where Oriental Fruit Moth is apt to take its
toll. Control of Oriental 'Fruit Moth by means of insecticides is never 100^
effective, but tho degree of control with Oil Dusts is sufficient to keep
losses from this insect v/ithin reasonable limits.

The present i;>aterial, for use just' prior to the harvest season, con-
tains the following active ingredients: Petroleum Oil - 5^o, Sulfur - 1)1%,
This dust is designed for use on peaches for control of Oriental Fruit Moth,
Brown Rot, and Scab. The recommended practice involves applications at 5 day
intervals, beginning 4 v;eeks before the fruit ripens. Thus, applications
begin at an earlier date on early ripening peaches than on late ripening
peaches. The objective is to maintain a light, uniform coating over the fruit
during the period whon the larva of the Oriental Fruit Moth is apt to make
its entry. The Oil Dust may have some ovicidal properties, but it acts prin-
cipally on the young larvae as they hatch from the eggs and crawl to the
fruit to make their entry.

In the final analysis, the success of this material in the control

-8-

of Oriental Fruit Moth depends to a large extent on -tae way in which it is
applied. The grower must faithfully maintain a ligh-| coating of Oil Dust
in the orchard eveiyS days for a period of 4 weeks bgfore the fruit ripens.
If he has a very heavy infestation to contend with, the dusting should be
exceptionally thorough,

FIXED NICOTIHE FOR CODLING MOTH C O NTROL

The following note concerning the use of fised nicotine for codling
moth control comes from W. E. Tomlinson of the li7alth«i Field Station: "Fixed
nicotine is effective in controlling codling moth, but not apple maggot.
Since the Fourth Cover spray is as much for magjjot as codling moth control
in most of our orchards, the lead arsenate must be us*,d. These two materials
can be used together so long e.s no lime is present in, the spray, but since
the lead arsenate talces care of both insects there is no advantage in using
Black Leaf 155. After the Fourth Cover spray, lead should not be used be-
cause of the residue, in which case fixed nicotine is the answer."

TIIE APPLE MAGGOT SITUATION

■ Three peaks of 'jmergence of apple maggot flirs in the Waltham cages
are reported by v;. D. ViBiitcomb: June 17 to 19, July I to 3, and July 17 to 19,
Very few flies emerged after July 18, A larger percentage than was expected
(57^b) of the original 600 maggots have already appearad as flies. There are
prospects of fewer migrating flies in late season for two reasons; (1) Owing
to the heavy late J.me and early July emergence, previous arsenical applica-
tions would be likely to destroy more of the flies thr^n in other years, sind
(2) Having emerged early most of the flies on unsprayod trees will' have lived
their normal life span before late August,

APPLE CROP PROSPECTS

The 1944 apple crop in the U. S. has been es|iiiiated at 109,000,000
bushels. This is about half way between the bumper cr<>p of 127,000,000 in
1942 and last year's crop of 88,000,000 bushels.

The state of V^ashington leads in the estimates with 24,000,000
bushels, followed by Hew York with 16,000,000, Virginia with 10,500,000,
Miahij^an with 7,200,000, Pennsylvania with 7,000,000i CJilifornia with
6,ij00,000, Ohio with 5,500,000 and \Tost Virginia with 5*000,000 bushels.
Massachusetts will have in the neighborhood of 2,000,000 bushels.

Blightville Grouper - "If a man sprays tho)+oughly
until the first of June, he may go fishing the rest of
the summer."

Bugtov'm Grower - "You mean if ho doesn't sprjiy
thoroughly, he may as well go fishing the rest of the
suiiimer."

i^h:L Ik

August 28, 1944

Prepared by the Fruit Program Coinnitte©
of the Extension Service

W, H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

"Hormone" Spraying and Dusting for Lessening Preharvest Drop

V/ar Prisoiaer Program Gets Under Vmy

German V/'ar Prisoners in Middlesex County Orchards

Apple Harvest Labor Situation in Worcester County

Youth in Agriculture

Jamaicans on the Cape

Looking Ahead in the Fruit Business

Training Inexperienced Apple Pickers

Some Suggestions for Inexperienced Apple Pickers

"HQRIviONB" SPRAYING AIID DUSTING FOR LESSENING PREH AR VEST DROP

ViTith the Mcintosh harvest season near at hand, the following com-
ments and suggestions conceraing "Hormone" sprays and dusts may be of interesti

1. Sprays are probably somewhat more reliable than dusts, although dusts
were very satisfactory in many cases last year. In our tests at Aml^erst,
dusts have been as effective as sprays on Mcintosh but not on some other var-
ieties.

2. Apply spray or dust on Mcintosh as soon as sound apples begin to drop.
A second applicsition 4 or 5 days later often enhances drop control. Two ap-
plications of either spray or dust may well be justified in many instajices.

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of May 8 and June 30,
1914, Vfillard A. Munson, Director, Massachusetts State College United States
Departmfjnt of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

•"2""

3. If just one application is to be used on Mcintosh, it should be delayed
until natural dropping is well begun (at least 6 good apples per tree per day)
in order to insure protection through the harvesting period.

4. Remember that after about 10-12 days following an application, the
"sticking" effect may be dissipated, resulting in heavy dropping. This is
especially truo v;ith Mcintosh and harvesting must bo planned accordingly.

5. Spray, as nearly as possible, during the hottest part of the day.
Applications are not very effective when the air temperature is below 70° F.

6. Apply dusts when air is quiet and the temperature is high.

7. Use plenty of material. Thirty gallons of spray or three pounds of
dust are none too much for mature Mcintosh trees. Thorough coverage is abso-
lutely essential.

8. Use spray materials at standard strength (10 parts per million). This
strength is usually recommended by the manufacturer. For increased assurance
of effectiveness, use 1^ to double the standard concentration, especially when
only one application is to be made. However, the standard concentration is
likely to be sufficient if the spray is applied thoroughly and under favorable
weather conditions, particularly as regards temperature. Do not use lower than
standard strength spray,

9. If Mcintosh trees shov/ severe symptoms of magnesium deficiency, drop-
control applications probably v/ill not be effective.

10. Possible over-maturity of Mcintosh is a factor to consider in utilizing
"Hormone" applications as growth and development of fruits proceed as long as
they remain on the tree. Hence, in the latter part of the picking season,
some of the apples may be a little too mature for extended storage and ehould
be segregated accordingly,

—Lawrence Southwick

V/AR PRISONE R PROGRAI l GSTS UI'IDER VfAY

A certification of need has btjen made for 1000 prisoners of war to
assist with the apple hurv>r-st in the Nashoba area. A wage h»^aring was held
at West Acton to dett;rmine the prevailing v:age rnte, vdiich was determined to
be 15 cents per bushel and 60 cents on hour at the farm.

The Ilashoba F^'uit Growers' Association is sponsoring this program for
the apple grov;ers in the area and they hav-e employed Miss Eileen Draper, Groton,
to look after the business details for them.

The Nashoba Fruit Grov/ers' Association has been informed that they
may proceed to make arrangements with the Commanding Officer in charge of the
prisoners at Fort Devens for their use. The committed is noiv at work making
these arrangements.

It is expected that there v;ill be about 1000 prisoners available for
the fruit growers in this area.

— -Roy E. Moser

k2«*

GERMAIJ YfAR PRISONERS IN MIDDLESEX COUNTY ORCHARDS

For the past v/eek there have been a hundred German Vfer Prisoners
in apple orchards in Middlesex County and the same number again this week.
The first month the total number of prisoners requested is small as compared
with the seven hundred ordered for the picking of the Macs the first two weeks
of September,

The officials at the Army post have been most cooperativg and helpful
in every v;ay and are anxious to have the program run smoothly. To date the
orchardists have all furnished their own transportation but if several growers
wish to combine their units for transportation purposes arrangements for a bus
may be taken up with the Nashoba Fruit Growers' Association,

As far as results; the growers here reported varying numbers of bushels
picked the first day from eighteen to thirty. This variation on different farms
is no doubt due to the difference in supervision. These prisoners should be
handled exactly as any other "greon" help and to get the best results thoy
should be carefully directed. As for the much talked about rest period the
army officials do not require this; it is entirely optional v;ith the grower.

The wages according to the contract v;hich the Nashoba Fi*uit Growers'
Association has drawn up between the Association and the grower are fifteen
cents a bushel or sixty cents an hour. The contract requires the payment of
a week's wages in advance at the rate of six dollars a day. Adjustments in
these payments are made the following week betv;een amount paid and actual work
done.

All in all, to date the whole program of using prisoners of vmr has
v/orked out most satisfactorily in this county,

— -Ramona I. Davis

Emergency Farm Labor Assistant
Middlesex County

APPLE HARVEST LABOR SITUATION IN TTORCESTER COUInITY

With the apple harvest facing us again this year, it would be a good
policy for our growers to contact pickers who worked for them last year and
who were satisfactory, to estimate about how many more pickers would be needed
to harvest the crop, and keep in mind to have adequate picking equipment. Last
year many of the men could not use all of their pickers at one time because of
a shortage of ladders and other equipment k

This year, the Nashoba Fruit Growers have appointed a labor committee
who have looked into the possibility of procuring German war prisoners to help
out in the harvesting. To date, it is known that German war prisoners will be
available, and any grov/ers 'who are interested in this type of help should
contact the Nashoba Labor Committee even though they are not • members.

Of course, the first step in acquiring help should be the utilization
of the local talent. By this, I mean workers who live in or around the vicinity
of the orchard. If then the growers are still in need of help, they should
contact their Farm Labor Coordinator,

-4-

T^e, in VTorcester County, recruited over 1,300 pickers last year which
consisted of men. women and boys. This year, however, v/e are trying to recruit
only men.

Again this year, lYar Ration Boards are allowing extra mileage to and
from th'3 orchards for pickers v/ho will transport other pickers. Y/e have forms
that the grower vfill have to sign, stating — that the picker is working for
him, and the trips made per day covering a certain amount of mileage from city
to orchard.

We are in hopes of getting British sailors to go out and pick for
seven to ten days at a time. Grov/ers who can use this help v/ill have to board
and house these men. It would be a good policy for anyone *rho may want the
British sailors to start thinking of camps or places v/here they could house"
these, men.

The growers should lot the County Extension Service knor; their needs
as to the number of pickers that will be necessary to harvest the' crop, so
that v/e may recruit sufficient help if possible,

— -John A. Gatti

Emergency Farm Labor Ass't,
Vfo re ester County

YOUTH IN AGRICULTURE

If there is any one word which we will have reas')n to remember for
years to c )me, I think it is "Youth." A short while ago we felt a boy, unless
he was old enougii to vote, was of little value, rather limited in experience,
and could not except in rare instances, be utilized efficiently. IVe seldom
stop to think of the remarkable contribution the yo-origstai-s of today are mak-
ing tovmrd the preservation of our Country. Without ''Youth." as we know it
today, v;c could not operate our tremendously fast and efficient types of fine
machinery; in the field of Industry and the nev;er developments, such as radar,
plastics, and others, nearly all of which are carried on by our Youth,

This is equally true in Agriculture. Without our youngsters it would
have been impossible to plant, grow, and harvest our record-breaking crops of
the past two years. Here in our County of Hampden v:e have had hundreds of
these youngsters doing men's jobs. Last year over tv;o thousand different
young individuals worked on our farms. There are still hundreds this year
carrying on the sarae i/vay. It is not uncomiaon to see individuals belonging
to this youth mass as young as eight or ten years old driving some of our
small tractors and other equipment utilized on the farms which, in some cases,
cannot be operated at all by the fathers and older men.

This is also true in some of our orchards in Hampden County. Some
of us take it as a matter of course to see youngsters picking and thinning ap-
ples and doing other operations around the orchard. The youngsters have taken
readily to this type of work although it is a little more difficult than pos-
sibly work in the market gardens,

V/'e can all think of plenty of youngsters v/ho failed on the job; others.

-5-

who were fired and v/ent back to the city, and we are. inclined to comment only
on this type of worker. The sincere, conscientious boy or girl is seidom
given credit for what he or she may bo doing, simply because we are comparing
thoir labor with imaginery adult labor. In the aggregate, may I say the boys
and girls, when considered in connection with fruit farms only> have done a
commendable job. Combined v;ith the v;ork of others, this will have its effect
on the County, State, and Nation for a long time after the individual has been
forgotten. I cannot commend too highly the vast horde of youngsters for
helping us older people through a very strenuous period which, I believe, we
would not have been able to handle alone,

— -George H. Harris

Emergency Farm Labor Ass't.

Hampden County

JAI'IAICMS ON THE CAPE

Despite the fact the crop will be short due to 18 per cent winter kill,
a 30 per cent freeze Eind unusual damage by fruit worm. Cape cranberry growers
have enjoyed a pleasant summer so far as labor is concerned and look forward
with some assurance to the harvest season. The reason for this complacency is
that they have had the services of 150 Jamaicans on their bogs this summer.
They have been able to accomplish much work that might not be possible if the
crop was normal or heavy.

Early in September when the berries ripen, the present force of Ja-
maicans vdll be augmented by 200 more, making 350 v/orkers available for the
harvest operation. The first contingent of 150 arrived in Plymouth June 18.
They had signed up last winter at a recruiting station in Jamaica and agreed
to work here until December 1. Their trtuisportation was paid by the V/ar Food
Administration. Besides paying their wages, the growers also assume respon-
sibility for their transportation. Quarters for these men will be Camp Manuel,
Plymouth, formerly occupied by a detachment of Army engineers. Seven barracks,
tvfo mess halls, and recreation hall and infirmary are nov; in use. Board and
room costs the Jamaicans a dollar a day.

Frank T. V/hite, emergency farm labor assistant for Plymouth County,
v/ho has had countless arrangements to make in connection with the project,
feels that things have gone along so smoothly this summer that it is almost
too good to be true. Most of the Jamaicans have a high school education.
Others have attended college. A number have been taking correspondence courses
this summer. They are politeness itself and their speech is distinctly British,
Their names have the sai.io flavor^ Everal Tylor, Vivian McFarlane, Casley Bail-
ey and Gladstone Aitchoson. They are not fast workers but are steady and
willing and do not lie dovm on the job. Perhaps it is enough to say that the
growers v/ould like to have them again next year.

A new mg vie, in color, with many practical suggestion*
for inexperienced apple pickers, is now available. It
may be 'booked through E. S. Carpenter, Extension Ser-
vice, M. S. C, Amherst, Mass,

-6-

LOOKIIJG AHE.AD IN THE FRUIT BUSINESS

Just the other day, or, in fact, early in August, when apples v/ere
selling at a pretty good price, someone said, "I suppose Llaine apples are not
in yet." He was thinking of the days when Maine raised and shipped many ap-
ples into Massachusetts, and eastern Massachusetts vms a very small producer
of apples in a commercial way. Times have changed since then, and the Massa-
chusetts apple crop is frequently several times that of the Maine crop.

Back in 1912, there were very few commercial orchards in Massachu-
setts. Most of the apples v/ere raised as a part-time, cash crop by men viho
had other agricultural interests. In the last thirty or thirty-five years,
hov^evor, apple growing has pretty definitely drifted into the hands of pro-
fessional or full- tine apple growers. This has probably enhanced the quality
and marketability of Massachusetts apples. Massachusetts nov-i produces enough
apples to make it an attractive buying location for large apple buyers. That
makes it really a better market for all of us. I think the same thing would
happen in small fruits if the advantages of quick freeze multiply the length
of the selling season so that vastly more people will produce small fruits.
It may be possible to grow them in Massachusetts in sufficient volume to at-
tract buyers and to develop cooperatively a better technique in growing and
selling. I hope that we will never lose our youthful spirit, whether it be
small fruite or apples,

■.Many of us who were worrying along v/ith young trees twenty-five years
ago haven't set out many young trees in the last few years. I fear that v/e
may be approaching a period of orcharding in Massachusetts when all the trees
will be ma-bure trees. That is the condition that occurred in Maine, for in-
stanc-e, before the 1934 freeze. They are now rebuilding a good horticultural
business there. I hope we continue a moderate planting either of standards
or some dwarf trees and continue picking a part of our crop from young trees.
No one wants runaway overplanting but we should have an orderly system of
young trees coming along.

Louis A. Vfebster

Acting Commissioner of Agriculture

TRAINING IIIEXPERIENCED APPLE PICKERS

(The following item from Seasonal Fruit Notes by H. A. Rollins, Exten-
sion Horticulturist in Connecticut, is quoted here because it is equally appli-
cable to Massachusetts conditions.) "The lack of sufficient trained supervisors
is present again this year, Dr, Bradt, State Supervisor of the Farm Labor pro-
gram in Nev; York State, stated at a recent meeting that growers often say, 'I
can't take time to train this green help." A good many fruit growers will have
to make use of 'green help' if their apples are harvested this year. Dr, Bradt
made it very plain that we cannot just take these inexperienced apple pickers
into the orchard and say, '♦Here are the apples, go to iti ' He explained that
there were three rather important points for every fruit grovrer to consider in
training inexperienced help. Jlis suggestions were: (1) Obtain the confidence
of your worker, put him at oise, build up his interest in the job, and get him
in the right frame of mind. (2) Present the job to him, tell him v^hat you ex-
pect v/ithout giving him too many details, show him what you want done, and re-
member it is all new to him. (3) Let him pick apples under your supervision J
correct him if necessary and make him do it right; be sure he knows the job J
check up on each picker after he has had a little experience. Tell him not to
both'-r othnr pickers but go direct to the foreman v;ith any questions."

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September 30, 1944

Prepared by the Fruit Progrroa Comnittee
of the Extension Service

1Y. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Content 8

Hurricane Apple Purchase Program

Pornological Paragraphs

Nursery Inspection

CaiT you Afford to Renove some of Your Trees?

Tree .Ripened Fruit

"Farn Help Can't Take It"

V/hat is DN?

Do You Know?

HURRICAIiS APPLE PURCH.^E PROGRAM

At least 150 carloads of hurricane apples v/ill be purchased in
Massachusetts. The program is now under way v/ith headquarters at the County
Extension Building in Concord (tel. Concord 202). 1/7. P. Bauer, a represent-
ative of the "ffar Food Adnini strati on, is in charge of this nev/ program.
Full details iriay be obtained from any of the county agricultural agents
or froK tlie Uon>3crd headquarters. The minimum offering is 100 bushels of
one variety. Applos must conform to the U.S. Utility Grade with the ex-
ception that bruises affecting, in the aggregatp-, not more than 10^ of the
surface with no one bruise larger than an inch in diarueter, will be accept-
able; also, serious damag*;! in the form of cuts or punctures v;ill be allowed
on only 15^, of the apples. The toleruico for apple maggot injury ip only
5% and for decay, 1%^ The variety name must be st&jiiped or v-ritten on each
container. Two slats are required on corrugated covers and three sjLats on
cardboard covers. Apples may be packed in either bus}iel baskets, standard
bushel bojsres or crates, or nev; fiber boxen, A minimum carload consists of
793 bushd'ls. 'All apples offered to tlie WA must be inspected, and ^.nspec-
tion charges are to be paid by the vendor.

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of May 8 fund June 30,
191-i, V.'illard A. Munson, Director, Massachusetts State College, United State*
Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

-2-

iAVi(:;^^ynu2J>^

THE "SPEED SPRAYER"- At the Pennsylvania Station the work of the new speed
sprayer was compared with that of the older conventional high pressure
sprayer. It was foxond that the speed sprayer deposited less lead in the
tops of the trees but more on the bottoms, and gave somewhat less control
of insects and diseases, especially with Mcintosh. However, applications
were made twice as fast with the same amount of labor, (proc. A.S«H«S»,
Vol. 44, page 129).

FERIJATE FOR CEDAR RUST . Cedar rust is not the most important disease of
apple trees in Massachusetts, yet it sometimes does great damage to sus-
ceptible varieties such as Wealthy and Golden Delicious* Experiments in
Virginia showed that Fermatg, l-g- pounds, plus 1 pint miscible kerosene in
100 gallons controlled cedar rust on both fruit and loaves almost perfectly.
It also proved superior to Bordeaux mixture in controlling bitter rot.
(proc. A.S^H.S., Vol. 44, page 107).

SULFUR SPRAYS AND GROV'JTH . Y/e are changing from liquid lime sulfur to wetta-
ble sulfur largely because of a feeling that lime sulfur is injurious to the
trees. The RJiode Island Experiment Station has carried on a comparison of
various sulfur sprays and dusts including trees v/ith no fungicide. After
five seasons with Baldwin, the dusted trees were the larger in trunk diam-
eter, followed by those receiving wettable sulfur and those with no fungi-
cide. The Mcintosh trees receiving wettable sulfur and dust grew best,
while those with no fungicide were the smallest of all. This suggests that
Y/e may do very well if we do not spray young Baldwin trees but had better
not omit scab sprays on young Mcintosh. Their figures confirm the idea
that liquid lime sulfur does check the grov;th of trees and that a 1-50 spray
is worse than one of 1-100. (proc. A.S.H.S., Vol. 44, page 99).

LEAF AREA PER FRUIT IN PLUMS « Much has been published relating to leaf
area and the size and quality of the fruit. EiJ^eriments in the State of
Washington showed that with tv/o varieties of plums, at least four leaves
per fruit were necessary in order to mature the fruit and to permit adequate
fruit bud formation for the crop of the succeeding year. A larger number
of leaves per fruit resulted in larger, better colored fruit, higher in
sugar and, therefore, of better quality. It is possible that under our
conditions more leaves per fruit are necessary. The regulation of leaf
fruit ratio is a matter of judgment. Perhaps it is safe to say that at
least 6 to 10 leaves per plum arc necessary under our conditions.
(proc. A.S.H.S., Vol. 44, page 94).

EXPLODING THE SKIN FROM APPLES . Apples placed in a tight retort and heated
to 2400-2500 and then suddenly cooled by shutting off the steam and forcing
cold water into the retort were peeled almost instantly with little waste.
Potatoes were peeled and lima beans shelled by the same apparatus. A patent
on the process has been applied for by the Ohio state University Research
Foundation, (proc. A.S.R.S., Vol. 44, page 190).

-3-

VifAXING APPLES. One of the weaknesses of the Golden Delicious apple is its
tendency to shrivel in storage. Ihis can be largely avoided by vraxing the
apples, [[he Cornell Station describes a home-made waxing machine v/hich
could be built at a prewar cost of about $300. On this basis, apples could
be waxed at a cost of about 3 cents per bushel. V/eight loss vias reduced
about one-half. \Yaxing must be properly done or the apples may develop an
alcoholic flavor, (proc A.S.H.S., Vol. 44, page 183).

A NETiY HEASON FOR GROYJING MORE PEACHES IN MSSACHUSEITS . We sometimes wonder
why some of the peaches shipped into Massachusetts should not be replaced by
home-grown fruit. Peaches shipped long distances must be picked earlier
than those for the local market. Peaches, like other fruits, grow as long
as they are on the tree. Experiments in the State of Vfeshington showed that
increases in^i.z1%r&m the time of picking Elberta peaches for shipping to
the time of picking for canning were as follows: Average circumference 12^,
weight 35%, soluble solids '60%. Peaches are picked for canning at about
the same stage as for a local market, peaches allowed to remain on the
tree until the flesh begins to soften are more attractive in appearance,
of better quality and you get more bushels. (Washington Expt. Sta., Mimeo.
Giro. 8, 1943) .

MOiffi ABOUT J.IULCHITIG ORCHARDS . Massachusetts fruit growers are interested
in mulching orchards. The New Hampshire Station has started an experiment
in a young Mcintosh orchard comparing the common sod system of culture,
sawdust, hay and seaweed mulches. After two years little difference has
been observed between sod and savj-dust or between hay and seaweed. Hay and
seaweed have resulted in more and larger fruits of slightly less red color.,
and deeper green anci more dense foliage than sod and sawdust. Witch grass
grew up through the sa;vduEt but only slightly through hay and not at all
through seaweed. These results are similar to those of the Massachusetts
Station and indicate the value of a hay mulch or seav;eed if you can get it.
It also suggests that sav/dust is of doubtful value. (Proc . A.S.R.S., Vol.
44, page 49)

MORE PEACHES IN MASSACHUSETTS . Walter piper says that there are practically
no good peaches in the Boston market because natives are being sold at the
farm. Supplies come mostly from the Virginia section. Y/hy shouldn't we
supply Boston from more Massachusetts orchards? BUT plant the trees on
high sites, exterminate chokecherries , select the right varieties, control
borers, brovm rot, curculio, and oriental peach moth. Perhaps DDT will help
in the future .

J. K. Shaw

MAG^TESIUl-1 DEFICIENCY, A limited number of reprints
of a journal article entitled "Some Results in Correct-
ing Magnesium Deficiency in Apple Orchards" are avail-
able to interested growers. The authors, Lawrence
Southv;ick and J. K. Shaw, report in this article the
effects of spray and soil applications of magnesium on
magnesium deficient apple trees at Mass. State College.
Requests for this reprint may be sent to Lawrence South-
wick, M.S.C., Amherst.

-4-

NURSERY INSPECTION

t Four members of the staff of the Massachusetts State College
uav« organized the Massachusetts Trueness-to-Name Inspection Service,
sponsored by the I;& ssachusetts Fruit Grov/ers' Association. The members
of the Service are J. K- Shav/, A. P. French, 0. C- Roberts, and L- South-
wick. This move implies no change in this work which has been carried on
for 24 years. It only gives it a name and the expressed approval of the
orgahized fruit growers of Massachusetts.

The v/ork of examining nursery trees for trueness to name has
been completed for 1944. Several new nurseries have been examined and a
few Omitted examination for this year. Yftien a nursery has been examined
for two or three years, mixtures and misnamed trees are eliminated. How-
ever, new ones soon creep in, often among buds from bearing trees. Our
experience indicates that such buds are mixed quite as often as those cut
in the nursery.

Ihe examination includes apple, pear, plum, sweet cherry, and
t.;o-year sour cherry; one-year sour cherry trees of certain varieties are
difficult to identify, hence, the desirability of waiting until they are
older, peach trees are examined j but, as it is difficult or impossible
to identify some varieties as nursery trees, examination of peach trees
is less satisfactory than that of other tree fruits. Nevertheless, a great
many mixtures and misnamed, peach trees are detected and corrected each year.

Bulletins describing the young trees of apple, cherry, and plum
varieties have been prepared by the men of the Massachusetts Trueness-to-
Name Inspection Service and are available on request to the Massachusetts
Experiment Station. Bulletins on pears, blueberries, and raspberries are
in preparation.

A list of the nurseries examined for trueness to name may be
obtained by sending a postal card to the Department of Pomology, Massachu-
setts State College, Amherst, Mass.

J • K • Shaw

CAN YOU AFFORD TO REMOVE SOl'.ffi OF YOUR TR EES?

Many of our fruit growers have orchards in wiiich the trees are
too close together and find it hard to get up courage to thin them out
because of fear of reduced crops. A circular from the feshington State
Experiment Station gives some figures.

A liYinesap orchard planted in 1905, 106 trees to the acre, wa
thinned to 54 trees in 1925. In 1940 one-half of the remaining trees were
removed from one-half the orchard, leaving 27 trees per acre, and leaving
the other half with 54 trees per acre. Detailed records of costs, yields,
grades, returns and profits for the three years 1940-42 are reported. Acre
yields and expenses were reduced and grades improved by thinning. The fi-
nancial results vary \vith different methods of calculation used. A reason-
able way of figuring gives the following results^

-5-

1940

1941

1942

Open

3oxes per acre harvested
Total expense
^Tet profit

794

$602
74

502

p59

972

$714
218

697

;|J494
174

1021

$695
168

780

$528
186

This table shows that net profits from the unthinned area were
greater for the first two years but in the third year the acre profits
were $18 per acre larger from the thinned area. (Washington Expt . Sta.
Mimeo . Cir. 1)

—J . K • Shaw

TREE RIPENED FRUIT

In a test by the Illinois Experiment Station in cooperation
v/ith chain stores three types of peaches were offered for sale; (1) green
ripe, (2) firm ripe, (3) treo ripe. Public preference vvas decidedly in
favor of tree-ripened fruit even when priced 3 cents per pound above the
others. 35 bushels of tree-ripened peaches were sold in the time it took
to sell 4 bushels of green peaches. There was less loss of tree-ripened
fruit because it moved out so much more rapidly.

This probably would apply to peaches anywhere. V/ould Mcintosh
apples sell faster in the fall months if they v;ere ready to eat when of-
fered for sale?

R. A- Van Meter

"FARIvi HELP CM'T TAKE IT"

"The help vre get today just can't take it. Why my ten year old
boy knows more about farming and can do more around my place than any two
of these 'greenhorns'. I can't spend all my tine showing this class of
help hov: to do the work; if I do I won't get anything else done." These
and similar remarks have been heard recently v/hon we have been discussing '
the farm labor problem with Massachusetts farmers. Ve agree with them 100^.

In agreeing v/ith the farmers we havo neither helped nor altered
the situation. V/'o hope that we appreciate both sides of the question, th©
employer's and the employeo's, We realize the inadequacy of this type of
help, that it is not capable of taking over a particular job at first and
doing it efficiently v;ithout considerable supervision. Times have changed;
we can no longer go to the store and buy everything vre want without bother-
ing with rationing tickets. Neither can we stop at the gas station and say
"Fill her up." In a sense farm labor is rationed and wq must make the b6st
of the supply available and use it accordingly. Yes, farmers sputter about
the help problem as v;ell as the rationing system. Non'j of us relish the
many problems which the war has forced upon us.

-6-

Soon after Pearl Harbor,. Farmer Jones bought a new tractor with
all the latest improvements. It was a magnificent piece of machinery. He
was very careful while breaking it in and as a result has a machine that
is giving him wonderful service. Likev/ise, a little more care in starting
"green" and inexperienced help vrill preserve it for future use. It is not
a question of seeing whether or not the new man can "stand the gaff" the
first day by vrorking him from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. with no time out between.
Break him in gradually; he will last longer and do a much better job even
as the tractor did.

Hov; does a farmer train a colt? Does he completely harness the
young animal the first day and work him 10 to 12 hours plowing or harrow-
ing? Does he expect the colt to be able to do all types of farm work with-
out careful training? What happens if the young horse is forced to do
heavy work before he is physically fit to do so? The answers to these ques-
tions are, for the most part, obvious.

Young and inexperienced help is very much like the frisky farm
colt; plenty of life and enthusiasm but short on knowledge and training,
in order to get the most out of either, the farmer must have patience and
self control. He should take time to teach the techniques of the various
jobs. He should remember that jobs v;hich have become practically second-
nature to him are entirely new to "green hands."

Suddenly transfer a dairyman^ or a poultryman, or an orchardist,
or a vegetable grov/er from his agricultural environment to the work of a
radio broadcaster. Say to the farmer, "You are in charge of all the pro-
grams for the day. There are the controls, 'mike', etc. Now go to it."
?/hat would bo the result? Probably disaster as far as the radio program
!• concerned.

No, this inexperienced farm help "can't take it" at first;
neither can the tractor, nor the young colt, nor even the farmer as a
broadcaster.

— R. H. Barrett

YfliAT IS DN?

One needs only to glimpse the chemistry of the so-called Dn ma-
terials to see how complex they are. It is fortunate that we can use them
effectively for insect control v/ithout knowing anything about their com-
position. There are at least six brands on the market, some intended for
dormant use, only, and some for summer use. All involve a "dinitro" radical,
Hence the term DN. The following brief statement prepared by A. I. Bourne
provides a little enlightenment for the chemically inclined:

DN for Dormant Usei ' Elgetol - A sodium salt of Dinitro ortho cresol.
Active ingredients, Z^%. V«'ater, 66%, DN in oil - Dinitro-ortho-
cyclo-hexyl-phenol (D-n-o-c-h-p), 4^. Oil and emulsifier, 96%.
DN - D-n-o-c-h-p, 4:0fo. Inert carrier and emulsifier, 60^.

DN for Summer Use; D-4 (dust) - Dicyclo hexylaraine salt of D-n-o-c-h-p,
1.7^. DN-111 ( spray j - Dicyclo hexylamine salt of D-n-o-c-h-p, 20^.

-7-

That fresh apples from the United States will appear this winter
in the United Kingdom markets for the first time since 1941? VrFA offi-
cials say that every effort will be made to distribute purchases equitably
betvieen Eastern and Vfestem producing areas. Shipments from Eastern orch-
ards will consist of U. S. Ho. 1 and better grades in the 2 to 2 l/4 inch
and 2 l/4 to 2 l/2 inch size groups. Purchases from the Pacific Northwest
will consist of Extra Fancy and Fancy grades in the 175 to 252 (per box)
size range.

That approximately 100,000 acres of orchards were sprayed v/ith hor-
mone materials in 1943 to prevent premature dropping? In 1940, tho first
year the chemical was used commercially, about 35,000 acres of apples wore
treated. In 1941, 50,000 acres vrere treated, and 75,000 to 80,000 acres
were sprayed in 1942.

be
That more than 9 million bushels of appl&s will/used in the United
States in 1944 in making vinegar? Proposed utilization of the 1944 apple
crop is as followsj

Canned

3,801,000 Cases

5.4 Million Bushels

Apple Sauce

3,700,000 "

4.5 " "

Dried

23,389 Tons

7.7 " "

Frozen

1.0 " "

Apple Butter

3.3 " "

" Jellies

M»

1.7 " "

" Juice

800,000 Cases

•W

1.1 " "

Cider

1.7 " »

Vinegar

9.4 " "

TOTAL PROCESSED (Civ. & Gov't.

35.7

Remainder fc

>r Fresh use

87,9

TOTAL Apple

Crop Estimate

123.6 Million Bushels

That the first potash was imported into this country from Germany
about 1870? From then until the outbreak of V/orld Vfer I in 1914 all of our
fertilizer potash camo from that country. The present annual production in
this country amounts to moro than 800,000 tons.

That, according to U.S.D.A. estimates, the annual crop loss from
hail damage averages about $75,000,000? In 1943, 14 leading hail insurance
companies paid about $3,500,000 to farmers in the United States to cover
hail damage.

That sawdust does not tend to acidify the soil as much as many people
suspect? It does not affect tlie acidity as much as it reduces the available
nitrogen which it utilizes in the course of disintegration.

-8-

That cider apples are one of the chief products of Normandy?
Samuel Fraser, writing about the invasion country, says, "The French spec-
ialize in growing vfild crabapples to make their cider and a type of cham-
pagne froiu the cider. As to Korroandy apples - one of the main reasons for
apple growing in parts of Franco is to make cider, and for this reason the
trees are plantod as they are. Crabs, some yellow- skinnad and some red.
The thrifty Frenchman carefully washes out the see* from the apple pulp
and uses thera for the production of apple seedlings."

Hiat airplanes are becoming a major factor in the introduction of
plant pests? The U. S. Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, in a
recent report covering 13,093 airplanes arriving at 23 ports of entry last
year from foreign countries, shows that 3,219 or about 25^ were found to
be carrying prohibited plant material, much of it from places v/here it is
laiown to be the host of injurious pests. There were 681 actual intercep-
tions of insects and plant diseases, including sweet orange scab, citrus
blackfly, Mexiciin fruit fly, V/est Iji^dian fruitfly, and Mediterranean fruit-
fly.

That firo blight was first discovered on wild crabapples in 1780
in the Hudson Valley? The first published recommendation in 1862 called
for such things as placing sulfur around the trees. Refuse gas lime, coal
ashes a nd pitch, and vinegar vrere also rocomnendod. A severe outbreak of
grape mildew before tho Civil War resulted in the abandonraent of thousands
of acres in southern Ohio by 1869. Specific plant diseases have been re-
corded over since Bible times.

That dry weather may affect the availability of mineral elements
in iflie soil? gjT.ptOTus of magnesium deficiency are always more severe during
a dry season. Sojr.e interesting information along this line is contained in
a recent letter written by Dr. Ekblav; to John Rice- Speaking of the effect
of the drouth on the apple crop, he says, "This year the crop has been so
heavy and the drouth so severe, that the moisture in the upper foot or two
of the soil became critical for best production. Vi/henever the moisture
is deficient in the soil the rate of disintegration and decomposition of
the minerals that yield essential plant foods is drastically diminished,
and for several years there is likely to be a lag in the amount of such
minerals available in the soil. Another item to be considered is the fact
that certain bacteria and fungi are mpst numerous in the upper layers of
the soil Vifhioh this yoar have been driest, and their action both on organ-
ic and inorganic materials for plant fqod has boon substantially reduced.

"I love the great out-of-doors; the saell of the
the soil; the touch of the rain; the smile of the
sun; the kiss of the wind; and the laughter of the
summer breezes in the trees." (Host Mcintosh
growers failed to note any laughter in the breeze
of September 14, and the kiss of that particular
wind seemed more like a resounding smack.)

October 31, 1944

Prepared by the Fruit Program Committee
of the Extension Service

Yl. H. Thios, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

Anchorage of Apple Trees on Clonal Stocks

Bud Sports of Mcintosh

Controlling Rats and Mice with Methyl Bromide

TThen are Apples Ripe?

Hand Pollination in Orchards

Spraying and Dusting by Airplane

Notes on Bitter Pit

Brush Pushers

V/ound Dressings on Apple Trees

San Jose Scale Shows Startling Increase

Meadow Mouse Situation in Massachusetts Orchards

AlTOHORACfE OF APPLE TREES ON CLONAL STOCKS

Vfe have always feared that a tendency to break off or blow down might
be a weakness of trees on clonal stocks, when exposed to strong winds. The
recent hurricane showed that this fear had some foundation so far as certain
stocks are concerned. In a six-year-old orchard, the following percentages
of trees of various varieties on the stocks indicated were broken off, or
more or less tipped by the vj-indj

i Mai line IX - 21^

Mailing I - 4^?

Mailing IX - 2

" II - 4f,

XIJ - 1?

" III - \^%

" XIII -

" IV - 43^

" IV -

" V -

" XVI -

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of May 8 and June 30,
1914,. Vfillard A. Munson, Director, Massachusetts State College, United States
Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

-2-

These trees were exposed to the strong northerly winds. The i'igur'fes
probably ijidicate, only in a general way, the chances of trees on these
stocks being injured by high winds. Some of them can be set back without
much damage. It is significant that none of the trees on the semi-dwarf-
ing Mailing V nor on any of the so-called "standard" stocks suffered injury,
Mailing IX is not advocated for commercial orchards, and wherever it is
used in backyard plantings, we have recommended some support for the trees.
Me have never recommended Mailing III,

It is unfortunate that trees on Mailing IV suffered so badly. Many
of the damaged trees were broken at the point of union, and so are a total
loss. In many respects this is one of the best semi-dwarfing stocks, but
if the trees aro to suffer like this just when they are ready to begin to
bear, it puts a black mark against this stock.

This orchard was exposed to an unusually severe test. In the 1938
hurricane our few trees on Mailing IV suffered no worse than others, but
they were less exposed to the wind than were the trees mentioned in this
report. Me need further observations before condemning Mailing IV, but it
looks bad for it now.

J. K. Shaw

BUD SPORTS OF MCINTOSH

We have growing in our experimental orchards about 20 strains or bud
sports of Mcintosh each propagated from a known Mcintosh tree. One is from
a tree of about average color, two are from trees which bore striped apples
and the others are from trees selected because of real or supposed superior-
ity of color. Seven of these strains have fruited, including the "average"
strain; neither of the "striped" strains have yet fruited. There seem to
be rather small differences in color. The "average" strain is a little in-
ferior to most of the others and two of the strains seem a little superior
but it will require further study before we are able to say positively
which is the best, A strain of superior color may be inferior in other
respects such as vigor, productiveness, etc. An experiment is under way
which will show whether or not there are differences, other than color,
among seven of these strains,

—J. K. Shaw

COIITROLLING RATS AND MICE VflTH METHYL BROMIDE IN APPLE COLD STORAGES

From fumigation tests with methyl bromide run last May and again dur-
ing October at the Massachusetts State College in cooperation with Lawrence
Southwick, Research Assistant, Pomology Department it was found that this
material is very effective in killing rodents without any observable injury
to, or effect on apples. Methyl bromide was tested on both mature fruit
respiring relatively slowly and freshly picked fruit. A good dosage seems
to be either ^ pound per 1000 cubic feet of storage space for a 4-hour
period qr ■§• pound for a 2-hour period. Since methyl bromide is injurious

-3-

to all forms of animal life, proper caution should be obaer-^ed vrtiAn handling
it. Therefore, it is inadvisable for anyone except experienced technical
personnel to attempt to handle liquid methyl bromide without first having
attended a demonstration in its use. The use of trapping, poisoning, and
even, proofing the storage has not been entirely satisfactory because ro-
dents are carried in with the fruit or enter the storage through doors or
chutes. It is significant, therefore » that this method of exterminating
destructive rodents in apple cold storages has considerable merit. Those
who have a rodent problem in their storage and wish to use this material
should communicate with Mr. Southwiok.

— -Robert M. Borg, Biologist

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service

TfHEN ARE APPLES RIPE?

Proper maturity for picking is vitally important to the apple grower,
for the storage life of the fruit as well as its eating quality are greatly
influenced by the stage of maturity at which it is picked. In the past,
three guides have been rather extensively usedt (1) Degree of yellowing;
(2) firmness of the flesh; and (3) ease with which the apple may be detached
from the tree. Of late years, a fourth has been taking on increased im-
portance—elapsed time from full bloom*

Dr. Mark H. Haller, associate pomologist. Bureau of Plant Industry,
Soils, and Agricultural Engineering, has recently completed an exhaustive
check of these guides over a period of half a dozen years in the principal
apple-growing sections of the country. He concludes that the growers have
been leaning oil rather frail reeds in picking-maturity guides.

The value of the yellowing or ground color guide, for example, has
been considerably weakened by the increasing use of red strains that develop
color before they are fully mature. Too, some of the standard varieties,
under conditions favorable for red color development, color up enough to
mask the .groxind color before the apples are fully ripe. Firmness of flesh
is hardly a safe guide, Haller argues, since pressure tests indicate that
the range at which maturity is reached is too great and the softening too
gradual. And the accuracy of the ease-of-separating guide has been lessened
by the introduction of harvest sprays to prevent fruit drop.

It appears, however, that the number of days from bloom to maturity
offers a relatively safe guide. For example, the number of days from bloom
to Sfitlsfactory maturity for Delicious ajid Starking apples was found to be
about 150, regardless of whether the apples were gi^wn in Vfashington, Oregon,
Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, New York, or Maryland. Similar data are being
obtained to show the best picking dates for the principal commercial apple
varieties.

WANTED - An orchard where trees are being removed by mesms of
a bulldorer. We want to get some movie shots of this method
of tree removal which it becoming increasingly popular in
Massachusetts orchards.

-4«

HAKD POLLINATION IN ORCHARDS

It may seem foolish to propose to run the bees out of their job by
pollinating apple blossoms by hand, ynt this is done quite extensively in
Pacific Coast orchards. Blossoms are collected at the balloon stage, al-
lowed to dry for about 24 hours when the pollen will be mature. It is
then collected in v;ido mouthod bottles and applied to the blossoms with
a camol's hair brush. Effort is made to pollinate only one flower of one-
fourth or even less of the blossom clusters. It is regarded more or loss
as a temporary; expedient where there are not enough trees of pollinating
varieties in the orchard. In some cases, hand pollination has given great
increases in yield. It seems to require 1 to 2 hours to pollinate a mature
tree. This mounts up to considerable expense but a bushel or two of apples
per tree is ample reward. It is doubtful if this method should have wide
application in Massachusetts but there laay be cases of orchards which have
produced light crops due to lack of pollination in v/hioh it would be v/orth
trying. If some of our grov/ers are interested, wo will be glad to prepare
directions for trying this method.

- — J. K. Shaw

SPRAY nJG AND DUSTING BY AIRPLANE

Imagine dusting 100 acres of orchard in an hour! This is the re-
port from a large peach orchard in North Carolina. The results were re-
ported as good with much more dust required than for machine dusting but
the coverage was much better than with machine dusting.

The second report of protecting the orchard from the air comes from
Yakima, Vfashington. (Quoting from Better Fruit, "The plane flew three to
four feet above the rows of trees which were a fourth of a mile long. Two
trips were made over each row. The spraying proceeded at the rate of an
acre in one ar^d one-.half minutes. The spray was 150 times as strong as
that applied from the ground, and only 42 gallons were used on the 40 acres.
Purpose of the application v/as to stop any dropping of fruit that might
occur before harvest time arrived and before the fruit could be picked.
The spray vms atomized into a fine mist that settled all through the trees
as numerous specks on the loaves and the fruit." The report goes on to say
that the hormone spray applied on Bartlett pears gave excellent results.
The number of drops from trees sprayed August 8 was checked August 21 to 29.
During this period an average of two pears per tree dropped from the airplauie
sprayed trees wiiile unsprayed trees dropped an average of 113 pears por-
tree.

NOTES ON BITTER PIT

Every few days someone asks the question, "How can bitter pit or
Baldwin spot be prevented?" If an answer to this question were known it
would have been given wide publicity. Some recent work Ih New York State,
hovfever, conducted by R. M. Smock, throws sarae now light on this problem.
His 12 point summary in Cornell Memoir 234 reads as follows j

(1) ^plications of nitrogen during the growing season "to trees at

-5-

a low nitrogen level apparently increased the susceptibility of apple fruits
to bitter pit. Injections of urea into single limbs resultsd in increased
susceptibility. These nitrogen applications increased the osmotic concen-
tration of the leaves more than they did that of the fruits, (2) Ringing
seemed to markedly increase susceptibility to pitting. It increased the
osmotic value of the leaves proportionally more than it did that of the
fruits, (3) Defoliation vms the only orchard treatment that seemed to re-
duce susceptibility to pitting. This treatment removed leaf-fruit competi-
tion for viater. (4) Partial girdling of the fruit stems during the summer
increased the susceptibility of the fruits to pitting. This treatment pre-
siomably increased the osmotic concentration of the leaves at the expense of
the fruits. (5) Fruits on heavily thinned limbs and on naturally light-crop
trees were more susceptible to pitting than were other fruits. These con-
ditions also were accompanied by an increase in osmotic value of the leaves
at the expense of the fruits. (6) Oh an unthinned limb, the lateral fruits
in a cluster were more likely to pit, both on the tree and in storage, than
were the terminal f ruits, (7) Shading of limbs during the growing season
resulted in increased susceptibility of the fruit to pitting. (8) Delayed
storage is likely to result in a hastening of the appearance of bitter pit.
The appearance of the disease may be significantly delayed by prompt storage,
(9) Controlled-atmosphere storage delayed the appearance of bitter pit but
did not reduce the final amount. (10) The use of high relative humanities
in storage materially checked the rate of development of bitter pit. (11)
There is a suggestion that,, at least under some conditions, the use of
shredded oiled paper may increase the amount of bitter pit on fruits in
storage. (12) Waxing of fruits with certain emulsions seei:ied to materially
delay the appearance of bitter pit.

BRUSH PUSHERS

A simple device for gathering and transporting prunings in an orchard
is being used successfully by several Massachusetts growers. No two brush
pushers are exactly alike although the principle is always the same. In
these days of labor shortages a little time spent this winter in construct-
ing a brush pusher will return a good profit next spring. In its simplest
terms, a brush pusher consists in a number of wooden teeth so arranged that
they may be pushed along in front of the tractor. The construction is such
that any farmer should be able to build one successfully. Here is a quota-
tion from a recent Connecticut publication on this subjeoti

"The teeth of the brush pusher — which slide along just toudhing the
groiind at their front ends--slip under brush that has been thrown into the
strip between two rov;s of trees. As the pusher moves along, brush is picked
up until the teeth cannot gather or hold any more. Since the simplest
brush pushers have no device to raise the teeth when a full load is accumu-
lated, the operator must estimate how long a strip will make a load. The
operator drives up a clear strip and turns into an uncleared strip at a
point v/here he can just get a good load on his way back to the edge of the
orchard. If he takes too long a strip, he will be overloaded before he
gets to cleared ground. Brush is pushed out of the orchard to a location

-6-

convenient for a fire. Many operators push the brush directly into tho
firo and unload by backing out. CAUTION j Be suro the tractor is driven
by a good operator, that it is adjusted so that the engine will not stall,
.and that it has a plentiful supply of fuel. One orchardist nearly lost
his tractor because the engine stopped for lack of fuel just as he pushed
the load of brush into the fire." (The details of construction will be
furnished to any reader of Fruit Notea interested in this new gadget.)

WOUND DRESSINGS ON APPLE TREES

Valuable time is often wasted in painting pruning wounds which are
so small that they would heal r«adily without treatment. In other cases
the material has delayed healing instead of hastening it. In U.S.D.A.
Circular No. 656, J. S. Cooley reports an extensive experiment in which
-a number of wound dressings were used. Ho summarizes his findings as fol-
lows :

"The most promising of a large number of wound dressings were tested
on the limbs of mature apple trees at Hood River, Oregon, and at Arlington
Experiment Farm, Arlington, Va, Intemodal or side wounds 25 millimeters
in diameter made at monthly intervals for 2 years were treated with two
waxlike dressings in comparison with white lead and linseed oil, shellac,
aad no treatment. One waxlike dressing (No. 541) contained eight parts by
weight of rosin and throe parts of sardine oil; the other (No. 540) was
similar except that it contained copper soap in addition. More rapid heal-
ing took place in the transverse diameter; in the longitudinal diameter the
wounds enlarged by dying oven v/here the best dressings were used. Even at
the end of the second growing season the longitudinal diameters of the
wounds were larger than at the beginning.

"Wounds made in June or later produced little or no callus, in which
cases enlargement due to dying took place in the transverse as well as in
the longitudinal diameter. The longitudinal extension of wounds made in
winter was in general greater than that of those made in the spring. The
slightly injurious dressings caused less killing when applied in the spring
than at any other timo of the year. Shellac gave more callus formation and
less dying or longitudinal extension of the wound than any other dressing
used. Dressing No. 541 gave better healing in general than white lead and
Mnseed oil or dressing No. 540. The untreated wounds gave better healing
in general than those treated with white lead and linseed oil, but poorer
than those treated with shellac,"

TWO IMPORTANT PEST CONTROL I^EETINGS. The annual New York-
New England Fruit Pest Control Conference will be held in
Kingston, R. I. November 16 and 17. Research and Extension
workers having to do with fruit insects and diseases will get
together at that time to exchange ideas. Soon afterward the
annual Massachusetts get-together will be held in Amherst at
which time the various fruit spray charts will be brought up
to date.

-7-.

U, S. CIVILIANS ALLOCATED 83^ Of APPLE CROP

^— ^— — *■* ■' ■ ■■■■■■ - ' - ■>-■ ■! ■ » !■ I ■ ■ lly l-W ■■■■■■■- P !■ ■-

On October 19 the War Food Adnini strati on said that United States
civiliana have been allocated more than 103 million bushels of apples for
consuTiiption in fresh and processed form during the IS'^month period ending
next July. This is 85jJ of the estimated 125 million-bushel total supply,
and 13 pounds per capita more than was available to civilians last year.
More than 21 million bushels remaining, or IVJ^ of the supply, have been
allocated to the U. S. railitary services and to our allies and U. S. tsrri-
tories - 60/o in processed form.

OCTOBER APPLE CROP ESTIIvIATES. The October U.S.D.A. Crop Report shown
a slight drop in the National crop to 121,687,000 bushels compared
with 122,633,000 estimated in September, 89,050,000 a year ago, and
the 1934~42 average of 122,378,000, New England estimates are as
followsj Maine, 844,000; New Hampshire, 832,000; Vermont, 470,000;
(all unchanged from the September forecast), Massachusetts is also
unchanged at 2,583,000, compared with 2,228,000 a year ago and the
2,586,000 average. Rhode Island is down from 280,000 to 268,000
in September and Connecticut has been reduced from 1,635,000 to
1,456,000,

SAN JOSE SCALE SHOWS STARTLING INCREASE

In a number of Massachusetts orchards, particularly of the Baldwin
variety, one of the most conspicuous harvest time blemishes is that caused
by San Jose scale. In one instance the apples showed so many of the
characteristic reddish spots as to make them scarcely recognizable. Not
only v/as the skin plentifully peppered v/ith reddish spots but the calyx
end showed a decided crust formed by a mass of these scale insects. More
apples were apparently blemished by San Jose scale this season than in any
of the past 25 years. To say that San JOse scale is on the increase is a
mild under -statement. The reason for the present abundance of this pest
in •one' oreharda is partially due to the fact that the use of a dormant
or delayed dormant spray has quite generally gone out of style owing to
the fact that a summer control of red nite is now available through the
use of DN sprays or dusts. In the old days a generation or tv/o ago many
apple orchards were completely destroyed by San Jose scale. That pest
brought about the common use of dormant lime sulfur and it compelled apple
growers to spray thoroughly if they wished to stay in the apple business.
yie must n^Tw lesarn this lesson anew, 'Wherever any signs of San Jose scale
appeared at harvest time plans should be made for a thorough dormant or
delayed dormant spray using, not lime sulfu^ but one nf the oils or dormsint
DN materials.

AN ECHO OF THE GAY NINETIES. A few days ago an elderly man
wrote to the State College to ask where London Purple might
be obtained. This material was used to B'Wio extent before
Paris Creen, and even that has long since been discarded as
an orchard insecticide.

~8.

MEADOW MOUSE SITUATION IN MASSACHUSETTS ORCHAPDS

Due to favorable weather oonditions meadow mice ha-v© increased in
numbers during the last mgnth (October), In fact, in a few orchards girdling
has already occurred, especially on younger trees that were loosened by
the hurricsme. Remember that girdling may occur even in low mouse pop\»-
lation areasi Mice seem to have migrated from "certain" areas (stone walls,
ditch bemke, wot meadows,- etc.) to the most favorable habitats and have
established themselves. This is unusual because it was previously reported
from a census study that meadow mice were scarce even in the best habitats,
except in isolated spots.

It is a wise policy, therefore, for every orohardist to check his
orchard now ajid put out poison bait wherever necessary. It is only by a
thorough inspection that the degree and extent of mouse infestation can be
determined. All trees affected by the hurricane should be closely examined
because "pockets" usually are formed vdiich make ideal harboring places for
nice.

—Robert M. Borg, Biologist

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service

SERVICING THE ELECTRIC MOTOR

F. L. Rimbach, on authority on electrical equipment, asks what would
happen to your apple grading operations or your refrigeration if your- elec-
tric motor were to burn out. To avoid this calamity he offers these timely
suggestions! (1) Blow the dust out of your motor, (fl) Be sure the con-
nections are tight. (3) Put a little oil on it occasionally (not too much,
just a few drops). This is particularly important if you are running it
many hours a day, (4) If you possibly ciei, put in a safety fuse, of a size
to fit your motor. This will not cost more than a quarter. Any electrician
or dealer, or your Power Company, can tell you what size to get if you sim-
ply tell them the horse power and amperage of your motor. This aafety fuse
should be put in a separate fuse box.

CLONAL ROOTSTOCKS. There is a demand, far exceeding the supply,
for clonal rootstocks for growing dwarf and semi-dwarf apple
trees. A new bulletin (No. 418) by J. K. Shaw is now available.
It tells how these stocks are grown and identified.

The old farm-home is Mother's yet and mine.

And filled it is with plenty and to spare,-
But we are lonely here in life's decline.

Though fortune smiles around us everywhere!
We look across the gold of the harvests, as of old-

The corn, the fragrant clover, and the hayj
But most we turn our gaze as with eyes of other days.

To the orchard where the children used to play,

- — James TNhitcomb Riley

;>>

RUIT

OTES

Noveraber 27, 1944

Prepared by the Fruit Program Committee
of the Extension Service

W. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

Some Trends in the Fruit business

Talo of Two Orchards

Pomological paragraphs

Do You Know?

Factors in Fruit Grmwing, Controllable or Otherwise

Visit to the Eastern Regional Research Laboratory

SQIiE TREIJDS IN THE FRUIT BUSINESS

The successful operation of a fruit farm requires long time planning.
One CEUinot get in or out of the fruit business as easily as in the case of
vegetables, poultry, or dairy. On a strawberry farm, 13 months elapse be-
tv^een time of planting and harvest. And if the soil needs improvement an
additional year is required. In the apple business, the grower must think
in terms of ten years, at least. Careful planning is needed now, in order
to improve our competitive status in the post-war years. Older orchards
and croyvding filler trees must be removed and new blocks established.

Even though no apple trees were to be planted during the next ten
years the total yield would not necessarily be reduced (assuming good care
of present trees), although the cost of production would increase as the
trees grow older, and a poorer grade of fruit would result. We must keep

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of May 8 and June 30,
1914, V/illard A. Munson, Director, Massachusetts State College, United States
Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

cur orchards relatively young if we are to maintain our favorable position
among apple growing regions. In this connection the variety trend is of
m«ch interest. In 1925, about 25jJ of our apple crop was of the Mcintosh
variety. Today it is about 60^o. lie are becoming a "one variety state."

There is a growing tendency in the fruit business to think in terms
of new equipment, new spray materials, new fertilizers, and new varieties
without paying much attention to the long time aspects of the business. Vfe
are likely to stand so close to our present day problems that we fail to
visualize what may happen five or ten years hence. Post-war planning is
therefore of utmost importance. The fruit enterprise on every farm should
be reorganized. High per acre yields of good fruit mean larger net returns.

The 1944 apple crop in Massachusetts was almost exactly the same
as the 10-year average (2,583,000 bushels as compared v;ith 2,586,000 bushels),
This was about a quarter of a million bushels more than the short crop of
1943 and about a million bushels less than the bumper crop of 1942. Approx-
imately 218,000 bushels of the 1944 crop were sold to the FSA in connection
with the hurricane apple purchase program. Prices have been very favorable
during both 1943 and 1944. This situation will not continue indefinitely.
Fruit grov/ers must plan accordingly.

Fruits other than apples should also receive attention. There is
an excellf;nt opportunity for the grov/ing of more peaches provided suitable
soil and site are available. The same is true of pears. The tine also
seems favorable for limited planting of strawberries, raspberries, and
grapes to supplement other enterprises, such as vegetables or poultry.
An acre of strav/berries if properly handled, should yield at least 5,000
quarts. Strawberries should be considered by an occasional grower of tree
fruits and by other farmers, as a supplementary enterprise.

Problems Needing Attention; (1) Removal of older bl ocks , and
planting of suitable varieties on good site's and~soils. Frosty sites and
hopelessly poor 'soils imist hot be replantecf. The rejuvenation of our
present productive plantings is much more important and significant thsin
the establishment of nevi ones. (2) Orchard crowding. Filler tree removal,
or the cutting back of temporary trees, is urgently needed in many orchards,

(3) Magnesiwa deficiency. Severe symptoms are appearing not only in apple
orchards but in some peach orchards, vineyards, and raspberry plantings.
Every effort should be made to distribute high magnesium lime to those
farms v/here such deficiency appears. The use of other magnesiura carriers,
such as epsom salts, is also recommended v/here the deficiency is severe.

(4) Improv ement in the fruit pest c ontrol prograra. San Jose scale is on
the increase. Red mite is causing severe damage in many orchards. Apple
maggot is constantly a menace and must receive greater emphasis in 1945.
Dusting as a supplement to spraying, is becoming a comi:ion practice.

(5) Service to new orchard owners. Returning veterans interested in fruit
growing" are entitled to whatever service vie can offer. They should be en-
couraged to contact the county extension office for practical advice. With
our present knowledge of the fitness of soil types for fruit growing we can
render a very valuable service to newcomers in the fruit business. (6) Di-
versification. On a farm concerned primarily with apples, some attention

should be given to the growing of peaches or certain small fruits. On cer-
tain other fams, one of the small fruits nay provide a profitable supple-
mentary enterprise. (7) Nev/ developments. These include spraying or
flusting to control pre-harvest drop, blossom thinning with Elgetol, con-
trolled atmosphere storage, control of rodents in storage through the use
of methyl bromide, and such labor saving equipment as the brush pushor,
bulldozer for removing trees, stones, and for clearing land, and the one-
man power spraying outfit.

TALE OF OTO ORCHARDS

Two farri visits in recent weeks offer proof that good pest control
is possible even under the handicap of a low capacity sprayer, provided the
ovmer uses it instead of lamenting his hard luck. Imagine an orchard of
200 mature trees and only a barrel sprayer to apply the needed spray ma-
terials! Maybe the secret lay in the fact that the new orchard ovmer has
an energetic wife viho provided the motive povrer on the pump handle and
neither of then had been told that a barrel sprayer is a relatively in-
effective piece of equipment. The facts in tlie case are that this man
and his wife spent about three days, and laborious days at that, in applying
a single spray on the 200 trees. They sprayed five tines. Vflien harvest
tine came they had a crop of apples of v/hich any grov/er would be proud.
At the tine of our visit the lady who had operated the punp handle during
the suniner asked the question, "^Tl^at does apple scab look like?" Only after
an extended search were we able to find a llclntosh apple which shov/ed a
snail scab spot. These people have their ovm rev/ard for a season of hard
work in the form of a beautiful crop of apples which hae . already found a
ready narket at good prices.

Orchard No. 2, composed mostly of Mcintosh trees, has for many
years shown altogether too much apple scab. The trees are fairly tall
and are making very vigorous growth. Last spring the ownor attended a
meeting of fruit growers where he picked up an idea. Soneone at the meet-
ing stressed the importance of spraying or dusting with sulfur during or
immediately before a rainy period. Previously he had supposed that sulfur
would only wash off during a rain and for that reason he might as well de-
lay spraying until after the rainy period had passed. This year he deter-
mined that he would try out a brand new system. And so instead of waiting
for fair v/eather he got out the old sprayer, a snail one at that, and used
it industriously every tine it rained- during the nonth of May. The results
were almost unbelievable. In spite of his tall, vigorous trees, apple
scab was conspicuous by its absence. For the first tine he had provided
a protective covering of sulfur when it was nost needed.

CORRESTIOIJ: Attention is called to a nistake in the
October issue of Fruit Notes. On the 1st page under
the heading "Anchorage of Apple Trees on Clonal Stocks,"
Mailing XII should read 0^^ instead of 21^^. In other
words, this stock showed no breakage during the recent
hurricane.

-4-

FIBRE APP LE BOXES . The Indiana Station studied fibre apple boxes
last year and the results were favorable enough to warrant further tests
in 1943-44. Boxes made of so-called "Victory Board," Grade A, gave the best
results; Grades B and C vrere less satisfactory. The Grade A boxes were of
■•.023 caliper; weatherproof aheet on either side of a ,009 inch vreatherproof
member manufactured with weatherproof adhesives. Such packed boxes stacked
8 high stood up well from October 1 to January 3. Y/hen stacked 10 boxes
high, the weight proved to be too great. The boxes v;ere subjected to high
humidity even to water poured on the floor. Massachusetts growers usually
require a longer storage period eoid perhaps even these Grade A boxes might
not stand up. (lloosier Horticulture Vol. XXVI, page 131, October, 1944)

— J. K. Shaw

MOVEI'iENT OF POTASH IN THE TREE . It has been thought that potash
moves through""the tree rather readily in contrast to some other nutrients
that move rath^-r slowly. At the New Jersey Station small peach trees v/ere
planted so that the upper roots of each tree were confined to one pot and
the lower roots were in another pot beneath. There could be no passage of
water or nutrients from one pot to another except through the root that
passed through the top pot into the bottom one. Potash could be applied
to either the top pot containing the upper part of the root system or to
the bottom pot containing the lov/er part of the root system.

It was found that potash deficient parts of the plant were adequate-
ly supplied viithin a very few weeks by potash supplied to either pot. It
should be added that the pots v/ere filled with sand thus avoiding potash
fixation v/hich commonly occurs in field soils. This suggests that when potash
is applied in the orchard, it is not necessary that it penetrate deeply but
it must reach the upper roots in available form.

Probably few of our orchards suffer from potash deficiency. In
attempting to correct an existing deficiency, one must beviare of bringing
out magnesium deficiency. If the tree has absorbing roots near the sur-
face, it may be easier than we thought to correct potash deficiency.
(Soil Science, Vol. 58, page 51, July, 1944).

-- J. K. Shaw

YifAXI N G APPLES AGA IN. Certain varieties of apples have so little
waxy covering that they shrivel in storage. Golden Delicious or Yellow
Delicious is about the only such variety nov/ grovm in Massachusetts in suf-
ficient quantity to warrant waxing. If Golden Delicious apples are waxed
at the right time, with the right wax and in the right amount, shriveling
may be effectively controlled. If waxing is improperly done, it may fail
or the apples may be ruined. VJe would be glad to hear from growers who may
be interested in v/axing, and if there is enough demand, to get some first-
hand experience and to offer suggestions.

— J. K. Shaw

«5-

5^ ^ 7j^o Ji^n^r ?1U:

That an injection of one of the Sulfa-drugs offers considerable
promise in the control of X-disease in peach trees? Experiments now under
way in Connecticut have shown startling results particularly v/here the
material was injected in young trees previous to inoculation by budding
with diseased material.

That certain new organic fungicides are apparently effective in
the control of apple scab by first penetrating the plant tissues, thus
preventing entrance of the fungus? This fact offers an explanation of the
protection given to newly developed leaves a considerable length of time
after the material was applied.

That the sale of Mcintosh apples in Niagara County, New York
orchards increased from 1.3% of the total crop in 1922 to 23.9% of the
total crop in 1942? During this same period Baldwin sales dropped from
45.6% to 20.4% while Greenings dropped from 27.0% to 25.4%.
the

That/Mclntosh variety has far outyielded all other varieties in
the Hudson Valley? Considering trees in the 15 to 40 year class»the per
acre yield of I.lclntosh during the period 1935-1939 was 429 bushels. Other
varieties ranked as follows; Ben Davis, 266; Jonathan, 256; Rome Beauty, 249;
Delicious, 217; Baldwin, 207.

That 3,000,000 pounds of apple sirup were manufactured in the United
States and Canada during the first year in v/hich this new product v/as pro-
duced? Apple sirup made by the present process is amber in color, very
sweet, and bland. It has no distinctive flavor and its consistency is about
that of an invert sugar sirup of the same solids content.

That Llassachusetts placed seventh among the states east of the
Rocky Mountains, and tenth among all states, in apple production in 1944?

That apple yields as high as 1000 bushels per acre have been re-
ported in New England? Although exact yield records are not available
three orchards in which the yield in a particular year amounted to at least
that many bushels have been brought to our attention. V/e are interested in
getting such records over a period of at least three consecutive years.
Any grower who thinks he may qualify for the championship along that line
is invited to submit the necessary figures.

That it's time to mulch the strawberry planting? No other cultural
practice is likely to return a better profit than this. Mulching works
miracles by providing much needed protection against deep freeaing of the
soil. It also keeps the berries clean and to some extent controls v/eeds.

-6-

F.ACTORS IN FRUIT GRgVING, CONTROLUBLS OR OTHERV^SE

To a very large extent the grower of tree fruits or small fruits
takes what nature gives him. Yields often vary by as much as 100 per cent
or more. The reasons are obvious. Many of the factors which control growth
and fruitfulness are very largely beyond the grower's control. In some
fruit growing regions an adequate water supply is maintained by irrigation
and damage from frost is prevented by the use of heaters. Under our condi-
tions wo are likely to suffer the effects of too little rain one year and
too much the next. If low temperatures occur "it's just too bad." To an
evon greater extent no means of preventing hurricane damage have been de-
vised. Unfavorable weather with all of its ramifications in the form of
poor pollination, actual destruction of blossoms or fruit, and greater
prevalence of insects or diseases is a problem with which the fruit grower
must contend in one way or another every year. The point we wish to make
is briefly this: Since many factors are beyond the grower's control it is
only good business to control so far as possible those other factors over
which some degree of control is possible.

Of utmost importance we should mention the location of the fruit
planting. Vihether strawberries or apples, the fitness of the soil and site
should receive consideration, V^ith so many v^idely varying soil types from
which to select, v;e ought not to handicap ourselves by setting valuable
plants or trees where slight variations in soil moisture mean so much from
the standpoint of yield and profit. If a soil type is so porous that it
requires an inch of rain every week or if a hardpan is so near the surface
as to result in water logging, the yield of fruit is certain to vary tre-
mendously. On the other hand, a deep, well drained soil may withstand a
month's drouth without seriously affecting the crop. This tends to em-
phasize the need for making a wige choice of soil and site. Frosty loca-
tions, in the light of a freeze like that of May 19, must not be replanted
to either fruit trees or snail fruits. The same is true of many other low
yielding plantings which fail to cone through with a crop just when prices
are nost favorable. In short, a fruit grower ought to cooperate with nature
by doing his part so well, including selection of location, pest control,
spacing, choice of varieties, etc., that even "the vrorst that nature can
do" will still result in a profitable crop.

A VISIT TO TliE EASTERN REGIOIIAL RESEARCH LABORATORY IN PHILADELPHIA

It was the writer's privilege on November 1 to visit the Federal
Laboratory in Philadelphia where an outstanding piece of research in "The
Recovery and Utilization of Natural Apple Flavors" is underway. By an
ingenisus arrangement, the volatile esters in an apple are captured, dis-
tilled, and returned to the apple juice. (Quoting from a recent report:
"The numerous attempts made in this and other countries during the past
20 years to recover these flavors have never been completely successful,
because either some of the more volatile components were lost or in the
course of recovery the initial fresh flavor was inadvertently altered."
This nem product is a colorless solution of tht volatila constituents
of natural apple flavor concentrated from 100 to 150 fold. V/hen blended
with apple juice concentrate and reconstituted with water, it is indistin-
guishable in taste and arona from fresh apple juice.

RUIT

OTES

December 30, 1944

Prepared by the Fruit Program Committee-
of the Extension aervice

W. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

Correcting Magnesium Deficiency in Orchards

Rating of Various Apple Varieties in the U.S.

The Fertilizer Outlook

Order Supplies Early for 1945

Use of Cannon for Dusting

A One-Man Sprayer Outfit

Summary of V/FA Apple Buying Program

DDT Not a Cure-all

New Light on Vfinter Injury

Fruit Notes Index for 1944

OORRECTING MAGNESIUM DEFICIENCY IN ORCHARDS

In a Maine survey conducted last fall, magnesium deficiency symp-
toms were found in 47 out of 50 orchards examined, ?/hile the proportion
may not be as great in Massachusetts, many of our orchards are suffering
from, or are on the verge of, an actual deficiency. The natural supply of
magnesium in many of our soils is low, and since continuous removal
through harvested crops, leaching and erosion, ■tends to reduce the avail-
able magnesium below normal crpp requirementii, magnesium deficiency condi-
tions become apparent on apple trees ai characteristic leaf scorch. Scorch-
ing or dying of the leaf tissues usually affects irregular areas between
the veins and shows up during August. Magnesium deficiency reduces tree
growth and yield. Vfhere severe, apples not only fail to size up but drop
prematurely (regardless of harvest spray or dust treatment).

Issued by tho Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of May 8 and June 30,
1914, Vfillard A. Munson, Director, Massachusetts State College, United States
Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

Two methods of treatment have been worked out, - (1) soil and (2)
spray applications. With young trees, soil applications of epsom salts,
kieserite, or seawater magnesia have given generally good results. Yfith
older trees, delayed response from soil applications must be expected.
Spraying seems to provide quicker, but perhaps more temporary, results.
The inclusion of 20 pounds of epsom salts in 100 gallons of the usual spray
solution in the calyx, first cover, and second cover sprays has given con-
siderable control of magnesiuia leaf scorch in the year of application. In
Maine, greatly decreased scorch syraptoms resulted from this treatment. Per-
haps a fourth application in the third cover spray is advisable in some
cases. Th:.s method of applying the magnesium in the regular spray schedule
eliminates any spprfcio-ble expense of application and so far there has been
no loss of effectiveness of either the magnesium or the fungicide.

Briefly, the mere important suggestions for controlling magnesium
deficiency in apple orchards are as follov/sj (1) Apply -'.-2 tons per acre
of high magnesium or dci'' emtio limestone, af the soil is strongly acid (be-
low pK P), Li/nestons carr-yi;ig 2Q% MgO xz preferred. This is probably the
most important means of ascuring more or less permanent control. Repeated
applications may be needed at intervals of possibly 5 years,, (2) Apply
5-10 lbs. per tree of ept?m saltSj kiet^erite; seawater magnesia,, or double
sulphate of potash magnesiac In our tests, the seawater magnesia has given
as good results as any material. (3) Add 20 lbs. of epsom salts to each
100 gallons of spray in the cal^^x, first cover, and second cover applica-
tions.

In orchards thus far free from magnesium deficiency sy:nptoms but
situated in areas where the deficiency is known to exists a policy of pre-
vention should be adopted . Insurance against future trouble from magnesium
shortage can best be had by app-lying high magnesium IJ.mestone ever the en-
tire orchard area at the rate of about 1 ton per acre. Subsequent applica-
tions at intervals of '4- bo 5 ye'i.rs may forestall the serinus liiagnesium de-
ficiencies now so prevalent in many commercial orchards. In any case, high
calciu-'ii limestone should net be used. Vfiien ordering limestone for soil
applications J be sure to designate high magnesj.um or lolonilio limestone.
This is available through the AAA.

— L. Southwick

RATING OF VARIOUS iiPPLE VARIETIES IN TIIE U. S.

The Delicious variety o-'-cupies first place in our commercial orchards,
the total crop of this vt-.,rls-l;y amounting to 13'>o of the 1944 crop. The ten
most impcrta-it varieties i-f.rig.^ nj- f.^-cm IS^o of the total do^wn to 2,^% are as
follows: Delicious, 18^;i; Vf;:nn3ap, 12.2^6; Mcintosh, 9,3^of Jonathan, 1 ,b%\
Stayman, 6o9°o5 Rome Beauty, 5,5=o; York Imperial, 5.4^; Yellow Newtown,
3.65^; Baldwin, 3.2^; Ben Davis and Gano, 2.8^.

An application of borax one year in three v/here-
ever symptoms of internal cork have appeared in
years past is coneidered excellent insurance.

-3-

THE FERTILIZER OUTLOOK

Like the supply of other civilian goods, the supply of superphos-
phate and nitrogen fertilizers has been reduced in the Llast six weeks,
due to the demand for aanunition on the European war front. The supply of
nitrogen fertilizers is reduced directly by this demand as nitrogen com-
pounds are essential in the manufacture of explosives. Superphosphate
supplies are reduced directly, as the sulphuric acid which is used in the
majiufacture of superphosphate is consumed in the manufacture of explosives.
This situation might change very quickly when hostilities cease on the
German front. If the war activity in Europe should increase, there might
even be a further reduction in both nitrogon and superphosphate available
for agricultural use.

Since the first of October, the available supply of superphosphate
has been reduced from se-i/en million tons to six and one-half million tons,
on the basis of 18^ superphosphate equivalent. The estimated supply had
previously been reduced by one-half million tons. Consequently, at the
present time, we may look forward to a supply of one million tons short
of that available in 1944.

Nitrogen . It is now estimated that 93 percent of the supply of nitrogen
that was available last year will be available this year. The biggest re-
duction comes in the supply of nitrogen solutions that are available for
fertilizer mixes, and it is also expected that the quantity of ammonium
nitrate will be much less. Stated in round figures and in terms of tons
of nitrogen, it is expected that the supply will be equivalent to 588,000
tons, compared with 631,000 tons used in 1944.

The supply of potash, fortunately, is ample, and is estimated to
be 20^0 above the supply that was available in 1944. This should provide
ample quantities for mixed goods and use for direct application.

Mixed Goods . It is expected that there will be sufficient supplies of mixed
fertilisers to meet the estimated needs for the crop season of 1945. The
fertilizer industry is faced with the same type of labor difficulties that
farmers face, and needs the full cooperation of their farmer customers.
This cooperation can best be shown by ordering fertilizers and taking de-
livery as soon as possible so that the delivery season may be spread over
a longer period.

The total supply pf mixed fertilizers is expected to be equal to
that of 1944. The increased use of fertilizers is a very important factor
in the increased production accomplished in the last few years.

A i*ecord tonnage of fertilizer was used last year, and it is expected
that the total. use in 1945 will be only slightly less than that of 1944.
Perhaps we can best visualize this by stating that it is expected that the
supply of fertilizers available for use in 1945 will be' 172^ of the average
supply used in the years 1S35-1939. (Presented by S. R. Parker at Food Pro-
duction Goals Conference, Amherst, December 5, 1944.)

-.4-

ORDER SUPPLISS EARLY FOR 1945

Yfer-time scarcities and war-time demajnds for materials during 1945
again will govern the production of farm supplies of all kinds. Industries
manufacturing goods for farmers are also medcing military equipment. Farm
supplies will be manufactured largely on a basis of advance orders. More
time than usual will be needed for delivery. Again this year it is neces-
sary to ORDER EARLY: supplies, equipment, repair parts, and materials of
all kinds.

Machinery and Equipment . The total amount of new farm machinery and equip-
ment expected to be available for the 1945 crop season for the country as
a whole is approximately the same as was authorized for 1944. Distribution
will be through dealers without the use of rationing certificates. It does
not seem probable that the war situation will allow greater farm machinery
production in time for use next year, and it is decidedly improbable that any
larger amount of machinery will be available in the spring of 1945 than
there was in 1944, The manufacture of farm machinery repair parts will
continue at a high rate.

Take Your Fertili zer Now. Yifar Food Administration warns "Now or Never" for
assured farm supply of 1945 fertilizer. Stocks must be kept moving out now
continuously to farms or the lack of manpower, transportation, and storage
capacity will cause a paralyzing shortage. Unless farmers act quickly in
placing their orders and are willing to accept advance delivery of materials,
some cannot expect -their requirements to be supplied in time for use in plant-
ing. The recent increased demand of the Army for more explosives threatens
to decrease the supply of nitrogen to 95 per cent of that used last year.
Only 85 per cent as much superphosphate is expected to be available. Al-
though potash is being mined to furnish 20 per cent above last year, the
slow delivery of this item from distant points of manufacture adds further
problems for local mixing plants. Those who want fertilizer for crops next
spring should order without delay and accept early delivery if they can se-
cure it. This will help manufacturers to mix and deliver fertilizers steadily
throughout the winter. It is our only assurance of getting fertilizer on
time.

Order Spray Materials at Once . Both manufacturing and distribution of spray
and dust materials will be delayed by manpower shortages, overloaded and de-
layed transportation, container shortage, and similar problems. The total
supply of fungicides and insecticides is expected to be enough for essential
needs if orders are placed early so that these needs are made known.

An adequate supply of sulfur is assured only if shipments of the
finished products are continuous, not concentrated next spring and^ supimer
during the peak of consumption. France is expected to use next year large
quantities of our copper sulfate. "Industry expects supplies of this ma-
terial to be adequate but early shipments are essential." This year's
shortage of nicotine sulfate was due to heavy foreign demands. The nicotine
situation may again be critical in 1945 unless industry and V/ar Production
Board are informed ahead of time of our domestic requirements.

-5-

The following is the outlook for certain fungicides, insecticides,
and weed killorsj Sulfur and copper sulfate ample if bought early; copper
oxide and monohydrated copper sulfate limited, tight; lead arsenate and
calcium arsenate adequate; cryolite plentiful; nicotine tight, uncertain;
arsenical, chlorate and sulfamate weed-killing sprays tight, limited; like-
wise sodium hydroxide eind sodixim arsenite for compounding homemade weed-
killing sprays; sinox weed killer probably more plentiful; formaldehyde ajid
mercurials probably adequate; fermate tight, limited; arasan probably ade-
quate. Other common spray materials, seed disinfectants, as well as spread-
ers and stickers are expected to be adequate.

Make Plans for Boxes Now. Market boxes, and shipping containers of all
kinds, are not expected to be any more plentiful than in 1944. Used orange
crates and other second-hand containers are now being used for many new
purposes. They may be harder to get this year than last. It ie not too
early now to arrange for next season's boxes.

Seeds. Supplies of legume and grass seeds, including winter cover crop
seed, total 800 million pounds, approximately the same as last year. Gen-
erally speaking, supplies of red clover, timothy, redtop, blue grass, and
brome grass are more than ^mple for 1945 requirements. On the other hand,
supplies of alfalfa, alsike, white and ladino clover are relatively short.
Prices again will be relatively high. Vegetable seeds are expected to be
sufficient to meet needs v;ith the exception of specific varieties of a few
crops.

Fencing and Hardware, More steel for the manufacture of such articles is
available than in recent war years, but fencing and farm hardware still
will be hard to secure due to labor shortages in manufacturing plants.
Early ordering will help in securing adequate quantities,

— James W. Dayton

USE OF CANNON FOR- DUSTING

The following is quoted from a recent International Apple Association
release: "Robert D. Glasgow and Robert Blair of the New York State Museum
are experimenting in spreading insecticide dust by a small cannon and report
highly promising results for certain difficult conditions. They have over-
come the problem of manner of firing the charges from a row of mortars so
that ample distribution is secured over the area and find that it can be
used for forests and for areas vAero airplane dusting is hazardous. Also
this reaches the tops of the trees and assures thorough coverage of all
foliage. New developments in dusting give promise for certain regions.
The value of bombing will be particularly appreciated when the orchards
are so wet that the sprayer moves with difficulty and scab or other dis-
eases necessitate immediate protective measures. To be able to treat 100
acres or 500 acres in an hour, even by having a limited number of mortars
which can be moved into position, will assure control over situations which
have been up to now serious."

H. P. Gilmore of Vfestboro comments as follows concerning the use of

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cannon for dusting; "After the war we apple grcjwers should apply to War
Department for all the old worn out cannon. Then our dusting problems
could be solved. V/hy not load the cannon with properly mixed fungicide
and insecticide with right amount of explosive then have time fuses so
set that a set of cannon would go off about once a week during the spray
season? Then we growers could all enjoy ourselves off fishing. Pephaps
vie could find some way to reverse the process or use a vacuum and suck
off all the apples at harvest time and thus save a lot of picking labor."

A OrJE~;.IAN SPRAYER OUTFIT

For his ingenuity in building a very successful one-man outfit for
spraying a Jarge bearine; orchard, Vfilson Morse of Y/'aterford, Maine deserves
recognition.- The thoroughness with which he spray^^ his relatively tall
trees is indicated ty the faot that he has been able to produce for a num-
ber of years crops of oppAes scoring at least 90Jo clean with no more than
three sj.\ray appli jailor;-.. It should be borne in mind, of course, that
certain posts including curculio are not as troublesome in Maine as they
are in Wassarhusotts . The nozzle mechanism on Mr. Morse's sprayer is
suspended at tho top of a pipe about 10 feet long and is so arranged that
the dri-;er is able to manipulate the "broom" in either a vertical or hori-
zontal direction. Quoting from a recent letter, "The pump is under. the
tractor seat and is chain driven from a ball bearing power take-off on the
front transmission. Two five-speed transmissions give us 24 different
forward speeds, one of which is right for any size trees without stopping. "

SUMIilARY OF TAIFA APPLE BUYING PROGRAM

Massachusetts growers wore paid a total of $310,929.50 for hurricane
apples purchased by the 7ff A,. These apples were distributed to institutions
of various kinds and through the school lunch program in a number of southern
states. One carload was shipped as far west as Ncth Dakota. Of the
218, £50 bushels of apples p'j.rcha!=edj 150,933 bushels were in Group 1
(mostly Mcintosh) and 67,582 bushelo were in Gt'Oup 2. Prices paid for
apples in these two classes vrere ^1,50 and ^1.25 per bushelj respectively.
If all of these apple boxes v;ere placed end to end, the row of boxes would
reach from Amherst to Northboro,and that's a lot of apples I

DDT NOT A CURE-ALL

The new wonder insecticide DDT shows promise for the control of cod-
ling moth, oriental fruit moth, peach tree borer, Japanese beetle, raspberry
crovm borer, and several species of leaf hopper, but is not promising for
the control of curculio or red mite. It destroys certain predators and par-
asites, particularly those of the oriental moth and red mite, and also may be
bad for bees., M-^j'thods of preparing it for appJication as a spray or dust
have not been ■'■■rorked out nor is it yet known whether toxicity for humans may
be found- Furth'jrmore , it is not available to the general public. For these
reasors it is not yet recommended to the fruit grovrer. (N.J. Hort. News,
Vol. 25, page 1636, Nov., 1944.

— J. K. Shaw

-7-

■«>«»■

IJBW LIGHT ON YflKTER INJURY ^X^^*^

Some very interesting studies of tree trunk temperatures during
winter are being made in Mse*W5, by means of thermocouples. On a particular
day when the air temperature was 32° F., thermocouples inserted in the cam-
bium of the south side of an apple tree, which was exposed to the direct
rays of the sun, revealed a temperature of from 60 to 64°. A similar
measurement in the cambium of the south side of a peach tree indicated a
temperature up to 83°, The cambium on the north side of the tree in no
case showed a temperature more than 10° higher than that of the air. These
measurements emphasize the tremendous absorption of heat by a dark colored
surface. And when we consider the wide range in temperature of the tis-
sues on the south side of a tree betv/een late afternoon and evening, after
the sun has set, it is easy to understand why sunscald, splitting of the
bark and other forms of winter injury sometimes occur.

One of the larger dealers in farm supplies dis-
tributed 40 tons of epsom salts among Massachusetts
fanners last season, practically all of v/hich Viras used
in orchards as a means of correcting magnesium de-
ficiency. A report from Maine indicates the use of
33 tons of this material by fruit growers, for the
same purpose.

FRUIT NOTES INDEX FOR 1944

Apple Advertising. Jan. (6)

Apple Buying Frogram. Dec. (6)

Apple Maggot. June (2), July (1) (5) (8)

Apple Scab. Jan (6), Mar. (9), Apr. (1), June (5) (7)

Apple Varieties, Jan (1) (5), Apr. (8), Dec. (2)

Bees, July (2)

Bee Repellents. Apr. (5), May (8)

Bitter Pit. Oct. (4)

Blossom Thinning. Mar, .(2), Apr. (8), May (10), Jvine (7)

Blueberries, Feb, (6) (7), Mar. (8), Apr, (9), July (1)

Borax. May (3)

Brush Fushers, Oct, (5)

Bud Sports, Oct, (2)

Codling Moth, July (8)

Containers, May (9), Nov. (4)

Controlled Atmosphere Storage. Apr. (6), May (4)

Costs of Production. Apr. (6) (7)

DN. June (7), Sept. (6)

I^T. Dec. (6)

Do You Know? Feb, (3), Mar. (3), Sept. (7), Nov. (5)

Dusting. July (2) (7), Oct. (4), Dec. (5)

Dwarf Trees. Jan. (3), May (3), Oct. (1)

European Red Mite. Feb. (8)

Fertilizer Outlook. Dec. (3)

Fighting Farm Fires. July (6)

Frost Damage. May (2), June (3) (6), July (3)

Fruit Insects. June (2)

Fruit Maturity. Sept. (5), Oct. (3)

German Y/ar Prisoners. Aug. (2) (3)

Grafting. July (3)

Grapes. June (8)

Grass. June (4)

Hardy Stocks. Jan. (5)

Harvest Labor. Sept. (5), Aug. (3)

Hormone Spraying and Dusting. Aug. (1)

Hudson Valley. Apr. (6)

Hurricane Apple Purchase Program. Sept. (1)

Jamaicans on the Cape. Aug. (3)

Looking Ahead. Aug. (6)

Magnesium Deficiency. Jan (5), Apr. (8), July (5), Sept. (3), Dec. (1)
Mailing Stocks. Jan (3), May (3), Oct, (1)
Mulching. Sept. (3)

Nitrogen. Jan (3), Dec. (3)
Nursery Inspection. Sept. (4)

Oil Sprays. Mar. (1)

Orchard Crowding. Jan. (6), Sept. (4)

Orchard Depreciation. May (6)

Orchard Management. Jan (2), Mar. (6), May (9), July (4), Nov. (6)

Orchard Soils. July (5)

Peaches. Mar. (2) (7), Apr. (7), May (4), July (7), Sept. (3)

Peach Moth. Feb. (1), July (7) ^ / y v ^

plum Curculio. May (9), June (3)

Pollination. Oct. (4)

Pomological Paragraphs. Jan. (3), Sept. (2), Nov. (4)

Potash. Nov. (4), Dec. (3)

Poultry Manure. Apr. (4)

Prevent Accidents. May (7)

Raspberries. May (1), July (4)

Rodent Control. Jan. (6), Oct. (2) (8)

San Jose Scale. Oct. (7)

Seen and Heard in Maine. Jan. (5), Feb. (2), June (3)

Seen in the Field. July (2)

Servicing the Electric Motor. Oct. (8)

Soil Acidity. Jan. (7)

Soil Conservation. Apr. (3)

Spraying. Feb. (5), July (3), Sept. (2), Oct. (4), Nov. (3), Dec. (6)

Spray Message Broadcasts. Apr. (3)

Strawberries. July (4)

Strawberry Fertilizers. Apr. (4)

Supplies. Dec. (4)

Training Apple Pickers. Aug. (6) (7) (8)

Trends in the Fruit Business. Nov. (1)

Water. Jan, (3)

T/axing Apples. Sept. (5), Nov. (4)

V/hite Grubs. July (3)

V/inter Injury. May (1), Dec. (7)

Wound Dressings. Oct. (6)

X-Disease. Jan. (4), June (l)

Youth in Agriculture. Aug. (4)

T)T?"ynTpK>V ^^
EXTgl31C:r/>2!f'/IC^
SOUTH COLLEGE ( —

RUIT

;OTES

43;

January 31, 1945

Prepared by the Fruit Prograjn Committee
of the Extension Service

\'I. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

Research on Mass. Apples and Apple Products at H.S.C.

Contouring Peach Orchards

Fall Nitrogen Applications and V/inter Injury

Horticultural Science Meeting

Cover Crop Possibilities

Walnut Toxicity

Relation of Mcintosh Drop to Magnesium Deficiency

Factors in Orchard Pest Control

Proposed United States Horticultural Council

Fruit Juice in Candy Form

RESEARCH OH MASSACHUSETTS APPLES AND APPLE PRODUCTS AT M.S.C.

An active research program concerned with Massachusetts apples
and apple products v/as initiated in the Food Technology Department of the
Massachusetts State College in 1927 and has been continued to date.

In studies on the extraction of apple juice for the manufacture of
jelly it was found that Red Astrachan, Red Siberian Crab, King David, ITine-
sap and Mcintosh were among the more suitable varieties for apple jelly
manufacture. A cider apple jelly has been developed which is a distinctive
product of attractive color and appealing flavor, superior in quality to
either apple jelly or cider jelly alone.

-2-

The successful canning of oven-baked, glazed, and dessert apples
has been accomplished. Of twenty varieties of apples studied, among the
best for canning were Northern Spy, Baldwin, Rhode Island Greening, Graven-
stein, and York, The canned products are very attractive and of excellent
flavor.

A method has been developed whereby New England farmers having
cull apples, a cider press, and a maple syrup evaporator can make relative-
ly large quantities of pleasing applo syrup.

Unfortunately, the juice of the Mcintosh, grown in this area, has
a rather insipid flavor and must be blended with the juice of other apple
varieties to yield a high grade processed apple juice. It has been found
that blends with Baldwin containing up to 60 per cent Mcintosh apples
yield a pleasing product. Much information has also been obtained and
published on the manufacture of cider from Massachusetts apples.

In addition to work on apple products, research has been carried
on relative to the nutritive value of apples. Data on the vitamin G con-
tent of 69 varieties of apples grown in Massachusetts have been obtained.
Studies have also been made on the effect of eating apples on urinary acid-
ity and blood alkali reserve, intestinal disorders and calcium retention.

Studies have been made on the feasibility of enriching apple juice
with vitamin C (ascorbic acid). A good quality apple juice has been made
from a blend of 50 per cent Mcintosh and 50 per cent Baldwin apples, v/hich
had a vitamin C content equal to that of orange or grapefruit juice. Dur-
ing the past few years considerable interest has been shown in apple juice
enriched with vitamin C, particularly in Canada,

More than twenty different articles dealing with apple products
EUid the nutritive value of apples have been published on the v/ork carried
on in this laboratory,

-- V/. B. Bsselon

CONTOURING PEACH ORCHARDS

Since peach orchards require both good soil and good air drainage,
they are usually planted on more or less sloping land. Furthermore, since
peaches usually do not thrive in sod, the orchards have been rather inten-
sively cultivated. This combination of slope and cultivation has set up
ideal conditions for soil erosion. In some orchards the effects are so
apparent - washed out, barren, stony soil at the top* of the slopes and
fine soil all at the bottom or in the next field - tnat one wonders why
something hasn't been done about it. The remedy, of course, is contour
planting.

One of the College peach orchards planted on contours has given
considerable evidence of the advantages of this system. The site of this
orchard had previously been used for peaches planted on the rectangular
system and cultivated both ways. This had resulted in the soil in most
of the orchard, partiftulsj?!^ tiiali at the top of the slc^^^ becoming very

-o-

stony and very low in fertility. After the removal of this peach orchard
followed by a few years of plowing in green manure crops to build up the
soil, the site was again set to peaches in 1940. Contour lines were laid
out with a surveyor's level, terraces built up v;ith road machinery, and
the trees set at the outer edge of the terraces. In most orchards the ex-
pense of building terraces would not be justifiable. If the trees are
planted along the contour lines, cultivation will build up terraces in a
few years. On very steep slopes terracing gives protection during the
first fev/ years required to build the terraces by cultivation.

Certain results of this method of planting in the College peach
orchard are worth noting. First, the soil has been much improved by the
cultural treatment, and this improved soil has been held in place. Second,
run-off of water has been prevented thereby improving the moisture content
of the soil. This has been particularly noticeable in the spring when
large quantities of water vifere present. At times the terraces have looked
like a series of rice paddies. This water has percolated into the soil in-
stead of running off. And lastly, the grovrth of the trees has been improved.
Following the very severe winter injury during the winter of 1342-43, the
trees made an astonishing recovery. They did this in spite of a shortage
of rainfall during the summer of 1943 when precipitation Viras considerably
below normal in three of the five growing months. The conservation of
moisture must have contributed greatly to this result.

Anyone planting an orchard, particularly a peach orchard, where
cultivation is to be practiced would do well to consider carefully the con-
tour system of planting.

— J. S. Bailey

FALL NITROGEN APPLICATI ONS .fiJID V miTER INJURY

Experiments i.i N-^w Hampshire seem to show that fall applications
of nitrogen rendered app^. ? -.reGs iriore susceptible to winter injury. At
the Maine Station nitr.>[;;-vn cirrj.ed in nitrate of soda, cyananiid, and manure
have been appii ;d in Ifey; ;'V,(-a.st. September, and October to bearing trees
over a period of four y^ars, No significant dif feri=^n.-*,e in yield or in re-
lationship vn. bh winter r'.rcjury haa been found. Our experiments in Massachu-
setts agree with those D.r M'^ine in that there is little or no relationship
between carrier or season of upplication and yioldo We have seen winter
killing which we thougnt v.'as related to fall applications of sulphate of
ammonia, Vrhether and v^hy rhe difference in winter injury is a problem,
perhaps climatic differences may be the reason.

— J. K. Shaw

HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE MEETING

Last yeir the l]f^.vr England members of the American Society for Horti-
cultural Science heir' a meeting in Worcester. It was so successful that
another meeting "ms held at "che Universicy of New Hampshire at Durham, on
December 28 ai.d 29. Ihr^ att-jndanoe v.-a.- good, over 40. including about a
half dozen practical fruit growTrr. Ivloro thaii ?.0 papers wer- presented.

-4-

followed by lively discussions, A Mew England Section of the A.S.H»3..
was formed with J. K. Shav/, Chairman, and H. A. Rollins, Secretary*

A. F. Yeager, reporting on conventional vs. "thin wood" pruning
Vfith Mcintosh, ghowed little if any advantage of "thin wood" pruning.
J. A. Chucka of Maine and L. Southwick agreed very well on inagnesium da**
ficienCy. They recommended magnesium limestone, Epsom salts in three or
fou/- sprays and^'in some cases, soil applications of magnesium salts.
R. M. Borg and L. 'Southwick reported that fumigation with methyl bromide
was effective in riddihg apple storages of rats and mice. E. M. Stoddard
of Nev/ Haven sent a paper reporting successful use of certain sulfur drugs
in controlling the jt^disease of peaches,

— J. K. Shaw

COVER CROP POSSIBILITIES

gomes tic Rye Grass. A recent report from Michigan praises Domestic
Rye Grai'ss as a nev; orchard cover ci*op. Also known as Italian Rye Grass, it
has shown promise as an over-wintering cover crop for Michigan orchards.
Seeded shallow at the rate of 12 to 15 pounds per acre from August 15 to
September 15, it makes enough growth to give ample soil cover for soil ero-
sion prevention and excessive water "run-off." In the spring it resumes
growth more slov;ly than comnion rye, interfering less vrith tree growth and
cultivation. (Mich. Agr. Expt. Sta. Quart. Bui. 27, August, 1944).

Kudzu. There is some interest in the possibilities of Eudzu for
Massachusetts orchards. This plant was introduced into this eoiantry from
Japan more than 50 years ago. By 1941, 250,000 acres of it -w©te planted
on farms in this country. Kudzu is a rapid-growing, long-lived^ leguminous,
viny plant having a taproot and long stems or runners. In the more northern
part of its range, the runners kill back to the crown each fall and renew
growth in the spring from crown buds. Foliage is abundant and the leaves
look like grape leaves. Kudzu thrives best in the humid southeastern states.
It has survived in somewhat protected situations in the East as far north
as New York and Massachusetts but is better" adapted south of Virginia.
Planting material usually consists of nursery-grown seedlings or crown
plants. Relatively few plants per acre are required to obtain complete
coverage. It seems doubtful that Kudzu has a place in most sections of
Massachusetts, except in w<5 Unprotected locations. Further information
is available in U.S.D..A. FarjnerS"' Bulletin No. 1923.

— Lawrence Southwick

VfALNUT TOXIC I'fY

The question of walnut toxicity dates back to Pliny, the Roman
philosopher, v;ho stated that 'H:he shadow of walnut trees is poison to all
plants within its compass" and that it kills v^hatever it touches, accord-
ing to G. A. Gries, Conn. Agri. Expt. Sta. Today it is widely accepted
that the roots of walnut trees are toxic to the roots of certain crop plan.ts
in direct contact with them. This toxicity is greatest to plants with tap
root systems such as tomato and alfalfa and those with other types of deep
root systems such as apple trees, rhododendrons, taid privet.^

■5-

The toxic component of walnuts is a chemical compound known as
juglone. It is toxic to fungi and bacteria and has even been used in cur-
ing skin diseases, including ringworm. In field tests in 1943 at the
Connecticut Station on the control of black spot of roses, juglone gave
a degree of control equal to that of 2^ times as much 325 mesh sulfur,
the standard control for this disease,

Juglone occurs definitely in the black v/alnut and the butternut,
and probably in the English walnut. It is formed by the oxidation of hydro-
juglone which is a non-toxic substance occurring in the inner bark and
green husks of the nuts. V/hen roots of other plants contact these parts,
oxidation produces the toxin and the roots are injured or killed. Thus
root contact is required. In some cases, ihe plant root systems are shallow
and do not contact the deeper roots of the walnut, especially in plowed
ground. Also, some plants may send out sufficient surface roots to keep
them alive in spite of injury to the deeper roots. This explains why many
plants are not adversely affected wh'-in grown near walnut trees. However,
the fact does remain that many plants, including fruit trees, often will
die or not do v/ell in the vicinity of walnut trees. This is not a myth -
it is a fact,

— Lawrence Southv/ick

RELATION OF McINTOSH DROP TO MGNESIIM DEFICIENCY

We are just beginning to realize how low in magnesium are many of
our crchard soils. This problem is not confined to the lighter soil types
but may be equally severe in badly eroded soils and in other soils which
are shallow because of hardpan, waterlogging or ledge. Strongly acid soil
conditions, brought .about by the continued use of sulfur, has further ag-
gravated the situation. Much of the apple leaf scorch previously attributed
to spray injury is now known to be due to a shortage of magnesium. Fairly
liberal use of potash fertilizers in some orchards has tended to accentuate
the magnesium deficiency by creating a lack of balance between potassium
and magnesium. Not that potassium isn't a highly essential mineral element.
But a tree might "worry along" on a low magnesium diet provided other ele-
ments were also low. As v;e step up the level of one element, we seem to
create a demand for more of the others. Acontent of magnesium in the leaves
amounting to at least ,2% of the dry matter appears to be necessary.

Observations in Massachusetts orchards shov/ a much greater tendency
of Mcintosh apples to drop from trees which are deficient in magnesium.
Both leaves and apples tend to drop prematurely if the magnesium supply
is very limited. It is .also well known that hormone sprays and dusts
fail to produce the desired results under these conditions. One Middlesex
County grower who has recently corrected a magnesium deficiency, reports
that last fall, for the first time, he got a definite response to- the pre-
harvest spray. Our first job as Mcintosh apple growers is to restore the
magnesium balance. If that is done, the Mcintosh drop problem may partially
disappear.

-6-

FACTORS IN ORCHARD PEST COIITROL

If a fruit grovrer fails to get as perfect pest control as he had
hoped, the chances are that one or more of the folloviing factors, maybe
all of them, are responsible. Of these 10 factors, 6 are entirely or al-
most entirely the growers' responsibility, 2 are partially so, and 2 are
beyond his control. Three factors have to do with the spray program, 3 with
pests, and 3 with the orchard, Vfeather is in a class by itself.

1. Location of orchard (environment, elevation, slope, etc.)

2. Spacing of trees (crovfded or scattered).

3. Condition of trees (height, spread, vigor, pruning, etc.).

4. Prevalence of individual pests,

5. Supplementary practices (drop disposal, banding, etc.)

6. Natural enemies.

7. Vfeather.

8. Timing of sprays and dusts.

9. Coverage.
10. Materials. •

Storage Temperature an d Relative Humidity. As the temperature of a stor-
age room increases, the higher must be the relative humidity if the rate
of v/ater vapor loss from apples is not to increase. At 32°, a relative
humidity of 70^^ is as effective in retarding the rate of water loss from
apples as one of 80jo at 41°.

— Lav/rence Southwick

Wartime Buying of Fruits . A study of retail sales of fruits in metropolitan
markets has been made by the Department of Agricultural Economics at Cornell
University. The information was furnished by a large Nev; York City chain
grocery system and covers the period July, 1941 to June, 1942. In pounds
of fruit sold» oranges made up GO.6J0 of the total; apples, 10. 9^^; grapefruit,
10.3^j bananas, 7-9°^; lemons, 4.2$^; peaches, 4.2^o. No other fruit was
above Z%. Citrus fruits, as a ivhole, took 58 cents out of the average
fruit dollar and accounted for m% of the fruit tonnage.

-- Lawrence Southwick

Fruit Growing, a Specialized Business . Cbily l/40 of the farms in the United

States are classified as fruit farms. And yet these farms produce 5/6 of

the fruit. This suggests the relative^mportance of the farm orchard from
the standpoint of fruit production.

Correctio n. In the December issue of Fruit Note?, under
the heading "New Light on V/inter Injury," studies on tree
trunk temperatures v/ere erroneously reported as under v/ay
in Maine , This work is being conducted at the University
of New Hai.ipshire by Mr. Russell Eggert, using the new Mi-
cromax recording instrument.

-7-

PROPOSED UNITED STATES PIORT I CULTURAL COUNCIL

Fred A. Motz , of the Office of Foreign Agricultural Relations, has
proposed the formation of a Horticultural Council which will be qualified
to speak for the fruit interests of the United States.

The objectivTss are as follows;

"To encourage closer collaboration between appropriate government agen-
cies and the horticultural industry. To prepare factual data, to inform,
to clarify, to consult and advise with, and to make recommendations to
the Secretary of Agriculture or his authorized representative in the
formulation and execution of programs which affect the horticultural
industry. To set up a permanent council or advisory body representative ■
of specified commodity groups in the industry. It should be recognized
by the Government as such, and the members thereof should be approved
by the Government follov/ing industry nomination, selection or election.

"The council should be made up of one or more representatives from each
of the commodity committees that may be established. Any eligible com-
modity groups desiring representation on the Council could make appli-
cation to the council for membership. The council must have broad duties
and responsibilities to achieve its purposes. It will be necessary for
it to screen and analyze the information brought together by the com-
modity committees and that available from governmental sources; to con-
sider it in terms of appropriate relationships to other food and horti-
cultural products and to the industry as a whole; and to advise and
recommend industry and Government policies and action in matters deemed
necessary to solve the particular problems,"

What They V/rite About. Thumbing through our pile of correspondence for the
past month, we find inquiries on the following v;ide range of subjects (figures
in parentheses indicate number of inquiries); Source of strav/berry plants (3),
raspberry plants (3), pH for raspberries, preventing decay of strawberries,
growing boysenberries , grape pruning, poar pruning, source of true-to-name
trees (4), source of scions (2), peach varieties, black walnut toxicity.
Damson plums, fruits adapted to individual towns (4), soil testing, ferti-
lizer program, fermate, spraying (3), apple maggot control (2), bitter pit,
deer damage, brush burner, orchard heating, and requests to be placed on
Fruit Notes mailing list (2).

New Apricot Devel oped in Russia. Soviet Russian scientists at
the S amarkand Experiment Station have developed an important
new type of apricot and one of apple, according to a New York
Times dispatch from \7. H. Lav;rence, who accompanied Eric John-
ston, U. S. Chamber of Commerce president, on his Russian Tour.
The apricot contains 30 per cent sugar when ripe, it is said,
and after ripening v;ill dry on the tree in 10 to 12 days with
a 50^0 sugar content, or can fall and remain on the ground a
month without danger of rotting, thus saving much labor in har-
vesting.

-3-

FRUIT JUICE IIT CAIIDY FORI.I

Following is a partial quotation from an article in the January-
issue of Hoosier Horticulture.

"Tremendous expansion in citrus concentrating facilities during
the past year will present a serious problem for the industry after the
close of the v/ar. V/hile there undoubtedly will be an enlarged demand for
concentrated juices, it is undeniable that new markets and products must
be created if virtual disaster is to be prevented. In considering the
postwar possibilities for concentrated juices, several methods for appeal-
ing to the consumer come to mind. First, of course, there is the familiar
method of reconstituting the concentrate and using it as a beverage, either
directly or as a base for •ades ' and carbonated beverages

"Another method for presenting concentrated juice, v;hich apparently
up to the present time has been completely OTerlooked, is to consider the
concentrate itself as an entity, a substance in its own right. lYith this
conception, additional fields may be opened and wholly now markets created.
For instance, it v/as discovered in the author's Ip.boratory that it is possi-
ble to evaporate viater from juices dovm to 2 per cent moisture content, and
when this is done a hard candy-liko substance results .,.»....

"Successful hard tablets of conc-^ntrat'id juice, patent for which is
now pending, have been made from grapefruit, pineapple, prune, apple, apricot,
raspberry ajid other fruits and various combinations of two or more juices.
New candy mark'its may be opened, postwar, by the assured surplus of these
tablets."

Origi n of DDT. The much publicized insecticide, DDT, the full name of which
is Dichloro-Diphonyl-Trichlorobenzone, v;as first compounded by a young German
chemist in 1874 as a routine part of preparing a thesis. No particular at-
tention was paid to it until in 1928 when a Sv/iss entomological research
company compounded th"-; same material in its search for a pov;erful insecti-
cide. Its first practical use vms in tho destruction of an unusual infesta-
tion of the Colorado Potato Beetle in 1939 in Switzerland.

A bill to prohibit the employment on farms of persons under
14 years of age is said to have been introduced in the
Massachusetts Legislature. It al.'^o prohibits persons under
18 from driving a tractor v;ithout first obtaining permission
from the Commission of Labor and Industries,

Orchard Crowding may b'^ considered as Problem No, 1 in many Massachu-
setts orchards. It is closely associated with magnesium deficiency,
pest control, and a relatively high percentage of low grade fruit.

mrtfjtr.^-

m^^m

February 15, 1945

Prepared by the Fruit Program Committee
of the Extension Service

V/. II. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

Control of Cyclamen Mite on Strawberries

Nursery Exaggerations

A Land-Use Platform for Orchardist>

San Jose Scale

V/hy "Freshly" Hydrated Lime for Spraying Purposes?

Farm Work Simplification

Do You Know?

Killing Chokecherries

Just Spray Off the Bark

CONTROL OF CYCLAMEN MJTE ON STRAWBERRIES

A visit to several strawberry growers last June revealed that cyclamen
mite waf present in serious amounts in some of the beds, but was not recog-
nized by most grovrers. Because of the difficulty of controlling this pest it
is not too early for growers to start planning for it now.

This mite, which is light to dark amber in color, lives over winter
on the crown of the strawberry plant. It feeds mostly among the young leaves
in the growing point and in the unopened flower buds. Infested plants are
dwarfed, unproductive and have crumpled, deformed leaves of a bluish cast.

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of May 8 and June 30,
1914, Willard A. Munson, Director, Massachusetts State College, United Statas
Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating*

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The only known control for this pest is a high temperature treatment.
plants vifhich are to be used for setting a new bed should be immersed for 50
minutes in v/ater held at 110° F. The water should be constantly agitated
while the plants are being treated and its temperature should not vary more
than one degree either way if the mites are to be killed without injury to
the plants. Plants should be set as soon as possible after the treatment.

Other precautions which will help to prevent the spread of mites from
the fruiting bed to the new bed include:

1. Isolating nev/ bed 500 yards or more from other strawberries.

2. Sterilizing tools and containers which have been used in an infested
bed, or • allowing them to stand in open air 24 hours before using same
in the new bed.

3. Not permitting anyone to go from an infested bed to the new bed the
same day without washing hands, changing clothes and otherwise dis-
infecting themselves.

For the benefit of any who may be interested in selling plants, it
is reported from California that plants may safely be shipped after treatment
provided that they are cooled, dried to normal condition and packed in moist,
sterile moss.

— A. P. French

SOLE MISREPRESENTATIONS IN TIIE IIURSERY CATALOGUES

Human nature being what it is, perhaps one should expect an uninformed
public to fall for the ballyhoo of the average nursery catalogue with its
beautiful color pictures (frequently of a better looking variety than what
the label portrays it to be) and gross misstatements as to the merits of its
offerings. Fortunately your State College has long considered the testing
of varieties as one of its obligations to all who v;ant reliable information
on their behavior in this state.

The following varieties are selected for comment as a few of the more
flagrant misrepresentations found in nursery catalogues today.

Concord Seedless grape - This variety is usually seedless but instead
of having a large compact bunch similar to Concord - as it is usually pic-
tured - bears a poor, scraggly bunch with berries no larger than small peas.

Caco grape - A typical bunch seldom contains more than a dozen ber-
ries in spite of the beautiful, large clusters shown in the nursery catalogues.

The much advertised August Supreme and Sweet September sweet cherries,
according to George Howe of Geneva, New York, "appear to be only worthless
Mazzards" as they fruit at that Station.

The high priced York Imperial sv^eet cherry appears to be indistin-
guishable in tree and fruit from Napoleon. A plant patent was granted to
the York Imperial on the basis of its being self-fertile, which fact has
not been scientifically established as yet.

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Dne 1946 nursery catalogue describes the St^^ Regis, an old, mediocre
red raspberry, as having very large berries, delicious flavor and bearing
TSITt inuously f rom mid-June until frost. Not one of these statements is cor-
r^^ct, but to convince the uninformed customer of the merits of this variety
they' show a picture of a cluster of fruits larger than Marcy, of about the
color and shape of Taylor, which is mislabeled St, Regis. The price is at
least twice what this old so-called everbearer is worth, even in v/ar time.

A few other current offerings which, while they may be satisfactory
in other parts of the country, have not been found to be so at the State Col-
lege, include:

Golden Muscat grape, v;hich fails to mature in our short season;

Boysenberry, v;hich is not sufficiently winter hardy here;

Indian Summer red ras pberry , which usually fails to mature its fall crop

before freezing weather;

Anoka apple, v/hich has very poor color and quality under our conditions.

The Beta grape and Hansen's Bush Cherry may be good in extremely cold

climates but are of little value v;here the usual varieties and kinds

can be grovm.

The fact that a variety was originated by a famous plant breeder or
that it has been granted a plant patent is no guarantee of its worth.

It would seem that it is high time for the nursery industry to take
cognizance of the various experiment station reports on varieties and prac-
tice a bit of "truth in advertising" lest they kill the goose that lays the
golden egg.

— A. P. French

A LAND-USE PU.TFORM FOR ORCHARDISTS

Orchardists are generally conceded to be among the most progressive
farmers; perhaps they are tops in this respect. They will doubtless sub-
scribe to the following 3-point platform for land use, which v/e have proposed;

First, selective land use . This means selecting the best available soil
types for a given crop. Since an orchard is a long-time crop and an expen-
sive investment, this point is extremely important to the orchardist. Make
no mistake in selecting the orchard site.

Second, soil improvement. Do whatever is necessary to improve soil productiv-
ity. It may mean the use of lime, fertilizer, manure, cover crops, or mulches;
it may be the drainage of wet spots. It may be a form of land improvement
such as the removal of stone walls in order to give larger and more easily
managed orchards.

Third, soil conservation . Gains made in soil fertility should be held; that
is the object of soil conservation. Orchards in good sod and well-mulched
orchards rarely erode except in worn roadways. Contour planting of orchards
often makes for easier handling of equipment, checks road erosion in sod or-
chards, and general erosion in cultivated, orchards, and conserves moisture.

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Massachusetts orchardists interested in soil and land improvement
and conservation CEinnot afford to overlook the possibilities of the two bills
on soil conservation now before the legislature of this state. Both bills
offer advantages to orchardists, but an important difference is that one of
the bills (H.621) provides a definite procedure for setting up local, farmer-
controlled districts for soil improvement and conservation; the other bill
(H.777) does not do this. H.621 gives a maximum of local control.

— A. B. Beaumont

Terraces Hold the YiTater. At the Spur, Texas, Experiment Station two
adjacent 10-acre fields were planted to cotton for 12 years. The
fields appear nearly flat, but have a slope of six inches per hundred
feet. The soils are of the same type. One field has closed, level
terraces and is tilled on the contour. The other field is not ter-
raced and is tilled up-hill. The average cotton yield from the unter-
raced field was 109 pounds per acre, from the terraced field 177
pounds per acre. Value of the extra yield on the terraced field
was $7.60 per acre, annually. The terraced field lost no soil or
water. The unterraced field lost considerable quantities of soil
and 11.5 per cent of all rain.

Imagine the problem of a would-be peach grower in
Essex County v/hen the expressman delivered (on one
of the coldest days last month) a peach tree which
had been ordered from a southern nursery, presumably
for spring planting.

SAInT JOSE SCALE

The tremendous increase of San Jose scale in Massachusetts apple or-
chards in 1944 is undoubtedly due (l) to favorable biological and climatic
conditions, and (2) to changes in pest control practices which encourage a
rapid build-up of the scale.

The San Jose scale, vifhich hibernates as partly grown nymphs, suffers
high vdnter mortality from low temperatures, and several times during the
last ten years it has had severe set backs by freezing. Fatal winter tem-
peratures for San Jose scale are approximately the same as for peach buds
and there was little injury to either scale or peaches in the winter of 1943-
44. ITith a high survival last spring, the abnormally v:arm weather throughout
the summer favored maximum reproduction and survival of the young in addition
to enabling the development of three or four generations instead of the usual
tv;o or three. Yifhen the young crav;lers are born, they crawl over the branches
for 1 or 2 days before settling on the bark, and at this time they may be
spread from branch to branch or tree to tree by the wind, on the feet of birds,
bees, or other large insects. Reproduction is tremendous, and it has been
calculated that the progeny from a single female living in the climate of
Yfashington, D.C would number 3,216,080,400 by fall if all survived. Normal-
ly, parasites keep small infestations of the scale in check but the favorable
growth conditions in 1944 permitted the scale to out«distance the parasites.

The most effective spray treatment to control San Jose scale is a dor-

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mant application of a lubricating oil spr^^ dili^ted to contain Z% or more
actual oil. In the past, dormant or delayed/applications of oil sprays
were made quite regularly, especially in orchards where the European red
mite was troublesome. In recent years, oil sprays have been omitted more
and more frequently, and the remarkable effectiveness of the summer type
of DN sprays and dusts in controlling red mite during the growing season
has encouraged this practice.

Liquid lime sulfur, even at the summer dilution 1-50, killed many
young scales especially when applied at the time the young were hatching,
as frequently happened when it was used in a complete scab schedule, letta-
ble sulfur and sulfur dust are much less effective and kill many of the
predators smd parasites.

Outbreaks of San Jose scale in Massachusetts have been sporadic and
we may expect that the present infestation v/ill be temporary, but it behooves
every fruit grower to nip the current outbreak in the bud by applying a dor-
mant or delayed dormant spray containing 2 or 3^o actual oil in 1945.

— W. D. Vrtiitcomb

YCIY "FRESHLY" HYDRATED LIME FOR SPRAYING P URPOSES?

During our meetings with fruit growers, the question is frequently
asked, "T/hat is freshly hydrated lime?" or "How long can I keep spray lime
and still use it with safety?" To answer these questions, let us first
understand how spray limes are made and what changes they undergo when al-
lowed to stand for some time afterward.

Manufacturers take from the quarry limestone . If agricultural lime
or limestone is desired for applying to the soil, they merely grind it up
finely. Chemically, limestone is Calcium Carbonate . If, instead, hydrated
lime is sought for spraying purposes, they take .the unground limestone and
burn it. This process drives off carbon dioxide and leaves just Calcium
Oxide, also known as "burnt lime," "hot lime," or "stone lime." This form
of lime has a great affinity for water.

The manufacturers add water slowly to stone lime, thus slaking it.
It takes up the vmter cheraically and is then known as slaked lime or hydrated
lime. Chemically, it is Calcium Hydroxide or Calcium Hydrate. It is this
form of lime, and this one only, that functions in the spray tank to counter-
act arsenical injury and to slow up the undesirable chemical reaction be't\'.'een
lime-sulfur and lead arsenate. It has the property of remaining well in (Sus-
pension, and it is partially soluble, both of which contribute to its
"safening" value.

Just as stone lime (Calcium Oxide) has a strong attraction for water,
so has hydrated lime a great affinity for carbon dioxide. Just as soon as
hydrated lime is exposed to the air, it begins to absorb carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere. In doing so, it is changed from Calcium Hj'droxide to Calcium
Carbonate. In other words, the spray lime undergoes carbonation and thus
eventually changes back to the original carbonate-rock or limestone which
was taken from the quarry at the outset.

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This carbonated line, or limestone, is easily recognized in a bag
of lime as a coarse, crumbly layer just beneath the paper container. It
does not disperse v/ell in the spray tank. It remains coarse and gritty
and readily clogs the gpray nozzles. In addition, it has no value whatso-
ever in counteracting spray injury. In fact, chemists have reported that
the presence of Calcium Carbonate actually hastens the decomposition of lead
arsenate into soluble arsenic. It is also perfectly inert and valueless
in the preparation of Bordeaux mixture.

If freshly prepared hydrated lime is stored in air-tight containers,
it should keep almost indefinitely without becoming carbonated. Y^en stored
in paper bags, it is subject to carbonation just in proportion to the extent
to which the bag is exposed to the air. If bags of hydrated lime are stored
in a large, closely-packed pile or stack, the outside bags will proceed to
carbonate gradually while the inner ones should undergo very little carbon-
ation even during three or four years of storage.

The principal disadvantage of using for spraying purposes hydrated
lime that has carbonated slightly is the nozzle trouble and the sludge or
settlings in the bottom of the tank. There still would be enough of the
calcium hydrate or hydroxide present to act as "safener" if there was only
a thin crust or layer of carbonated lime next to the wall of the paper bag.
However, it is not always possible to determine through ordinary examination
just how far the carbonated lime extends into the package, although it is
generally understood that most of it will occur in the outside layer that
appears coarse and grainy to the fingers.

So, by freshly hydrated lime, we mean lime that vms slaked or hy-
drated by the manufacturer v/ithin a year of its use. As a rule, under farm
storage conditions, it will undergo considerable carbonation by the end of
the first season. If kept over for use the folloviing year, it could be ex- .
pected to contain an undesirable amount of carbonated lime. A chemist's
analysis should reveal exactly to what extent the hydrated lime has changed
to carbonate.

— 0. C. Boyd

FARIvl WORK SII^LIFICATION

Farm workers are scarce and labor is an expensive item in the cost
of producing farm products in Massachusetts. It "is quite probable that the
farm labor shortage may continue for several years. Faced with this situa-
tion, farmers are particularly interested in ways of saving labor and in
using the available supply fully and efficiently so as to keep production
costs as low as possible. Also, many of the available workers are young and
some will be girls and women. Farmers should therefore give considerable
thought to ways of making the work as easy as possible.

Industry saves money by simplifying work. It has found that the sim-
pler and easier each operation is made, the more production results. The
principles of work simplification can be, and are being applied to farming.
The object is toj

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1. Plan the work to make as few jobs as possible.

2. Reduce the motions required for each job to the smallest number.

3. Organize the motions left to require the least possible energy,

A 4-Step plan. Farm work simplification principles can be applied
to any fann job in four steps.

Step 1. Break down the job into all its operations. A Job is a definite,
complete piece of work such as spraying trees. An Operatio n is
part of a job. The job of spraying might consist of the~se opera-
tions--hauling the sprayer to the water supply, filling the spray-
er with water, adding spray materials, travel to the orchard, and
applying spray.

Step 2. Arialyze each operation, considering questions like these j

1. Can the operation or part of it be left out?

2. Can a substitute way be used?

3. Can two or more operations be done at the same time?

4. Can the order of the work be changed so that fewer operations
would be required?

5. Can some tool, device or piece of equipment (perhaps home made)
make the work easier?

6. Can extra travel be saved by planning, changing the places
where tools, equipment and supplies are kept?

7. Can the operation be made easier by arranging it so both hands
can help?

Step 3. Develop a new and better way for doing the job which will*

1. Eliminate unnecessary/ operations.

2. Combine two or more operations.

3. Change the order of the operations so that time and labor will
be saved.

4. Make possible the use of some tool, equipment or device which
will make the work easier,

5. Improve the arrangement of tools, equipment and supplies to
save time and effort.

6. Make it possible for the left hand to do as much work as the
right hand.

Step 4, Apply "the new and improved way for doing the job.

In doing some types of work it may take a little time for the worker
to become acoustomed to the new method and he may not save much time and ef-
fort in the beginning. Hov/ever, by continuing the new method he soon develops
new habits. Where distances traveled^are lessened by rearrangement of the
order in which work is done, or by placement of tools and equipment the re-
sults are obvious.

— Roy E. Moser

If snow is "the poor man's mulch," as some folks claim,

we're certainly w-Talthy in Amherst this winter. To date,

according to the local V^eather Bureau, vre've had 44^
inches.

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ll# A-

That during the final swell, peaches increase in size at eui exceed-
ingly rapid rate?" For every 40 or 50 acres the increase in .production
amounts to about a carload per day. J. S. Bailey.

That penicillin, the new wonder drug, has been used with unexpectedly
good results at the Arizona Experiment Station for treatment of crown gall,
sometimes called plant cancer? Crude penicillin treatment may prove valuable
in nurseries and elsewhere for the cure of plants on which the tumors are
within reach and possibly as a preventive of infection during budding and
grafting operations.

That since 1940, total farm population in the U.S. has declined
4,700,000? There are now only 25,050,000 people on farms compared to 30,025,000
in 1940 and 32,000,000 in 1933. About 1,650,000 farm folks have gone into the
Armed Service, another. 4,650,000 have moved av^ay. Births, however, have ex-
ceeded deaths by 1,526,000.

That . the suffix "cide," which the dictionaries say signifies killer
or destroyer , comes into increasing use as scientists find v/ays of combat-'
mg man's pests? Fungicides, insecticides, herbicides, and rodenticides are
common examples.

That the nitrogen used by crops comes from six sources? They are;
(1) The nitrogen content of the soil, (2) Nitrogen fixed by legume bacteria.
(3) Nitrogen fixed by non-symbiotic bacteria. (4) Nitrogen supplied by man-
ures and crop residues. (5) Nitrogen brought down in rain and snow. (6) Com-
mercial nitrogen, \7ith the single exception of commercial nitrogen, the
quantity of nitrogen that any crop derives from these various sources can
only be estimated.

That when 1,000 apple boxes are used the second time, enough wood is
saved to crate an aeroplane for shipment overseas J Lletal in 60 wire-bound
citrus boxes can supply the nails and straps for crating a jeep for the same
journey.

That the richest source of Vitamin C of all fruits or vegetables is
Black Currant juice? Its content is about three times that of citrus juices.
In Massachusetts, however, the planting of black currants is prohibited be-
cause of their susceptibility to white pine blister rust.

That dried apples v^ere a staple article of trade in early Colonial
days? Farmers not only earned money for taxes by drying apples, but exchanged
them at the country store for red flannel, coffee, spices and other necessi-
ties. ^ In the lumber camps of Michigan this preserved fruit was the culinary
delicacy which supplemented many a meal of potatoes, beans and salt pork.

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That the first large commercial nursery in America vras established
by Robert Prince about 1830, at Flushing, Long Island? The Prince catalog
of 1794 is said to have contained as many varieties of fruits as some of the
present day nursery catalogs, apricots and nectarines being represented by
10 varieties each. The catalog of 1845 enumerated 345 varieties of apples
alone.

That the Ben Davis variety, because of its splendid keeping quali-
ties and attractive color, became knovm among orchardists of the Civil V/ar
period as the "mortgage lifter?" In New England, the Baldv/in has performed
that service on many a farm and so deserves a well earned claim to the same
title.

That it was an old-time custom, observed by many people when eating
an apple, to select a favorable spot and press the seeds into the ground with
a turn of the boot? This may help to account for some of the millions of
wild apple trees Virhich dot the New England landscape.

That food production in the U.S. has increased fully one-quarter
while the number of farms has declined one-tenth? Theodore Schultz, Univer-
sity of Chicago Agricultural Economist, believes that by 1950 four million
farms in the U.S. will produce a third more food than did the six million
farms before the war.

That the yield of apples from the Byrd orchards in Virginia in 1942
amounted to 1,200,000 bushels, or about one per cent of the U.S. crop? The
Berryville Orchard, with 1500 acres and 70,000 bearing trees, produced about
half of this total. The five most important varieties and the percentage
of each are as follows: Delicious - 20j York - 16; Stayman - 16; Rome
Beauty - 14; T/inesap - 12.

That wild blackberry plants growing near peach orchards provide win-
ter quarters for strawberry leafroller worms which in turn are hosts to the
beneficial Macrocentrus ancylivorous, parasite enemy of the Oriental fruit
moth? Vfe are not yet ready to recommend encouraging the wild blackberry,
however, because of other problems v/hich might arise.

That the United Stateis now has 5,282 frozen-food locker plants? In
Iowa, v/hich has the most, there are 580 plants. Minnesota is second with
470, and \Tashington State is third v;ith 404. Last year's increase was 723
new plants, not counting additions to old ones or plants still under con-
struction.

That Florida now has an estimated 377,450 acres of bearing citrus
groves, with about 6000 acres a year of nevir acreage coming into bearing?
present groves consist of 251,340 acres of oranges, 95,190 of grapefruit,
23,420 of tangerines and 7500 of limes.

That the fruit juice pack for the whole U.S., including Hawaii, in
1935, was 9,317,000 caaes v^hile in 1943 it was 39,202,000 cases? The packs
of the various juicea were about as follov/s: grapefruit - 20^029,. 700;
pineapple - 8,600,000; orange 2,702,000; other citrus juices and concentrates
- 2,789,000; grape * 1,500,000; apple - 1,000,000; nectars and miscellaneous
juices - 1,000,000; and prune - 450,000 cases.

.10-

That if the national apple crop were to be distributed equitably
throughout the nation, every nan, woman and child would receive about a
bushel? With many people eating five or even ten bushels each year, it
is easy to estimate hovi few apples others, particularly in non-apple produce.
ing sections, are consuming. .

That a sweet apple is sweet not because it contains more sugar than
a sour apple, but because it contains less acid? J. K. Shaw

Killing Chokecherries. The sodium chlorate and more recently
the ammoniura sulfamate sprays for killing chokecherries and other vieeds
have become war casualties. Although there is hope of getting some sul-
famate next spring, the supply will probably be limited at best. Therefore,
growers would be wise to keep an eye on the new 2-4-D sprays. Reports in-
dicate they are effective against chokecherries. Hovrever, they are still
in the experimental stage. J. S. Bailey.

1945 APPLE SPRAY CHART. .?roof of the new
chart has been returned .'to. the printer.
This is considerably earlier than in sev-
eral years past. The new charts may be
ready for distribution by the time this
issue of Fruit Notes is received.

Just Spray Off the Bark, An article under this heading appears
in a recent issue of Food For Victory VJ'ith King Apple, from Illinois.
Victor W. Kelley, Extension Horticulturist, reports a new method of removing
rough bark from apple trees, as follows: "Scraping off rough and loose bark
in a codling moth sanitation program is a very tedious and slow process. A
more efficient method is to spray it off. Use a standard spray gun with a
No. 8 disc (8/64 inch aperture), and apply water at 500 pound pressure, A
mature apple tree 25 to 30 years of age may be thoroughly smoothed off in
four to five minutes. Small trees may be so treated in one minute or less.
The procedure is simple, but certain precautions should be observed, Work
about two to four feet distant from the tree trunk. Hold the gun at a 45°
angle when cleaning out around the bottom of the tree, or too much of the
crown will be exposed to low temperatures if spraying is done during the
early winter. Adjust the gun when necessary to prevent injury to live bark,

"Spraying off the loose and rough bark has the following advantages
over hand-scraping: (1) It is three to four times faster, including the time
required for filling; the tank and hauling, and requires only about the time of
a regular spray application. (2) It is more thorough in crotches, punky areas,
et cetera. (3) It destroys a high percentage of over-wintering larvae. (4)
It is possible to reach higher branches, (5) No new equipment is necessary.
In view of the labor shortage not many grov;ers will be able to hand-scrape
this coming year. Certainly every grov;er should be able to spray off the bark
and be prepared to band in 1945,"

March 8, 1945

Prepared by the Fruit Program Committee
of the Extension Service

yj, H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

Shrivelling of Apples in Storage

Treatment for Boron Deficiency

Cold Storage of Strawberry Plants

Further Comments on Nursery Practices

Fertilizer Needs of Orchard Trees

Grow Vegetables as Tfell as Fruits

Donuant Spray Roc oramendat ions for Apple Trees

Rabbit Injury in Fruit Trees

Construction and Handling of the Brush Drag

Varieties of Cultivated Blueberries for Mass,

One Man Sprayer

SHRIVELLING OF APPLES IN STORAGE

Apples shrivel when they lose from 5 to 7^' of their v/eight in the
form of water vapor. The rate of water loss from apples in an average storage
is such that toward the end of the season the fruits have lost from 3 to 5%,
While apples seldom shrivel in storage^ there is only a small margin of safety
and when displayed by retailers in a warm dry room, shrivelling occurs rapidly.
The grower or storage operator has no control over conditions in the food
store. He can, however, and ought to store fruits in such a majiner that they
lose a minimum of water by the time of sale to the retailer so that they can
withstand further loss before shrivelling.

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of May 8 and June 30,
1914, Vfillard A. Munson, Director, Massa*husetts State College, United States
Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

-2-

The rate of water loss depends on the nature of fruit itself and
environmental conditions. The skin prevents free evaporation and is respon-
sible for the fact that a free water surface of the same area loses 30 to
50 tines as much water. The skin is not absolutely tight. Vifater vapor es-
capes through lenticels, called commonly dots, and through the cuticle between
the lonticels. About 4 to 10 times as much v/ater is lost through the cuticle
as through the lenticels,

V/hen apples are placed in storage their rate of water loss steadily
decreases for some time even if they are placed under constant environmental
conditions. This is due to a number of factors, chiefly to the increase of
wax or bloom on the surface of the skin, to closing down of lenticels, and
to dessication of the skin.

The grower has some control over natural tendencies, so far as water
loss is concerned. Too early or too late picking may make the fruits more
susceptible to shrivelling. Washing or brushing for spray residue removal
may remove the surface wax and increase greatly the rate of water loss. It
is, however, by controlling conditions during the storage period that the
most satisfactory prevention of shrivelling can be accomplished. In order
to keep v/ater losses down, the temperature in the storage must be low
(31°F to 32°F) and relative humidity high (8&% to 90^).

These two conditions are being achieved by sound engineering devices
and good pomological practices. The engineer provides storage with adequate
collage to remove field heat from the fruit quickly. He will also try to
maintain a minimum differencial between the temperature of the refrigerant
and that of the room in order to avoid taking too much moisture from the at*
mosphere in the form of frost deposits on the pipes.

The grower's first effort should be directed toward immediate stor-
age of the fruit. The disastrous effects of delayed storage are too well
known to need discussion here. There are, however, some other considerations
that are not as clearly realized. Among them is the problem of the package,
Apple boxes are made of wood v^hich is highly hygroscopic material. Very of-
ten they are stored over the summer in hot sheds, packing houses or garrets
where they dry up considerably. Y/hen such dry boxes are filled with fruit
and taken into the storage, they absorb moisture from the storage atmosphere
and from the fruit.

A dry New England apple box may absorb over half a pound of water
in storage, A heavy field box weighing about 12 pounds may absorb nearly 3
pounds of water as shown by v/eighing experiments conducted this winter at
Rhode Island State College.

In the same experiment, it was found that during the first 6 weeks
of storage, apples in dry boxes lost on the average almost 3 times as much
water as apple* stored in wet boxes. It is true, of course, that these boxes
were exceptionally heavy, but many farm storages use rather heavy boxes.

It is clear that the condition of the boxes may influence v;ater loss
of apples and thus tho time of shrivelling. It is therefore recommended that

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and
boxes be stored in a rather cool and moist place during the summer ,/^hat
they be exposed to rain and dew in the orchard or cool shade before harvest
time. Soaking them by turning on the hose may be helpful.

In the old days when apples were stored in tight barrels, shrivel-
ling was no problem. Our modern apples boxes, open for ventilation, favor
a high rate of v>rater loss. Anything that makes the box tight will decrease
lo3i of moisture and delay shrivelling. Shredded oiled paper, wrappers and
liners of all kinds serve the same purpose. One hundred and twenty five
special boxes were built at Rhode Island State College and compared vfith
standard boxes made of the same viood. Special boxes differed from standard
New England boxes in that they were tight. There were no slits at the bot-
tom and there was a solid cover. It v/as found that moisture loss was 30^
higher in standard boxes when compared with the tight boxes.

YIa.r imposed restrictions do not allov; us to uee many of the new
things that would improve keeping of the fruit. Two developments offer con-
siderable promise: Waxing and vapor-proof ceXbphane liners and wrappers.
Both already play a very important role in the citrus and vegetable indus-
tries. (The foregoing review of an important subject vms prepared for Fruit
Notes by Di". S. A. Pieniazek, Rhode Island State College.)

TREATI.ffilJT FOR BORON DEFICIEIJCY

Probably the most dependable treatment for boron deficiency (inter-
nal cork) in apples is a soil application of borax in a narrow ring under
the tips of the branches. Suggested amounts to supply per tree are from 2
to 16 ounces depending on tree size, (For example, a tree with a trunk
diameter of 3-^- inches shpuld have about 2 ounces; 7 inches - 6 ounces;
14 inches - 8 to 12 ounces; etc.) According to Dr. A. B. Burrell of Cor-
nell University, where soil applications are repeated at 3-year intervals
as recommended, it seems desirable to reduce the amount per tree by one-r
third at the second application, and probably by one-half at the third,

■ The question has been raised concerning the possibility of applying
borax by adding it to one or more of the regular sprays. In Canada, spraj^
applica tions have been recommended for orchards on high-lime soils, and in
New York and New Hampshire borax has been included in sprays on an experi-
mental basis. In New Hampshire, large amounts of borax v;ere used v/ithout
causing injury to apple foliage but in New York some injury resulted where
high calcium-lime yras not included in.. the spray raixtur«, A suggested pro-
cedure is to include borax at the rate of 2 pounds per lOD gallons in two
spray applications - possibly the first and second cover sprays. Unless the
deficiency of boron is severe, this treatment should provide protection
against the occurrence of internal cork in apples.

It has been shown that an application of borax to the soil lasts
about three years. In some cases, protection from a single application may
be had for a longer period but it is hardly safe to rely on this possibility.
Thus, it is suggested that any orchard v;hich has shown evidence of boron de-
ficiency and to which borax has not been applied for three or more years
should be treated this season. Soil applications of borax are recommended
but spray applications \vill probably be satisfactory,

— Lav/rence Southwick

-4-

COID STORAGE OF STRAY/BERRY PLAIITS

It is generally agreed that there is no better strawberry plant than
the well grown local product. However, much of the hajidicap of plants from
the Middle Atlantic States (due to differences in season) may be overcome with
proper handling. It has been found in New York State that plants dug at the
proper time (March in the Middle Atlantic States) shipped north immediately
and held in cold storage until planting time in the Worth produce a better
stand, earlier growth and earlier runner development than plants shipped at
the right time for planting in the North.

Good apple cold storage conditions are ideal for such strawberry
plants, i.e., 28°-34° F. and 855^-90^ relative humidity. The package of
plants should be examined on arrival to make sure that they are moist. 'If
not, sprinkle them but do not soak the packing material as that may cut
off air circulation. Plants need not be removed from the bundles while in
cold storage, but make certain that they neither dry out nor that the temper-
ature gets high enough to permit grovrth to start.

— A. P. French

FURTHER C ORIENTS ON NURSERY PRACTICES

Since last month's outburst against the unethical practioos of some
nurserymen, a few more items worthy of comment have come to mind.

1. True-to-name Peach Varieties. It is true that peaches, as well as
other tree fruits, are examined for mixtures in the nursery row. However,
since it is im p ossible to p ositively identif y all peach varietie s in the
nursery row the inspection work with peaches is on a much less certain basis
than that with other tree fruits. This fact is annually called to the atten-
tion of all nurserymen who avail themselves of this service • Yet several of
them have so worded their catalogues as to give the impression that their
peaches are as positively true to name as are their other tree fruits.

2. Method of Propagation. From the fruit grovrer's standpoint it makes
little difference whether air~apple tree is propagated by budding or by graft-
ing using piece root, whole root or an "old-hickory" method, nor does it
matter much Vvrhere they are grown. An individual nurseryman adopts a par-
ticular practice because that practice produces the most good nursery trees
under his conditions. Thus, a dozen Mcintosh trees of equal size from as
many sources and methods of propagation, will probably do equally well in
the orchard, regardless of the nurseryman's claims.

3. Bud Spor ts and Superior Strains. That there are strains of some var-
ieties, especially "color strains, is an established fact, but unfortunately
most of these cannot be identified as different than the parent form in the
nursery rov;. Furthermore, there are probably more strains listed by nursery-
men than are actually recognized as distinctly different strains. One nur-
sery's Super Crimson Red Mcintosh may be the same thing or no better than
another concern's Double Red Mcintosh. The fruit differences between many
of these strains have not been definitely established as yet.

-5-

4. Renaming . The superlatives and coined words used by some nurserymen
as a part of the names of their varieties is bad enough, but when a nursery-
man deliberhtely renames a variety, it is just plain fraud. Fortunately, such
cases are in the minority, but several have occurred in the past few years.

5. Substitution . One of the most unethical practices of still too large
a number of nurserymen is that of substitution. Fortunately, this is practiced
less on the commercial fruit grower than on the amateur, but any substitution
is too much. YJhether a person orders 100 Fredonia grape vines or only one he
is entitled to receive what he ordero.. He doesn't want the nurseryman to
send him a Moore's Early and tell him that it is just as good as Fredonia.
Even the average amateur knows as much as the average nurseryman about the
merits, defects and adaptability of varieties in his location.

Far v/orse than acknowledged substitution is the common practice of
deliberately re-labeling varieties to fit the order. Some nurserymen care
little about having their pears, plums, and sweet cherries inspected for
trueness-to-name, because "they mostly go out in small orders anyway," mean-
ing that the most important consideration when filling small orders is to
accept the customer's money and send him something. One local amateur after
getting mislabeled tress from three apparently reputable nursery concerns
asked in disgust, "Aren't there any honest people in the nursery business?"

— A. P. French

FERTILIZER NEEDS OF ORCHARD TREES

Recommendation of the proper fertilizer applications for orchards is
difficult. There can be no doubt that nitrogen is needed in most orchards,
but the need of other elements is often in doubt. We have learned that many
orchards need magnesium, and boron deficiences have been found. There are
probably a few orchards that need potash. Proof of need for other elements
in Massachusetts orchards has not been established, but such may exist. These
statements refer to immediate benefits to the trees. There may be indirect
benefits from a "complete fertilizer" and also lime. These will build up
organic matter in the soil. If sulfur sprays and dusts increase soil acidity
so that the pH is around 5 or lower, it must be bad for the trees.

Some orchardists use only nitrogen; others a complete fertilizer.
This difference in practice is obviously not closely related to differences
in orchard conditions. There is little money wasted in buying nitrogen, but
how much of the extra cost for phosphorus and potash comes back to the grower
by increased returns for his crop? Perhaps somo growers profit from a com-
plete fertilizer while others do not. How can vife toll which is which?

There is increasing evidence that a chemical analysis of the leaves
may prove the most dependable basis for making fertilizer recommendations.
Some progress has been made toward establishing minimum percentages of the
different elements. Trees having a lov/er content are likely to show a char-
acteristic leaf scorch or other evidence of a deficiency. It may well be
that trees suffer from too little magnesium or potassium before leaf scorch
is evident. An analysis of the leaves might enable the orchardist to prevent
the leaf scorch rather than cure it. This would be a great advantage, es-
pecially with magnesium deficiency which is slow of correction.

-6-

It is premature to state the minimum content of mineral elements in
leaves, but they •vrill be somewhere near this; Nitrogen 2%; Phosphorus 0.15^;
Potassium 1%; Calcium 1%', Magnesium 0.2^ of the dry matter. There will be a
border zone around these percentages indicating that trees may or may not be
suffering from a deficiency; but if they are well above, the grower may well
save his money.

The v;-riter has made many foolish statements regarding orchard ferti-
lization in the past 40 years, and one more may do little harm. So here goes I
The next generation of fruit growers will rely largely on a chemical analysis
of the leaf for determining his orchard fertilizer program. Let future years
show whether this is another foolish statement.

— J. K. Shaw

grot; VEGETABLES AS ViTELL AS FRUITS

Home vegetable gardens are a wartime necessity. They are a vital
part of the nation's food production program. The farm labor situation is
so tight that regular farmers the nation over will be hard put to reach the
food production of the past few years. That means that home gardens must
again produce a good share of our vegetable supply. In 1944 these home gar-
dens produced over 40^ of the fresh vegetables. Every family, with good
land available, should play safe and grov/ their own in 1945. Following is
a list of leaflets which are free to residents of Massachusetts. They may
be obtained from the county extension office or from the Mailing Room,
Massachusetts State College, Amherst.

No. A34, Home Storage; A59 , Home Vegetable Garden; Al55, Compost for
the Home Garden; A171, Pest Control in the Home Garden; A231, Potatoes in the
Home Garden; A232, Starting Vegetable Plants at Home.

Insist on "High Magnesium" Lime. If your orchard needs an application
of lime this spring, by all means make it high magnesium or dolomitic
lime. It should be ordered as such. Otherwise, it is likely to be
high" calcium lime. To make doubly sure, read the label on the bag
when the shipment arrives. The ajialysis should show at least 15^
MgO.

Res cuing a Tangled Grapevine . Late March is an ideal time to prune
grapevines for at lea's't three reasons; (1) The snow will have set-
tled enough (we hope) to expose the entire vine. (2) If winter in-
jury has occurred it should be apparent by that time. (3) The vine
is not inclined to "bleed." A good job of pruning and 2 or 3 well
timed sprays or dusts may mean the difference between a highly sat-
is factory and a disappointing crop of grapes. (For further details
on the subject of grapes, see Extension Leaflet No. 64, "Gl-ape Culture
in Massachusetts," and Extension Leaflet No. lOOA, "Grape Spray
Schedule."

-7-

DORI.IAI'IT SPRAY RECOI.ME^IDATIONS FOR APPLE TREES

Tli-iE OF
PEST S M ATERIALS DILUTION APPLICATION

San Jose Oil - Emulsion or Miscible Zfa actual oil Delayed Domant

Scale or

Dormant
(Note 3) (Note 2) (Note 1)

European Oil - Emulsion or Miscible 3 or 4:% actual oil Delayed Dormant

Red Mite or

(Note 5) Dormant

Rosy and (Liquid 3/4 or 1 gal. -100 gals.

Other DN Dormant Spray ( Dormant

Aphids (Powdered If ^0% DN, 2 lbs. -100 gals.

(Note 4) (Note 5) OR as directed by manufacturer (Note 6)

Scale Delayed Dormant

and Oil - Emulsion or Miscible 3 or A% actual oil or
Red Mite Dormant
(Note 9 )

Oil - Emulsion or Miscible 2% actual oil

Scale AND ---____

and DN Dormant Spray, Liq. or Pov/d. Usually about l/2 amount Dormant
Aphids that is used without oil

OR as directed by manufacturer

(Notes (Note 7 ) ^

8, 10) OR DN-Oil Spray (proprietary) As directed by manufacturer

Oil - Emulsion or Miscible 2 or Zfo actual oil

Red Mite AND -_-_

and DN Dormant Spray, Liq. or Powd. Usually about l/2 amount Dormant
Aphids that is used without oil,

(Notes OR as directed by manufacturer

8, 10) (Note 7)

OR DN-Oil Spray (proprietary) As directed by manufacturer

Oil - Emulsion or Miscible 2 or Z% actual oil
Scale AND «_______,____

Red Mite DN Dormant Spray, Liq. or Powd. Usually about l/2 amount
and that is used vdthout oil,

Aphids OR as directed by manufacturer Dormant

(Note 8) ___._ (^12?® Jj.

OR DN-Oil' Spray (proprietary) As directed 'by manufacturer

NOTES

1. Dormant oil sprays may be safely applied until the bud leaves are about l/2 inch
long (delayed dormant) provided the spray dries before it is exposed to freez-
ing v,reather.

2. Miscible or emulsible spray oils contain about 98^^ oil, and each gallon makes
1^ actual oil in 100 gallons of diluted spray. Oil emulsions usually contain
83, 75, or 66 2/3^ oil, and 1 l/4, 1 l/3, and 1 l/2 gallons respectively make
1% actual oil in 100 gallons of diluted spray.

3. Dormant or delayed dormant oil sprays give excellent control of San Jose'
scale and red mite eggs, but only moderate control of aphis eggs.

-8-

4. Dornant DN sprays give excellent control of aphis egt^s, but only moderate
control of red mite eggs and scale.

5, Liquid DN spray (Elgetol) is SDNOC (Sodium dinitro ortho cresylate). Powdered
DN dormant spray is either DNOC (dinitro ortho cresol) or DNOCIiP (dinitro
ortho cyclo phenol), DNOC is usually preferred to DNOCIIP.

5. DN dormant sprays should be applied before the green tip stage of the buds.
Varieties of apples which break their buds quickly, such as Gravenstein, Yel-
low Transparent, and Duchess should be sprayed first.

7, V'/here dormant DN and oil are combined, the amount of oil and dormant DN is
generally reduced to decrease possible injury to buds. Before mixing, read
the manufacturer's directions carefully.

3. Mcintosh and Cortland are very susceptible to lateral bud injury by DN-oil
spray and it cannot be used safely on these varieties.

). On Mcintosh which is seldom attacked by rosy aphis, a 3 or 4jo diluted oil spray
to control scale and red mite is the most practical dormant treatment.

LO. On Cortland, which is very susceptible to rosy aphis, a DN dormant spray with-
out oil to control aphis, followed by a DN summer spray or dust to control red
mite, if necessary, is suggested. If both scale and aphis are serious on
Cortland, the risk of injury from DN-oil spray, must be taken.

LI. DN 111 spray and DN D-4 dust are dinitro products for summer use and should
not be confused with Elgetol or DN powders for dormant sprays.

L2. Bud moth, fruit tree leaf roller, apple red bug, and other scale insects are

also controlled by dormant sprays.

•^ — YL D. Ymitcomb

RABBIT INJURY IN FRUIT TREES

Many of us are more concerned than usual about the injury to our or-
chards from rabbits this winter. The combination of a deep covering of snow
and an unusually large population of "Cotton-Tail" rabbits has set the stage
in many orchards for serious rabbit injury.

A brief review of my experiences in controlling rabbits in my own or-
chards may be helpful to some readers of "Fruit Notes." About five years ago,
we set an orchard of about a thousand apple trees, mostly one year whips.
This orchard is divided by stone walls into several blocks and has brushy
pasture land and woods near it. These are ideal conditions for harboring
rabbits. On the second day after planting, we knew we had a problem on our
hands v/hen we found quite a few of our one-year whips cut off about a foot
above the ground. The injury was greatest near the outside of the orchards
and new evidence of rabbit snipping was found for several weeks, although
it was worst just after planting time.

That summer we made plans to protect the young trees as it was a sure
bet there would be a lot of injury the following winter if nothing was done.
Several repellents, to be applied either as a paint or a spray, were available.
IVe chose a repellent which is made by dissolving 7 pounds of rosin in 1 gallon
of industrial alcohol, and applied it with a small paint brush. This combin-
ation of materials proved to be ,safe for the trees and was used several years

-9-

with good results. In fact, we decided after the first year's experience
to apply the solution to all young trees immediately after they were set.
Vfe had a girl follow the planter and treat each tree.

As the trees became Isirger, the job of painting the trunk and branches
to a height of at least three feet, became quite a chore. This past fall
found us behind on our v/ork, and hired help was as scarce as "hen's teeth."
It seemed that the job of painting all those trees would be impossible. So
we decided to try trapping the rabbits to lessen the possibility of injury.
After this winter's experience with box traps I am convinced that at last
we have found a method we should have chosen at least tv;o years ago. Trap-
ping and removal of rabbits is eliminating the source of trouble whereas
painting with repellents only delays it. In my estimation, the repellents
should be considered only as an emergency measure to give protection until
such time as more effective steps can be taken.

You will be interested to note that I have caught 17 "Cotton-Tails"
so far this winter. Most of them have come from the brush areas on my farm.
Out of all the young trees which vie now have, I do not think we could find
more than a dozen trees which have been injured by rabbits this v/inter.

The amount of injury is quite different in several other orchards
where no control measures have been practiced, or where trapping was started
late. In one orchard where there are apple and pear trees of different ages,
there has been very serious damage to both apple and pear trees. Whole young
trees have been eaten off to the snov/ level and on many trees six to eight
years old, the bark has been removed on large areas of the trunks and main
limbs. I have seen older bearing trees where the rabbits have made a clean
job of removing the fruit sp'urs within reach. Eleven rabbits have been re-
moved from this orchard so far, and there are still a few more to be caught.

The trapping of rabbits is very simple and can be done after the rush
of the fall season is over. Apples make ideal bait; some people say sweet
varieties are preferred although I doubt if it makes much difference if they
are sweet or slightly acid. Cold nights following a moderately heavy snow-
fall seem to be ideal for catching rabbits. One can make his own traps at
little or no expense except for the labor required. It should not take more
than an hour to build a trap. The necessary odds and ends can be found on
most farms.

There are many designs of box traps. The type made by using boards
for the top and bottom and small mesh poultry netting for the sides and back
is most desirable. A trap 10" or 12" square, and 18" to 24" long is large
enough. The trigger arrangement for closing the door is the one feature
which has received most attention. (Any grower interested in the details of
construction may obtain them by dropping a line to the writer, French Hall,
M.S.C, Amherst, Mass.)

Just a word of caution. AH rabbits caught must be reported to the
State Department of Conservation, Div. of Fisheries and Game, Boston, Mass.,
giving the number of rabbits taken and disposition of the same.

— A. C. Ballard

.10-

C OBSTRUCTION AND HANDLING OF THE BRUSH DRAG

A brush drag which will save considerable time and labor in hauling
brush from the orchard can be constructed from heavy hog fencing. Th» drag
is constructed by tying together three 18 to 20' sections of "No. 9^ wire"
hog fencing. The., sections are tied together by weaving a piece of heavy
wire, such as telephone wire, around the outside wire of each section. Three
sections of hog fencing will make a drag about 9 feet wide. Attach a log
9 to 12" in diameter to each end of the drag. A short chain is fastened
around the middle of each log, so the drag can be hauled from either end.

Brush can be easily piled on this type of drag, and it will have a
full load at about the time the pile is too high to load easily. The real
saving in time and labor comes in unloading the drag. A long 3/4" rope is
tied to the rear end of the drag and brought up over the load and hitched
to the tractor. Unhitch the drag from the tractor and start up with the
rope hitch. The load of brush will then be rolled up into a compact pile,
and the drag will be pulled free and clear of the brush pile.

This drag will slide along quite easily on a heavy frozen sod, but
it may bog down if the orchard is very muddy, and of course it may get hung
up on stubs or similar obstructions between the tree rows. However, these
disadvantages are offset by the ease with which the drag is loaded and un-
loaded when compared to a truck or wagon.

Telephone wire

wmm m ^

>v Hog fencing

Chain

— W. D. Vfeeks

New M imeographed Circulars. A new publication on Brush Pushers will soon be
available. Sketches and copy were submitted for mimeographing a few days ago.
For those individuals living in towns where the growing of currants and goose-
berries is permitted, a new mimeographed circular on that subject will also
be of interest.

How Soil Thaws, It is not very generally known that the thawing of a frozen
soil in spring proceeds more rapidly from below than from above. In a thoro^^gh
study of the effects of various ground covers on freezing and thawing, as com-
pared with a bare soil in Kansas, soil heat was found to be about 3 times as
efficient as that of the air, in reducing the thickness of the frozen layer.

•11-

VARIETIES OF CULTIVATED BUJEBERRIE3 FOR tlASSACHUSETTS

Although the blueberry variety list is short, the variety question,
nevertheless, is an important one. Since new varieties are being introduced
fairly rapidly, a periodic reappraisal of the variety situation is necessary.
Cabot, ipioneer, and Rubel have for a number of years been the three most
s'atis"factory varieties and are still the most favored by Massachusetts grow-
ers. Cabot is the earliest of the three. It usually starts to ripen the
second week in July. The bushes are relatively low, usually not over 4 to
4r^ feet high, spreading, and only moderately vigorous. Also, the bush is
very susceptible to a disease called Phomopsis gall, which looks like crown
gall, and is somewhat subject to winter injury. The fruit is rather taste-
less and not the best blue, but the size is good and yields are good. The
berries usually crack badly after rains and drop badly if they become over-
ripe. Earliness, especially for the roadside stand, is the most important
advantage of this variety.

Pioneer is a midseason variety. The bush is a little taller than
Cabot, equally spreading, and slightly more vigorous. Because of its habit
of growth, it requires more detailed pruning than other varieties. The ber-
ries are a good blue, large when v/ell grown, very fine flavored, and good
keepers. Unfortunately, yields are only light to moderate. For general
planting it is the best of the midseason varieties. P.ubel, the latest of
these three, is the most desirable for all around planting. The bush is
tall, upright, vigorous, very productive, and resistant to winter injury.
The fruit has more flavor than Cabot but is not so good as Pioneer. The
berries are only medium in size, but their color is good and they ship well.
It is the easiest of the three to propagate.

Jersey, one of the newer varieties, is well worth a trial both by the
commercial grower and the home gardener. The bush is tall, upright, vigorous,
productive., easy to propagate and prune, and resistant to vdnter injury. The
fruit is large, very atox active and very fine flavored when fully ripe. It
colors before it is fully ripe so that care must be taken not to pick it too
soon, else it will be soui'. The stems are long, making picking easy. It ripens
with Rubel, Lut the picking season is not so long. It does not sprout from
the base as freely a:5 is desirable.-

Concord, a midseason variety, ripening v/ith Pioneer, is well worth a
trial on~C^.f;~reavTer poil.s of the northern and western parts of the state
where it gr'^vj-^ and yrelds yrell. It is not recciT-.iierded for southeastern Massa-
chusetts where it d-^s.s r.ot thrive on the light, 3f.n.'y sc\ls. On. the soils
where it thrives the buE^'3s are tall, upright, vigorous, and productive. The
fruit is Jarge and very "^.ttrautive but not quite so fint flavor^.d a.s Pioneer.
The fruit clusters arc tight and the berries hanr, bo the stom well so tiiat
the first picking or two is not so easy as with a long-rt-^nrcod vp.riety like
Jersey. There is a 3li,^ht tendency for the skin to t-;a:- in picking. These
are both serious disadvantages from a commercial strmdpoint. The fruit ripens
with Rubel.

At lantic , a new variety ripening with Rubel, sesras worthy of trial,
AlthougTn.t has not yet fruited at Amherst, the fruit is said to be much
larger, better colored, and finer flavored than that of Rubel. Burlington,

-12-

another new variety which has not yet been fruited at Ajnherst, seems worthy
of trail. It is said to b'? somewhat later than Jersey and Rubel and has un-
usually good keeping quality. The fruit is above average in dessert quality, .^
an attractive blue, and medium to large size. The bush is upright, vigorous,
and moderately productive.

To sum up, pioneer, Rubel, and Jersey are the best commercial varieties.
'Cabot is recommended only where an early variety is especially desired. Concord
is a~"nidseason variety recommended only for the heavier soils of the northern
and v^estern parts of the state. Pemberton, Atlantic , and Burlin[;ton are prom-
ising but are recommended for trial oniy.""" Since blueberry varieties are to-
tally or partly self sterile, two or more varieties need to be planted together.

I — J. S. Bailey

^'.!

, .7

Spray broom fixed to upright by
clamp and ^^^ pivetR-l p in ._a r r an_£eme nt

Upright standard
1-^" galvanized pipe
6« - 10' long.

(One -Man Sprayer, con-
structed by Y/alter
Filer, Somers, Conn.)

Rigid, round
iron rod.

Hose to
sprayer
outlet.

\v.

Handle that
msmipulates up and down
stroke of spray broom

/<■-'

Braces

HdT^.'-i-^ .

Tractor
_, platform

,^l c^^-^-

(Place within handy reach of the tractor operator.)

MR. WILLARD A. MUITSOU
DIRECTOR

EXTENSION SERVICE

10 43

April 16, 1945

Prepared by the Fruit Program Comnittee
of the Extension Service

W. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Cont ents

Apple Scab Outlook

pasts Sulfur in the Spraying Schedule

An Early Spring

Pornoloj^ical Paragraphs

Vfinter Killing of Red Raspberries

Get Youn^ Trees Off to a Good Start

Nitrogf?n Content of Apple Leaves

The "Green Mcintosh" Problem

Correction of Magnesium Deficiency

Orchard Heating

How Frost Injures Fruit Blossoms

APPLE SCAB OUTLOOK

There are two principal factors which govern the amount of early
season scab infection in xmprotected trees, - the amount of carry over of
the scab fungus in the orchard (in last year's scabbed leaves), and the kind
of weather encountered during the pre-pink bud stage to petal fall, inclu-
sive. If the weather is dry during that period, or if it is characterized by
several short wet periods, even a heavy carry over of scab would be of lit-
tle consequence. Short periods of wetting servo to release scab ascospores
but do not permit infections. If at that timo, however, prolonged wet per-

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of May 5 and June 30,
1914, V/illard A. Munson, Director, Massachusetts State College, United States
Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

-2-

iods occur, even a slight eunount of inoculum in the orchard is likely to
prove hazardous.

At present, many orchards in the state show a heavier carry over
of the scab fungus than usual, for the reason that some growers "let up" on
spraying last summer when the season was dry. As one result, there develop-
ed more storage scab last winter than has been seen for several years.
Another result is an abundance of old, spotted leaves in the orchard liter-
ally loaded with ripe ascospores ready to "shoot" during the next rain,
Scab spore development in the old leaves is as far advanced as fruit bud
development. Heavy discharges will occur in all orchards during the next
few wet periods. Hence, the pre-blossom sprays of sulfur are likely to be
vejy important on scab-susceptible varieties.

With the season so far advanced, long, cool, damp periods are likely
to be encountered before blooip, and certaiftf^^ttal-f all. Special considera-
tion might well be given to the prospective need of dusters (or sprayers in
the absence of dusters) during rainy periods. This holds true especially
during the blossom period when spore dissemination for both scab and the ce-
dar rusts reaches its peak.

Infection Periods to Date. - So far (April 11) there has been only
one infection period for apple scab. The rains on April 2 and 3 furnished an
intermittent wet period of about 22 hours in jimherst at an average temperature
of around 56° F. Although this was longer than necessary for infection to
occur at that temperature, the spore discharge was very light. Fruit buds
were betvreen delayed dormant and pre-pink. Only a very light infection is
expected from that wetting. The next rain on April 4-5 caused a heavier
spore discharge, but the 15 hour period of wetting was too short to allow
scab infection at the prevailing temperature of about 43° F. It was during
that rain, with fruit buds in early pre-pink, that cedar-apple rust spore
horns first underwent gelatinization and discharged spores. The first spore-
shower from quince rust cankers is yet to come, but it will occur during the
next rain.

— 0. C. Boyd

PASTE SULFUR m THE SPRAY IIIG SCHEDULE

Paste sulfur has been both praised and condemned. It has been praised
for its excellent fungicidal properties and scab control; condemned because it
is difficult to handle. Paste sulfur is the finest particle sulfur of the wet-
table sulfurs, and in this respect comes closest to the spray residue result-
ing from liquid lime sulfur; but, in contrast to the liquid, paste sulfur em-
bodies all of the safe features of the mild or dry wettable sulfurs.

Paste sulfurs derived from the gas production industry contain from
40-50^ active sulfur. The balance is essentially water. ?/ith the inherent
advantage of extremely small particle size, paste should be used at no more
than 10 lbs. to 100 gallons of water, and this maximum amount should be
limited to the early critical sprays. For the finishing off applications
toward the end of the season, the amount can be reduced to 5 lbs. Thus, in

-3-

the interval the amount of paste should be lovrered in steps from 10 to 5 lbs,
to 100 gallons of water.

The handling of paste in practice should not be cumbersome. Handling
is simplified by marking off on a pail the volumes corresponding to the weights
of paste desired; i.e. 10, 20, 30 lbs,, etc. Accuracy is not too important
since 1 or 2 pounds more or less to the tank would be of no consequence. The
traditional user of dry materials will find nothing cumbersome in the handling
•of paste sulfur, once he has acquired the routine of its use.

Once the barrel of paste is opened, water should be added to prevent
drying. Drying destroys the fine particle state of paste and converts the
material into grit. The paste should be kept covered with a little water at
all times to prevent this change. Sulfur paste should not be added directly
to the spray taink. It should be diluted in a pail with a little water and
made into a thin soup, then poured through the screen in the tank. This pro»
cedure is important to avoid "gumming up" the intake strainer in the bottom
of the tank, or clogging the spray nozzles.

Combined sulfur and lead arsenate is generally not advisable on Red
Delicious, Starking, and Baldwin varieties due to the russet injury to the
apples from the combination. Paste sulfur offers no exception. Russet can
be avoided on these varieties by substituting Fermate for sulfur, particularly
in the "pink," "Calyx," "First and Second Covei" applications.

Paste sulfur offers some means of economizing in materials, but its
chief merit is its fineness and its fungicidal efficiency, the latter being one
of the major objectives in plugging up the loop holes or weaknesses in our ap-
ple spraying program,

— E. F. Guba

AN EARLY SPRING

The spring of 1945 is by far the earliest in many years. April weather
in March started growth and on April 2 apple trees were about as far advanced
as they were a month later in 1944. The average date of full bloom of Mcintosh
in the College orchards is about May 14. The buds are now (April 12) in the
Pink stage and will be in full bloom in a very few days if the present warm
weather continues, or about a month ahead of the average and two weeks ahead of
any previous record. The cold morning of April 7 (27°p.) was a narrow escape
from disaster. Five degrees colder would have cleaned out the crop. The av-
erage minimum temperature for April at Amherst is 22° and for May it is 31,2°,
If a temperature of 2 or 3 degrees belov/ the May average occurs later this year,
it v/ill cause great damage. If we get by this spring it will be almost a
miracle. Our native fruits are able to withstand the following temperatures
for 30 minutes or less.

Buds Closed but Showing Color
Apples 23-25°

Pears 26-27

Peaches 25

Cherries 28

Plums 25

Grapes 30

— J, K. Shaw

Full Bloom S

mall Green Fruits

27-28°

29°

28-29

rornjyloc^LC od Poxama^phs

NITROGEN IN PE.ACH TREES . A 17-year-old unfertilized peach orchard in Davis,
California, v;as. fertilized in September with ammonium sulfate, calcium nitrate,
and urea. The soil and trees were studied during the vdnter and early spring
to learn hov/ the nitrogen from these three sources behaved in the soil and in
the trees, itamonium sulfate was fixed in the soil more than the other forms
of nitrogen, but nitrates had gone down as far as the third foot by February
27. Analysis of the shoot bark on March 7 showed the nitrogen content in-
creased over that of unfertilized trees. The source of the nitrogen made lit-
tle difference. This was also true of the nitrogen content of the leaves which
were first examined on April 10. This is in harmony with the usual belief that
under most conditions fruit trees will maJce about equally good use of nitrogen
from various sources. (Proc. Amer. Soc. for Hort. Sci., Vol. 45, page 5).

— J. K. Shaiv

VfARMING THINGS UP . You have doubtless noticed that snow melts more quickly
on a black tar road than on a lighter colored cement road. This is because
a dark surface absorbs more heat from the S'lm. Observations in New Hampshire
show that the inner bark on the south side of a fruit tree may rise to 60° F.
or more on a cold winter day, while that of the north side may be 30° to 50° F.
lower. Painting the trunks white resulted in much lower temperatures, at no
tine more than 10° above that of the air. At night or on cloudy days, there
was little difference in bark temperature. If we have sunny weather during
a January thaw, peach buds vdll swell much more than \vhen the v;eather is
cloudy. (Proo. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci., Vol. 45, page 33) — J. K. Shaw

WAX SPR AYS FOR BLOSSOM THINNING . There is considerable interest in the use of
sprays for blossom thinning. Hand thinning is laborious and, with prospects
of labor shortage, anything that will save labor is of interest. The Michigan
Experiment Station proposed to use an oil-wax emulsion for this purpose. It
was first used to reduce transpiration and thus economize water in dry periods.
A 1/0 concentration used in the regular sprays gave a marked increase in the
size and yield of Montmorency cherries. Used as a blossom thinning spray,
it seemed to be somewhat effective but more work is needed to determine whether
it is entirely satisfactory. It does not injure the foliage as does Elgetol
or a Dormant DN spray. We hope to try the oil-wax emulsion this season and be
able to report on its effectiveness under our conditions. (Proc, Amer. Soc.
Hort. Sci., Vol. 45, page 42). — J. K. Shaw

ELGETOL KILLS POLLEN GRAIIJS Elgetol used for blossom thinning kills the pis-
tils and other parts of the flower; also, it burns the young leaves to some
extent. Of course, killing the pistil before fertilization of the egg cell
prevents setting of the fruit. V/ork at the Cornell Station shows that Elgetol
also kills pollen grains before or after germination even in very dilmtte con-
centrations. Therefore, they say that Elgetol should be called a "pollenicide"
not a "caustic spray." However, bees may sometimes bring viable pollen from

-5-

unsprayed trees. If the pistil is killed before the pollen tube has grown
doimward far enough to escape the toxic effects of' the spray, no fruit cam
be set. It still seens that pistil killing is an important factor in blos-
som thinning. They recommend that a 2-day period between pollination and
fertilization of the egg cell is enough to insure set of the apple. It will,
of course, depend on temperature. If the weather is cool, it will take long-
er than in warmer weather. (Proc . Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci., Vol. 45, page 53.)

— J. K. Shaw

BLOSSCM THINNING YJITH ELGETQL

In Virginia, 33-year-old York Imperial trees which were quite defi-
nitely in alternate bearing were sprayed with Elgetol in concentrations of
from approximately one to three pints in 100 gallons of spray. A concentra-
tion of a little under 2 pints gave the best results on this variety. On
thinned trees, there was some reduction in the percentage of N.umber One apples
on account of roughness, stippen on oversize apples, etc., but no color dif-
ferences were apparent in the harvested fruit. T/ith stronger concentrations,
size of fruits increased and total yields decreased. (Proc. Amer. Soc. Hort,
Sci., Vol. 45, page 45). —J. K. Shaw.

FURTHER TESTS WITH BLOSSai THIMIN G MTERIAI3 . Tests of the effectiveness
of various materials for reducing TEe set of Delicious, Gano, Staynan, and
Arkansas Black apples were made in 1942 and 1943 in New Mexico. Elgetol re-
duced set but caused considerable injury. The chemicals commonly used to make
apples stick to the trees in the fall were also tried. It may seem foolish
to expect such a chemical to make apples drop in the spring, but we know that
a high nitrogen fertilizer maJces apples stick in the spring and also may in-
crease drop in the fall. ¥/hen these materials were used in strong concentra-
tions, the set of fruit was practically eliminated. Napthalene acetic acid,
the active principle in many preharvest sprays, used at very weak concentra-
tions, thinned the fruit successfully and did not cause severe injury. Cer-
tain chemicals related to napthalene acetic acid were not effective. Borax
at ,h% and \% concentrations reduced set without visible injury. These ma-
terials are not yet recommended for thinning apples, but further study may
show a way to reduce set without injury such as that caused by Elgetol. (Proc.
Amer. Soc. for Hort. Sci., Vol. 45, page 63). —J. K. Shaw.

Hew Bulletin . A nevi bulletin in the series on the identification of
fruit varieties by vegetative rather than fruit characteristics has
been written by Lavn-ence Southwick, A. P. French, and 0. C. Roberts
of the Pomology staff. It is expected that this Experiment Station
Bulletin No. 421 will be available for general distributicn by the
time this copy of Fruit Notes is received. The title is ''The Identi-
fication of Pear Varieties from Non-Bearing Trees." Special con-
sideration is given to the characteristics by which nursery pear trees
may be identified. Descriptions and photogrcphs of some 40 varieties
are given. As with other Station or Extension ''oulletinfi, copij" will
be sent to those requesting them.

-6-

WINTER KILLING OF RED RASPBERRIES

In spite of the continual snovi cover during the past winter, there
is considerably more winter killing of canes in the College plantation this
spring than a year ago. The canes of many varieties are entirely dead above
the snow line .

A three-year average shows that Chief, Lathajn, and Indian Summer are
the most Iwinter hardy, showing only about 10^ killingj next come Taylor,
Ranere and Sunrise with about 20^^ killing} and Milton with about 40^o killing;
vihile Cuthbert, Marcy and Nev;burgh show from 65-70^'o killing.

Unfortunately, some of the most winter hardy varieties have other
v/eaknesses. Indian Summer fails to mature its fall crop, Taylor is serious-
ly damaged by mosaic vihen present, and Sunrise is inferior in size and quality.
So the search for the perfect red raspberry continues.

— A. p. French

GET YOUNG TREES OFF TO A GOOD START

Good nursery troes are expensive tind hard to get. The way some of
these trees are handled at planting time and afterward is a horticultural
crime. They should be made to grow rapidly from the start and not allowed
to loaf along the first season. A "leader" should be encouraged by removing
entirely or cutting back any competing branches. V/horls of branches and
forks should be corrected promptly. Even more important than the pruning
at planting time are the corrective cuts during the second and third years.
If delayed until tlie tree is four or five years old, larger cuts' are necessary
and an ideal framework is, in many cases, out of the question. Let's give
those young trees the attention they need this spring.

NITROGEN CONTENT Of APPLE l£AVE5

There seems to be a close relationship betv:een the amount of nitrogen
in apple jp.eaves in late summer and the color of the fruit. The optimum nitro-
gen content is probably slightly under 2%. In one orchard where the fruit was
of good color the nitrogen content v/as found to average 1.8^. Ij^ another or-
chard where the fruit was of poor color the nitrogen content was 2.1^. It is
a well known fact that over vigorous trees tend to have dark green leaves
which are indicative of a fairly high nitrogen content v;hile trees with lighter
colored leaves may bear fruit of high color. In years to come we will probably
analyze apple leaves in late summer as one check on the nitrogen needs of the
tree. This will help to supplement our present knov/ledge of the factors re-
sponsible for fruit of inferior quality.

Fruit Notes Mailing List . Mailing lists for all of the M.S.C.
Extension publications are now being revised, A letter to that
effect is being mailed out by Director Munson. If you care to
remain on the Fruit Notes list, a prompt return of your card
v/ill do the trick. AH names added since December, 1944 will
automatically be continued.

-7-

THE "GREEN MCIMTOSH" PROBLEM

Apple buyers are showing little interest in Mcintosh apples unless
they are firm and of good color. Here are a fev; conunents heard at a recent
meeting in Worcester: "V^e have too maiiy green Mcintosh." "I'd rather have
2^ inch red Mcintosh than 3 inch green ones." "\'/hen we get the right kind
of fruit, we can get a good price, but 75jb of the Mcintosh in storage are
too green and soft."

With thousands of bushels of green Mcintosh still to be sold, growers
and dealers alike are asking "V/hat's happened to Mcintosh?" "V/hat are the
reasons for sp high a percentage of green apples in certain orchards?" This
is the subject of a detailed statement which has been preparod by the mem-
bers of the Pomology Department at M.S.C, to be sent to every interested apple
grower in Massachusetts. Any reader of Fruit Notes who fails to receive a
copy of this analysis of an important problem within the next two or three
weeks may obtain it by dropping a postcard to ViT. R. Cole, Secretary,- M.F.G. A. ,
Amherst, Mass,

Among the reasons for poor color outlined in the above mentioned
statement are (1) Too much nitrogen in late summer. (2) Fruit immature,
(3) Magnesium deficiency, (4) Boron deficiencAr, . (5) Trees too crowded.
(6) Inadequate pruning. (7) Yfeather conditioniMiay affect all these factors
and increase the tendency toward oversize fruit, delayed maturity, poor color,
and early drop.

In answer to the question, "Should nitrogen applications be discon-
tinued?" we should bear.. in mind that nitrogen starvation reduces yield and
tends to throw even Mcintosh trees into biennial bearing. It is advisable,
of course, to maintain a good sod cover in the orchard. This calls for mag-
nesium limestone Euad a "complete" fertilizer in moderate amounts broadcast
on the grass at intervals varying with soil conditions. The remedy for too
much nitrogen in the tree is less nitrogen , not more phosphorus or potassium.

There are several things which the apple grower may do to reduce the
percentage of green Mcintosh. He may (1) Adjust the nitrogen application to
fit the orchard. (2) Correct magnes-ium deficiency. (3) Correct boron defi-
ciency. (4) Allow apples to reach reasonable maturity before harvesting.
(5) Remove crowding trees. (6) Grade out and dispose of green Mcintosh in
the fall, if possible, instead of trying to hold them in cold storage.

The State College will cooperate in a further study of the green
Mcintosh problem. From a list of orchards which persistently produce green,
inferior quality Mcintosh, a number of orchards will be selected for a care-
ful analysis of the factors which may be responsible. Other orchards which
produce firm, high colored Mcintosh will provide a basis for comparison.
A detailed report of this study will be presented at the annual meeting of
fruit growers in Vforoester next wiAter.

Hew Seedling Apple . Vfe have a few one-year trees of a promising seed-
ling apple called A-17, developed here at the College, for trial dis-
tributioia to interested growers. It is an early apple, ripening in
late August. A few trees wore distributed last year. Anyone wishing
to test this seedling may contact the writer at Massachusetts State
College, indicating the number of trees desired, — Lawrence Southwick,

-8-

CORRECTION OF MAGNESIUM DEFICIENCY

Magnesium deficiency is rather widespread in apple orchards. In
some oases ^ definite symptoms such as leaf scorch, early defoliation and
excessive preharvest drop have been observed. In others, clear-cut symptoms
have not been noticed. It is probably true that many orchard soils in the
Northeast are close to the deficiency level for many plants, including apple
trees. For this reason, the general orchard use of high magnesium limestone
is recommended, except where the soil acidity is already up to pH 6, or above.
One other recommendation that could be follov/ed rather generally is the in-
clusion of Epsom salts in one spray application. The use of 15 pounds of
Epsom saltis in either the First or Second Cover spray might help to tide
trees over a slight magnesium shortage situation. For definitely deficient
orchards, further measures are advisedi The above recommendations refer to
"borderline" cases, where definite deficiency symptoms have not yet appeared.

— Lav/renoe Sbuthwick

ORCHARD HEATING

The old idea that a smudge or smoke screen will ward off a frost
has boen disproved. Frost damage in an orchard is prevented only by actually
raising the temperature of the air above the danger point. Many small fires,
viell distributed, are much more effective than a fev/ large ones which might
merely serve to set up heavy convection currents and thus bring in a flood
of cold air from the surrounding country. One large fire, as for example
a burning brush pile alongside the orchard, is likely to be of little if any
benefit.

Only an occasional grower in Massachusetts will probably find it
possible to equip himself v;ith the necessary containers and fuel for orchard
heating this spring. As a matter of insurance, in case the temperature drops
only a degree or two below the critical point, even as few as 10 or 15 con-
tainers per acre may be worthwhile. One grower who has done considerable
orchard heating believes that approximately 25 containers per acre are neces-
sary Vfhere a severe freeze is involved. He has used paint pails holding two
or more gallons and has actually raised the temperature of the orchard air
as much as 6 degrees above that of the surrounding territory. Ordinary fuel
oil was usQd» Y/aste crankcase oil has the disadvantage of boiling over be-
cause of its water oontont. Anyone who plans to try orchard heating this
year must of necessity provide himself with one or more strategically lo-
cated thermometers which are accurate within a degree at least. The next
item of importance is to make sure that the heaters are lighted shortly be-
fore the temperature drops to the danger point.

PENICILLI N - LIKE SU BSTAI^[CE FOUND IN LEAVES AND FRUITS . Research workers at
Michigan "State College have discovered" germ-killing substances in the fruits
of blueberry, currant, mountain ash said honeysuckle, and in the leaves of
the Scotch thistle, mullein and peony. Negative results were obtained from
horseradish, turnip, and cabbage. These discoveries suggest that the Indian
medicine man and other users of plant extracts, poultices, etc. may be ahead
of their time.

• 9-

Pistil. Green if uninjured,
Brown if injured by frost.

Young
fruit

Undeveloped seeds. White
if uninjured. Brown or
black if injured.

APPLE BLOSSOM

Frost Injury to F lowers or Young Fruits

If a frost comes, every fruit grower will want to know hov/ much
damage has been done. Since time must elapse for injured tissues to wann
up and change their appearance, the full amount of the damage may not be
apparent until afternoon or even the follov;ing day, depending on the tem-
perature.

During blossoraingj the pistil is the part most easily hurt. The
normal pistil is light clear greon in color. Injured pistils first look
waterSoaked, then discolorod and wilted, and finally turn brown, shrivel
and die. Since normal pistils, following fertilization of the ovary, turn
brown, shrivel and die, this normal condition should not be confused v;ith
frost injury.

When the young fruits have formed, the seeds are usually the most
tender. Normal seeds turn brown or black. ViTith apples the tissue just out-
side tlie seed cavity is sometimes injured. Although apples v/ith injured
seeds sometimes set, such apples are small or misshapen at maturity. Those
injured outside the seed cavity seldom mature. Sometimes the injury takes
the form of a loosened layer of cells around the small undeveloped fruit and
upper part of the stem. With peaches, the veins around the seed are the most
sensitive, then the seed and finally the flesh. The skin of a young fruit
which is badly injured by frost, turns yellovf and the fruit drops in a few
days. If injured only to the extent of a slight slipping of the skin, the
fruit may mature although it will show russeting or frost cracks at harvest
time.

-10-

Young

fruit

Pistil. Green if uninjured.
Brov/n if injured by frost.

Undeveloped seeds. V/hite if uninjured.
Brovm or black if injured^

STONE FRUIT BLOSSOM

Green in undeveloped flowor
Brown after flovrors have
been open several days.

Red in sxaall bud and
turns brovm as the
flower opens.

Green in uninjured
flowers. Brown in
injured flowers.

BLUEBERRY BLOSSOM

Stigma

Style (tip)

Anther (stamen)

Style (base)
'' (-'Cir -f Undeveloped seeds.

Ovary

•-J. S. Bailey and James Robertson

'"xoo i^iMUiitLD HOWARD
EXTENSIOrf SERVICE
SOUTH COLLEGE

10 4;

May 25, 1945

Prepared by the Fruit Progran Committee
of the Extension Service

\l. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

The Apple Scab Situation to Date

Temperature Relationships for Apple Storage Rots

A Comparison of March, 1945 and April, 1944

Vi/hence Came the Name "Strawberry?"

Commercial Apple Crop Prospects in the U.S.

Do You Know?

Peach Crop Prospects at the College

The Blueberry Crop at the College

THE APPI^ SCAB SITUATION TO DATE

This has no doubt been one of the most favorable seasons in many
years for scab infections. Up to the present (May 21), there have been eight
general infection periods in the State since apple trees v/ere in the late de-
layed dormant stage of fruit bud development. Not only have rainy periods
been niomerous, but the total precipitation has been excessive. For example,
the total rainfall in Amherst during April v;as 5.43 inches, or 2.08 inches
above normal; and for May (up to the 21st), 5,97 inches, which represents 2.37
inches above normal for the entire month. The following are the dates of apple
scab infection periods for unsprayed Mcintosh trees at Amherst and the dates
when the scab spots appeared on the new leaves j

Date of Rain
April 2
April 17-18
April 25-26
April 30-May 1
May 3-5

Tree Stage
Pre-pre-pink
Early bloom
Late bloom
Calyx
Calyx

Scab Spots Appeared
April 29-30
May 11-12
May 13-14
May 16-18
May 18-20

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of May 5 and June 30,
1914, Willard A. Munson, Director, Massachusetts State College, United States
Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

-2-

Additional infection periods occurred here on May 8-9, 13-14, and
16-19 from which scab spots have not yet developed. Since the winter spore
supply in the old leaves is almost completely exhausted, the principal source
of scab spores for further infections will be summer spores produced in the
new fruit and leaf spots .

—0. C. Boyd

TEIvlPERATURE RELATIONSHIPS FOR APPLE STORAGE ROTS

A study of apple storage rots in the state of ViTashington revealed 40
species of fungi to be associated with loss of apples in cold storage. Only
about a dozen rots are of common occurrence in Massachusetts apple storages.
Although all organisms able to bring about the decay of apples at cold stor-
age temperatures will cause more rapid decay at higher temperatures, certain
fungi are able to cause definite decays in ordinary storages but are totally
inactive in cold storage. An examination of some of the literature dealing
with apple storage decays reveals the following classification of storage rot
organisms according to their relationship to temperature.

1. Fungi unable to cause decay in cold storage but capable of causing
rapid decay in conmon storage and on the markets RhiZopus nigricans (the
Bread Mold Fimgus); Phoma sp., cause of Phoma Rot.

2. Fungi unable to cause decay at cold storage temperatures but able to
cause spot rots at higher temperatures: Glomerella cingulata, the cause of
Bitter Rot, is a typical example. It does not make progress at temperatures
below 50° F. The disease is common in a few orchards in the southeastern part
of this state. Helminthosporium papulosum, cause of Black Pox Rot, and Myco-
sphaerella pomi (Brooks' Spot or New Hampshire Fruitf are other examples.

3. Fungi causing spot rots in cold storage but more rapid decay at higher
temperatures: Volutella fructi (Spongy Dry Rot) ; Alternaria spp. (Alternaria
Rot); phoma sp. (Phoma Rot); Gloeosporium sp, (Anthracnose Rot, which is sim-
ilar in appearance to Bitter Rot but behaves entirely differently at cold
storage temperatures); Physalospora cydoniae (common Black Rot); and Venturia
inequalis (Scab).

4. Organisms capable of causing complete rotting of apples during their
usual storage life in cold storage: Mucor piriformis (Mucor Rot); Penicillium
expansum (Blue Mold Rot); Botrytis spp. (Gray Mold Rot); Physalospora cydoniae
(ordinary Black Rot), i

The storage rots most common in Massachusetts and also the ones that
develop most rapidly in cold storage are Blue Mold Rot, Gray Mold Rot, and
Black Rot. All make definite headway at 32° F. By comparison. Scab and
Spongy Dry Rot develop very slowly.

—0. C. Boyd

7»

f 0. 3 '^ s (^ y 9 7 fd 1/ J2 f 3 /y- ^^/'' '7 /f /? M ^/ -t^ -^ ^y xs^i<' ^? ■^'^2.^ -?<? 3/

Date B

Llarch, 1945
April, 1944

/ \

(.it

/ a- 3 f- S L 1 S' ^ '6 // /:it^'i'- /-i~ It- 17 te /J aa JZ/JUO^ X9-3^:^iX^^^^; 30 s/

A COLgARISOII OF llARCK , 1945 AM) APRIL, 1944

The Fiihrer of the ¥/eather raust have been badly shaken by world events
when he ordered the v/eather for March, 1945. He made the unprecedented mis-
take of ordering April v/eather instead of March v/eather. The accompanying
chart shows hov; closely the daily mean temperatures for March, 1945, follow
those for April, 1944. The mean temperature for March, 1945 was 44.4°, or
1.5° above that for April, 1944, and 10° above tlie normal for Marcli. The
mean temperature for April, 1944 was 42.9° which is 2,8° bolow normal.

The unseasonable v/oather in March oxplains the erratic behavior of
trees this spring. The period of bud breaking, leaf development and blossom-
ing has been much prolonged. Progress vms so rapid in March thc-t some trees
l-oafed out or blossomed. Then came cool weather, and everything almost stood
still. Trees that had not blossomed during the early warm v/eather vfore held
up by cool days and did not bloom much earlier than normal. These unusual
conditions have also affected insects.

Trees and insects uro subject t'l air temperature but each in its own
way. Consequently unusual weather dislocates the normal relationship botv;een
different kinds of trees, different kinds of insects^ and bet^'Veen trees and
insects.

--J. K. Shaw and Irene Zatvrka

WHENCE CAtffi THE LIAI^ "STRAY/BERRY?"

Several explanati ms have b'sen offered for the origin of the word
"strawberry." Some have associated it with an ancient custom of selling the
wild fruit strung on strav/s )f timothy grass, v/hile others have thought the
resemblance of the old, dry, runners to strtw night account for the name.
A popular assumption is that tho name resulted fr'jm the practice of mulching
the plants with stravi. However, in the earliest mention of the fruit in
English vrritings (John Lydgate, 1430) it is called "straeborry, " a narao believed
to have c tme from the Anglo-Saxon word "streouberrio," v/hich was derived from
"strae" or "strohen" and means to scatter. Hence the name strawberry probably
refers 1 1 tho manner in which the runners are scattered or strovm about tho
mother plant.

-4-

The modern strawberry is truly £in American fruit. Strawberries were
grcjwn in Europe several centuries ago but it was not until the Virginiaia straw-
berry from North America and the Chilean strawberry from South America v;ere
crossed in Europe, about the middle of the Eighteenth Century, that the gar-
den strav/berry began to emerge as an importajit fruit.

—A. P. French

COIIMERCIAL APPLE CROP PROSPECTS IN THE U,S,

Early May (through May 8) conditions suggest a much smaller United
States apple production than in 1944, but probably a larger harvest than the
extremely short 1943 crop. In the East and Mid-v/est, an unusually warm March
advanced buds. The bloom was from 2 to 4 v^reeks earlier than usual in nearly
all commercial areas. This advancement of the season prevented the usual
spray program in many orchards, and insects and diseases may be a greater
problem than usual. April and early May freezes killed buds and small fruits,
cold, cloudy weather was unfavorable for the flight of bees, and further frost
damage may occur in some northern areas. An extremely light production is
probable for the area east of the Mississippi River. In the West, the season
is late. May 1 prospects in this area are favorable for large crops again
this year, but probably not quite as large as in 1944.

In New England, frosts on April 23 and 24 caused heavy damage to buds
and bloom, and weather conditions since April 24 have been unfavorable for
pollination. In New York, loss from several April freezes was spotty, with
injury very severe in the Charaplain area, severe in the Hudson, moderate in-
land in western New York, and light in orchards along Lake Ontario. Through-
out the state the cold, cloudy and rainy weather v/as unfavorable for pollina-
tion during the unusually early and long blooming period. In New Jersey ,
freezes April 5-7 caused only slight injury to most orchards, but the'
freeze on April 23 reduced prospects materially. Early varieties such as
Transparent and Starr are sizing rapidly. Harvest is expected to start around
June 20, about 10 days earlier than usual. In Pennsylvania, conditions are
spotty, with a light set on trees which bore heavily last^year and with much
frost damage during April in low and exposed orchards. A heavy frost on
May 2 caused additional loss. In northern and western Pennsylvania counties,
except Erie, apples are a near failure.

In Vi rginia , the crop will be extremely light and variable, largely
because of the April 6-7 freeze, but further damage occurred in early May
in the northera area. Prior to the low temperatures the night of May 2, the
northern counties, especially Frederick, had more favorable prospects than
other commercial areas. Very light apple crops are now in prospect in all
commercial areas of the State. In Y/est Virginia and western Mar yland , damage
from April and early May freezes varla'd "grea'cly both within oFo hards and be-
tween orchards, and light crops are in prospect for both states. Codling
moth had begun to show some activity on April 1, but low April tempei-atures
reduced activity. In Del nware, apple crop prospects were reduced by early
April freezes. In NcrtH' ^'aro x'ir.a , there is very little fruit remaining in
the mountain counties. The~State's apple crop will be much smaller than
last year's large one.

-5-

In Ohio, the bloom was light, few orchards have escaped frost damage,
and production v;ill be light. In southern Indiana, early and mid- April frosts
caused extensive damage to apples in a belt extending across the state from
Sullivan County tovmrd the southeast. Except in this belt, it is believed
enough fruit set remains to produce better than &n average crop. In Iili noi^s,
moderate damage has occurred in central and northern counties. Present
prospects are lavorable for Tretnsparents, Wealthies, and Yellow Delicious,
with a below average production indicated for most other varieties, Michigan
apple trees were in full bloom by raid-April in most areas. Frosts and freezes
on April 3, 5, 15, 22, 28 and May 1, low temperatures on most other April days,
and many rainy days, resulted in a long blooming period, little insect activity,
many buds killed, and poor pollination. The state's crop will be considerably
belov/ average. In southern Vfisconsin, prospects are light. Favorable weather
from now on might result in a good crop in northern Vifisconsin, v/here the bloom
will not be general until past mid-May. In Missouri , prospects are for a pro-
duction considerably larger than last year's short crop, although early April
frosts caused considerable injury. Damage was se-'/ere in the south and light
in the north. In Kansas and Nebraska, early April freezes reduced prospects
somewhat, especially foF the early "varieties , The crop in northwestern
i.rkansas will be short as a result of the heavy freeze of April 5, but pros-
pects are favorable in other sections of the state. Frost damage has been
moderate in Kentucky and light in Tennessee,

The State of V/ashinpton has prospects for a good-sized crop this year
in all commercial areas'." Xateness of the season minimizes the possibilities
of frost damage. The main areas were in full bloom the second week in May,
In Ore gon, it seems probable that the crop will be somewhat smaller than last
year. In the Hood Rivar Valley, prrspscts are somewhat more favorable for
Delicious than for Newto^ms , C^'lifovnia apple orchards are in good condition
and have passed full bloom ii) 'oTT arca~of low elevations but apples in
mountain areas have net yet blossomed. A larger crop than last year seems
probable. In C^Toradc, frost da.Tiage to date has been light in most areas.
The Delicious var.i.ei;y "sustained the heaviest frost daiT)ag3, A somevThat small-
er apple orcp thevn last yec.r seems likely, vdth the sh«?..ipsst reduction in the
Delta County c^i.rj.ct shippi.iig area.. In IdphOj Delicious and Romes show some
frost danisg'*;, bi^.t there h.as been little injvjry t-"> Jcnatha:i3. The blcom, al-
though not a^ hea-vy a.'i last year.- was generally gccd . In Utah, prospects
are favorable , hut .frost dar^ge after June 1 is still poSoToTe in several
areas « In '^ouvhe^-n Ke--/ Msxiv^w, frosts killed buds of ea:f Jy blooming apple
varieties c lic-ir/c.ve: _, piCiipcO'.s are fav\;rable xn the northern part of the state
where apples wo-rfn not m i\\jl bl'^om by the firft ^'^eek of Iviay. In Montana,
the cooj J late spring retavded bud developF.EnT:,. which Hessens the likelihood
of frost damags . Fun tjoom should occur during; the last 10 days of May,
(From the May 1.0 reloa&3 of the Crop Reporting Board.)

AIR CONDITIONING THE APPIJl PTOR'VGE. We have some copies of a very recent
progr?5rTei]c3'r7"Trr~FV;lrTi'Io^^

by R. M. S^nook &A:TT."'T''ri'o "jlr/.T?iC~oj; •Zoir'^T:. DrAvilr llLy,"' This report is
largely oon",f:rned with the use of asti'vated carbon units to rniaove storage
odors, e-uhylere. and Sicald ga?es in both cold etoragf.3 and controlled -atmos-
phere storages. It is brief and contains conclusions rather than complicated
data. Anyone interested in the control of storage scald m?.y obtain a copy of
the above publication by dropping a line to the writer at French Hall, M.S.C*
Amherst, Mass. — Lav^renco Southwick

7 ■ ±.

m^ ri.Vj.'k

V ...■•■ ■/

<i>^-^

That Kieffer pears ripen properly only at a temperature between 60
and 65° Fahrenheit? If held two or three weeks at that temperature, they
ripen gradually and are just right for canning. But if kept warmer (80 to
100°) ripening is not hastened and the pears remain tough and poor flavored
when cooked. Stored below 50°, they do not soften and are not good when
cooked.

That one kind of orchid, a native of Mexico, is grown for its fruit
and not for its flower? This fruit provides the most important flavoring
substance which the jimericans have contributed to the world. Its name is
Vanilla planifolia.

That the 1944 peach crop (75,000,000 bu.) will go down in history as
the most valuable crop of that fruit ever produced? It had a farm value of
$171,677,000, 56^ above the most valuable crop previously grown (1943). The
1944 crop was exceeded only once (in 1931), when the average price per bushel
was 60 cents. The farm price in 1944 was |2.33 per bushel.

That Massachusetts offers a market for over $100,000,000 worth of
farm products annually? These products are now grown on 30,000 farms,
covering 400,000 acres of cultivated land. About 1,750,000,000 lbs. of
food are produced annually in Massachusetts, filling Zb% of the needs of
our people.

That most of the grapes grown on the Pacific Coast are of European
origin? They were first plaiited by Franciscan missionaries as early as 1769,
One vine growing in California is said to have borne 15 tons of grapes in a
single season.

That fully 20^ of all America's crop production is the result of
using fertilizers? In 1938, each dollar spent by the farmer for fertili-
zers produced a return of $3.60 in crop value increase. The return at
present is estimated at more than $5,00 per dollar invested.

That a method of loading bees v;ith suitable pollen is being used
successfully in Missouri? Pollen of early blooming varieties of apples is
screened out and stored at 32 to 40° F. until time for placing a quarter
of an ounce in a beehive fitted with a device which insures ingress to the
worker bee at one point and egress at another. Once loaded with the pollen,
the bees cannot crawl back into the hive at the same point. Hence, they
go out to seek noctar among the late blossoms thus cross pollinating reluc-
tant varieties like V/inesap and Stayman.

That heavy fruiting of the Delicious variety of apple may require an
average terminal growth of 12 to 15 inches? The ideal seems to involve 40
to 60^ of the spurs blooming, with only one blossom in ten setting fruit.

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That the aoute labor shortage has brought about the invention of
mechanical arms for use in California citrus groves? A machine-powered
tent puller covers citrus trees with canvas to form a fumigation chamber
into vj-hich a gas is released to kill destructive insects. About 80 such
pullers are now in use.

That 8 infection periods for apple scab had occurred in Massachu-
setts up to May 207 By that date new scab spots had appeared on apple
leaves from the first fivB infections, April 2, 17, 25, 30, and May 3.

That some strawberry plantings in the Falmouth area show severe
damage from the hurricane of last September? A shov/er bath of salt water
from tlie ocean killed enough plants in exposed areas to cause considerable
crop reduction.

That Japanese beetles were trapped last year in 18 states outside of
those already under federal quarantine? An excellent publication, "The Jap-
anese Beetle and Its Control" (Farmers' Bulletin No. 1856), v.dth an illus-
tration of the insect in color, is available.

That nicotine has been synthosized in the laboratory? But the pros-
pects for its comiiiercial manufacture are not bright. Rotenone and the py-
rethrins have such complicated structures that there is little hope of
their synthesis in the laboratory, much less on a commercial scale.

That German War Prisoners wore used last fall in the Nashoba area
by 75 growers, 3 cold storage plants, axid 2 cider and vinegar plants? They
furnished a total of 17,747 man days of labor, picked 349,551 bushels of
fruit on a piece work basis and worked 31,988 hours on an hourly basis.

That at least 18 products are now produced commercially from apples?
Among them are: Fresh sliced, canned, evaporated, sauce, frozen, nuggets,
juice, vinegar, pectin, v/ax, syrup, concentrate, brandy, win^, boiled cider,
and malic acid.

That the codling moth population reached an all time peak in east-
era U. S. last year? One of the reasons suggested is the present heavy
production of Mcintosh, an annual bearing variety which is very attractive
to this pest.

That the lists of new fruits published by the American Pomological
Society during the past 20 years contain 3,705 names? Apples lead with
754 names, followed by peaches, 601; strawberries, 371; plums, 336; grapes,
331; pears, 238; cherries, 155; raspberries, 153; apricots, 133, etc.

That activated charcoal is being used successfully as a means of pre-
venting scald of apples in storage? Air conditioning of the storage room
is accomplished by means of canisters with sieve-like sides lined with brom-
inated charcoal through which air is drawn by a suction fan.

That, according to federal entomologists, about eight million flowers
are visited for each pound of pollen gathered by honey bees? A strong col-
ony may gather approximately 65 pounds of pollen annually, thus providing
froe pollination service for 520,000,000 blossoms.

Ihat the Oriental fruit moth first appeared in California in 1942?
Every state in the Union, except North Dakota, now has this pest or is bor-
dered by another state which is infested^

That quinces may be protected against Oriental fruit moth by bagging?
Tihere only a few fruits are involved, this method of enclosing each individ-
ual fruit in a paper bag insures freedom from attack by this troublesome
insect.

PEACH CROP PROSPECTS AT THE COLLEGE . The prospect for a crop in the Col-
lege peach orchard looks much brighter than it did a week ago. During the
past few warm days the little peaohee have started to swell, giving an in-
dication that some blossoms have survived the frost and poor pollinating
weather. Examination after the frost revealed that l/S to 1/2 the blossoms
had been actually killed. However, the ovaries of uninjured blossoms failed
to swell so that it looked as if fertilization had failod to take place. It
is now evident that in many oases failure to swell was due to the cold weath-
er. Of course, it will not be possible to make any accurate crop prediction
until after the June drop, but prgsent indications are for a fair to good
crop on many trees and some crop on most trees,

— J. S. Bailey

THE BUJEBERRY CROP AT THE COLLEGE . During the winter of 1944-45, there was
severe injury to the blueberry bushes but not as bad as during the winter of
1943-44, As a result of the winter injury, the crop was undoubtedly reduced
to a fourth of what it should have been. The April 23 frost also reduced
the crop slightly. All open blossoms and some nearly open were killed. For-
tunately, very few blossoms were open at the time so that the crop reduction
amounted to 5, or at most, 10 percent. It looks now as if the crop would be
about 1300 quarts, which is double last year's.

— J. S. Bailey

HERE'S AN IDEA. Assuming three things - (1) a crov/ded orchard,
from which the owner intended to remove the oxtra trees but de-
cided to leave them "one more year," (2) a crop destroyed by
frost, and (3) a little spare time resulting from a shortened
spray schedule, wo make this proposal j That every other diag-
onal row be removed now (before June 15) to give the remaining
trees the advantage of more light and mineral elements this
summer, thereby putting them in much better condition for the
1946 crop.

June 28, 1945

Prepared by the Fruit Program Committee
of the Extension Sej-vice

V/. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

C ontents

Better Raspberry and Strawberry Plants
Soil Type Affects Mcintosh Color
Ylhy Some Apples Do Mot Sell
A Modern ViTitches ' Brew-
Picking Fruit
Cost of Fertility
Do You Know?
Seen and Heard in Maine
Control of Oriental Fruit Moth
Harvest Seasons of Principal Fruits

BETTER RASPBERRY AND STRAWBERRY PLANTS

■ ■!■■—■■ *!■■ II -■■ ■ ■ ■ > ■■ IM ,l^m, ■■■■■■ IM ^1 ■! ■ ( I I II I I I —— I I I I ■ ■

The more we work with plants the plainer it becomes that good
planting stock is worth whatever it costs over stunted or diseased plants.
Trying to get the right start with the wrong plants is asking for trouble,
expense and disappointment.

lYe have been unable to find in Massachusetts a source of plants of
some of the more important varieties of red raspberries that is even reason-
ably disease-free. Diseased planting stock is worthless and may never bear
a crop.

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of May 8 and June 30,
1914, Vfillard A. Munson, Director, Massachusetts State College, United Statos
Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

-2-

To remedy this situation, plans are under way to develop several
disease-free nurseries within the state, in the handg of interested nursery-
men who are willing to take the trouble necessary to insure a continuous
supply of high grade plants.

Strawberry plants, too, will be placed under more rigid inspection,
especially for Cyclamen Mite and Red Stele. Both of these pests are poten-
tially serious and both are present in the state.

The program for better planting stock involves the full cooperation
of the State College for the information it can supply, the State Department
of Agriculture for a well informed and rigid inspection service, and nursery-
men themselves for a real desire to improve and expand the industry.

— R. A. Van Meter

SOIL TYPE AFFECTS MCINTOSH COLOR

Most fruit growers in Massachusetts have received the leaflet on
the Green Mcintosh Problem published by the Massachusetts Fruit Growers'
Association. This was necessarily brief and did not elaborate on many as-
pects of the problem. The bad effect of high nitrogen in late summer was
emphasized. No mention was made of the relation of soil tj'pe to high ni-
trogen. It is easy to over-supply trees growing on the heavier soils which
we commonly regard as having rather high fertility while the lighter soils
rarely get too much nitrogen. These lighter soils are well drained and well
aerated, so they usually lose any excess of nitrogen in the drainage water,
and the nitrogen-containing organic matter is so rapidly oxidized that no
great reserve of nitrogen accumulates. In late summer the nitrogen supply
of the tree is therefore sufficiently depleted to permt earlier maturity
and better colored fruit. It is on the more fertile soils, retentive of
moisture, that we get most of the green, immature apples,

— J. K. Shaw

VfflY SOME APPLES DO NOT SELL

It must be a painful experience for anybody who loves good apples
to visit the chain stores and many other places where fruit and vegetables
are exposed for sale. The contrast between apples on one hand and citrus
fruits and vegetables on the other is humiliating. Oranges present an at-
tractive appearance and in most cases are as good as they look. Most veg-
etables are fresh and attractive. Even green tomatoes are artificially
ripened eind packed in cartons. They all appeal to the eye and deplete the
pocketbook. But most of the apples on display repel possible buyers and
properly belong in the cull pile; yet the price is enough to warrant decent
quality. Many think that such apples should not be allowed in the market
place. Certainly they are not worth the price asked. Unless something is
done about this situation, Ihe apple business is on the way to the abode of
sinners, V/e have talked about it a lot. liYhy not do something about it?

— J. K. Shaw

-3-

A HODEICT V/ITCHES ' BREW

The fruit grower of the future may have in his vraod shed a shelf
on which will be a collection of bottles containing various brews from v^ich
he v/ill select the proper ones and spray them on his trees; Then he will be
free to attend the dog races (?) until harvest time, when he will come home
and harvest a big crop Df perfect, red apples which he will sell at $10.00
per box, and then be in a position to replenish his supply of magic concoc-
tions and resume his life of ease and enjoyment.

This may be a bit exaggerated, but hovif is this for a starter? — A
material . which promises to accomplish all of these things; (1) serve as a
blossom thinning spray, (2) prevent excessive fruit bud formation, (3) delay
blossoming until after frost danger has passed and extend the harvest period
of Mcintosh, (4) prevent premature drop of the fruit, (5) solve the green
Mcintosh problem by turning the apples yellow in two weeks' time, and (5)
serve as a killer of unwanted weeds. These varied effects are brought about
by varying the concentration and time of application. This, too, may be a
wee bit stretched, but all these varied uses are within the realm of possi-
bility. You will hear more of this story in the near future.

— J. K. Shaw

PICKIIIG FRUIT (Some general suggestions from work simplification studies)

1. Arrange the job so that both hands can work. Equal use of both hands
usually increases output by about 4:0% over using one hand alone.

2« Keep both hands together for greater hand-eye coordination. The eyes
cannot direct both hands if the hands reach out in opposite directions.

3. Fill the hajids full ''^fore moving them to the container. On hand har-
vest jobs as much as 70^ of the picking time is spent in moving (trans-,
porting) the fruit from the tree to the picking container. By getting
the hands as full as possible, this transport time is reduced.

4. Keep picking container - basket, bag or pail - as near the hands as
possible. By keeping the container conveniently located with respect
to the hands, transport time and extra steps can be reduced.

6. Use a picking container adapted to the job. For apple picking, a light-
weight picking bucket of full-box capacity attached to the worker with
comfortable harness speeds up the job and makes it easier.

6. Approach any hand harvest job in an orderly fashion. ViHien picking fruit
(apples, peaches) from the ground, pick the highest fruit first so that
the decreasing weight on the branches will not cause the fruit to spring
out of reach. Size up a tree before setting the ladder to pick the tree
with a minimum number of ladder moves.

7. Simplify the task of removing the harvested crop from the field. Have
adequate field roads. Y/here possible, locate the boxes at frequent in-
tervals so that the filled picking containers do not have to be carried
long distances.

-4-

8. Give inexperienced workers clear, complete instructions on how you want
the job done. Indicate who is to be responsible for each job and in-
struct him in his specific responsibilities,

— Roy E. Moser

COST OF FSRTILITY

Each year thousands of tons of plant nutrients are lost from Massachu-
setts soils through erosion. Some of this is by physical erosion, plainly
visible to the discerning eye; some by invisible erosion which only the chem-
ist can detect. To plug the hole caused by current losses and to restore
deficiencies created through years of exploitative farming, farmers in this
state each year use thousands of tons of fertilizer, lime, and manure, cost-
ing millions of dollars.

According to a recent bulletin issued by the Massachusetts Experiment
Station, another record was made in the use of soil amendments in this state
in 1944, 89,837 tons of mixed fertilizers, fertilizer materials and chemi-
cals, and commercial pulverized animal manures were used. This amount is
slightly higher than that for the preceding year. In addition, Massachusetts
farmers annually apply between 50,000 and 60,000 tons of ground limestone
and more thaji a million tons of animal manures, and plow under between 30,000
and 40,000 acres of green manure crops, all of which have a total money value
between |6, 000, 000 and $7,000,000,

With this great investment in materials and labor for soil improve-
ment, it is only common sense to protect the investment by conserving the
improved soils. Losses through water erosion, wind erosion and to some ex-
tent chemical erosion, can be totally prevented or reduced by following such
conservation practices as cover cropping, contour fanning, strip cropping,
and terracing. Conservation practices conserve moisture as well as soil
and fertilizer. Increase in yields of 10 to 15 percent may be expected from
the adoption of conservation methods,

— A. B. Beaumont

FROST AND THE PREVENTION OF FROST DAMAGE . This is the title of Farmers'
Bulletin No. 1588 which may be obtained from the State College, Midsummer
is an unusual time to talk about frost prevention but it is none too early
to begin preparing for next spring. Any grower interested in a readable
discussion of this important subject should obtain a copy of the above pub-
lication, and become familiar with the fundamental principles.

MAY AND JUNE RAINFALL IN AMHERST . Rainfall in May amounted to
6,45 inches and in June (up to the 25th) 7,53 inches. The normal
for the two months is 3,6 and 3,75 respectively. Some rain fell
on 17 of the first 24 days in June, If one were planning the
weather for apple scab infection he couldn't improve on what the
weather man has given us in 1945,

-5-

LB^

That, except for size, the apple maggot and the blueberry maggot
are even more alike than so-called identical twins? In all stages of de-
velopment, egg, larva, pupa, and adult, according to F. H. Lathrop, Maine
Entomologist, the blueberry maggot is two-thirds as large as the apple
maggot. If the former is transferred to an apple it is able to attain
full development, while an apple maggot may require two or three blueberries.
This raises the question whether or not a large fruited variety of cultivated
blueberry may provide a suitable food supply for the apple maggot even though
the wild blueberry can support only the smaller strain of this insect.

That, under certain weather conditions, fire blight may be trans-
mitted by the wind? Although insects have long been considered as the sole
disseminating agents, recent experiments have shown that the bacteria may
ooze out in the form of long, slender, gelatinous filaments which dry into
hair-like strands and are broken off and blown away. Just how far the
strands may be blown, how long the bacteria remain alive, and how import-
ant these structures are in the spread of the disease have not been determined.

That Mcintosh twig growth has in some cases been killed by apple scab?
According to Donald Folsom, Maine Plant Pathologist, "The only way to prevent
scab infection of the new twig growth is to keep the twigs covered with a
fungicide until midsummer, when the elongation has stopped and the bark has
reached a certain stage of maturity. Sulphur dust has proved somewhat better
than other fungicides."

That the Golden Jubilee of the Delicious apple is being celebrated
this year and the Elberta peach has now reached its 75th birthday? If, accord-
ing to J. K. Shaw, 50 years are required for an apple variety to justify it-
self, the Cortland will be on trial for a few more years. The original Ben
Davia x Mcintosh cross was made in 1898 but the seedling did not fruit until
1906 and was not generally introduced until 1915. This variety fruited for
the first time in the College orchard during the early 20's.

That a definite relation exists between the color of apple leaves in
late summer and the nitrogen content of the tree? Since the supply of ni-
trogen in late summer has a definite bearing on fruit color, it is reason-
able to assume that apple growers will in future years become more conscious
of the shade of green in the leaves as an indicator of the nitrogen needs the*
following spring.

That the Food and Drug Administration has adopted a tolerance of DDT
on fruits similar to that of lead and fluorine? On the basis of available
data there is general agreement that DDT is not more toxic than either lead
or fluorine. The informal tolerance for lead on apples and pears is 7 milli-
grams per 2,2 pounds.

-6-

That in Colonial times 90 out of every 100 people in this country-
had to work on farms to grow enough food? Today the ratio is just reversed.
Then one man could take care of about five acres of corn. Now he can handle
100 acres. In 1909 it required 12.7 man hours to grow an acre of wheat.
Today it takes 3.3 man hours. Despite this progress many farmers are still
under equipped for the 1945 job. To say that some fruit grov;ers are working
under the handicap of ajitiquated equipment is a mild understatement.

That a fertilizer application may show an effect for at least 8 years?
in Missouri a section of a prairie meadow was fertilized in 1936 by top dress»
ing with various commercial fertilizers in amounts up to 600 pounds per acre.
Each year since that time the hay from the fertilized areaa and from an un-
fertilized check area has been cut ani stacked separately. Cows have been
allowed to feed on those stacks which were most attractive. Up to 1944 they
invariably fed on the hay from fertilized areas and even after that date
they chose to visit the fertilized areas v/here they found the pasturage more
attractive. In an orchard there is reason to believe that the grass result-
ing from a broadcast application of a complete fertilizer exerts an in-
direct benefit on the trees over a period of at least 10 years.

That two fruit crops unknown in this country 40 years ago were con-
sumed in large quantities in 1944? An avocado crop of 23,200 tons from
Florida and California, and a grapefruit crop of 56,020,000 boxes v/ere in-
cluded in the nation's diet. David Fairchild, veteraji plant explorer, in
looking back over his 40 years of studying and introducing fruits and veg-
etables from all parts of the world, recalls clearly the early prejudice
and resistance against these fmiits at the time of their introduction.

That 200 tons of citrus pomace will be put up this year at a plant
in Florida? Apple growers supplying the pomace market may expect real compe-
tition from citrus fruits after the war. The citrus product seems to be
especially suitable for msiking marmalades, jellies and gelatin desserts.

That the light set of Delicious, commonly reported by apple growers,
may be due in some cases to a peculiarity in the structure of the Delicious
blossoms. R. H. Roberts, Vifisconsin Horticulturist, says, "It was observed
that a peculiarity of the Delicious blossom structure permits honeybees to
extract the nectar without pollinating the blossoms. This was true in ap-
proximately 80^ of the bee visits this season." His observations seem to
indicate that honeybees are able to obtain the nectar without actually con-
tacting the anthers and stigmas.

That the light crop of apples throughout the Northeast is due as much
if not more to faulty pollination as to frost injury in the blossoms? A. B.
Burrell, New York State plant Pathologist, reporting from Essex County, says,
"\'/hi 3e freezing injury to blossom buds v;as severe, pollination appears to have
been a still more important factor in limiting the set. In many cases, the
favorable effect of the trees of a suitable pollinizer variety, is restrict-
ed largely to adjacent Mcintosh trees, the second tree away beiiig conspic-
uously light. It is the first time we .have seen this extreme localization
of pollination,"

-7-

SSEN Airo HEARD IN MAIIJE

It was the writer's privilege to spend the week of June 11 attending
a series of orchard tours and twilight meetings in Maine. Follopfing are a
few random observations j

Oyster shell scale. In several orchards this insect has assumed the
role of a major pest. The eggs were just hatching and the young scale
insects were settling down in enormous numbers particularly along the
base of the current season's growth. Twig killing was observed in two
orchards. A nicotine spray timed sifter the eggs had hatched should prove
quite effective this year since the hatching period was shorter than in
years past. An experiment with Sumraer DN and other materials is under
way. Moose damage. In one young orchard in Monmouth, invaded by a moose
last spring, brov;sing vms observed up to a height of about 8 feet. Deer
are also causing much damage and growers are seeking relief in the form
of hunting permits, 15 of which may be granted for an individual orchard.
Crop prospects . Maine growers suffered less damage from frost than was
first repoirted. The apple crop promises to be about half normal. Of the
orchards visited several showed a 75fo set while others were much lower.
The May snowstorm caused much breakage. One grower said he spent two
days hauling brush out of the orchard after the storm. Apple scab. Con-
ditions are very similar to those in Massachusetts. May and June have
been very rainy and some scab is shov/ing up in most orchards. A heavy
infection was observed in certain orchards ivhere too few sprays were ap-
plied. One grower obtained good scab control with four dusts and one
spray. Magnesium defi c iency . Most growers are applying epsom salts as
a spray. V/here this material is used in combination v/ith lime sulfur a
heavy black sludge is observed. There is a growing tendency' to use wet-
table sulfur or sulfur dust instead of lime sulfur.

CONTROL OF ORIENTAL FRUIT MOTH

Owing to war conditions, it was impossible to carry through the pro-
gram of rearing Maorocentrus parasites for Massachusetts growers. Because
of labor shortage and the interruption of normal transportation facilities,
it is doubtful v^hether the program can be resumed until the termination of
the war.

Recent experiments indicate that the sulfur-oil-talc dust (which is
available commercially) or a nicotine-bentonite spray such as Black Lfjaf 155
at 3 pounds to 100 gallons of water shows promise indiecking the pest. The
recommended schedule calls for four applications at 5-day intervals beginning
three weeks before harvest.

— A. I. Bourne

Your State College at Amherst is a busy and thriving institution of
higher education. It is not only the focal center in Massachusetts
for information on fanning but it is an excellent place for your boy
or girl to get a good basic education, whether or not he or she is
interested in Agriculture or Horticulture. The College Catalog out-
lines all of the four-year courses; the catalog of the Stockbridge
School of Agriculture explains clearly the curriculum of the two-year
course in Agriculture and Horticulture. A note to the College will
briner them ooth.

-8-

HARVEST SEASONS OF PRINCIPAL FRUITS
Sold along the Atlantic Seab o ard

Strawberries
Florida
Texas

Louisiana

N. Car,, S. Car.

Term., Va,

Del., Md.

N. J.

New England
Peaches

Georgia

N.C. , S.C,

Md., N. J.

New England

N. Y.
Cherries (Sour)

S.Car. , Tenn.

Del., Md.

New Eng.

N. Y., Mich.
Cherries ( Swe e t )

California

Oregon

N. Y. , N. J.
Oranges

California

Florida

Texas
Lemons

Ca 1 i f orni a

Florida

Texas
Grapefruit

Florida "

California

Texas
Summer Apples

Ga., Va., Cal.

Del., N.J.

New England

-5

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• • • •

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• • . .

I^IOtiS

July 31, 1945

Prepared by the Fruit Program Committee
of the Extension Service

V/. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

Weather in Relation to Fruit Crops

Kill the Chokecherries

Poison Ivy Problem and Its Solution

Y/hy Poor Apple Quality?

Increase in Apple Price for the East

Apples Prevent Sprouting of Potatoes in Storage

Do You Know?

Blueberry "Stunt" Disease

YffiATHSR IN RELATION TO FRUIT CROPS

"Everyone talks about the weatherbut no one does anything about
it." That classic remark of Mark Twain'*s was never truer than this year.
However, since the v;eather is such a vital factor in farming and every farmer
must be interested in it whether he likes it or not, a few remarks on the
cussedness of the present season should not be out of place.

The following table gives the normal and 1945 precipitation in
inches at Amherst through July.

Issued by the Extension Service in furthorance of Acts of May 8 and Juno 30,
1914, V/illard A. Munson, Director, Massachusetts State College, United States
Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

-2-

Three Four Total to

Jan. Fob . Mar , months Apr . May June July months Aug. 1

Normal T761 3.19 3.70 10.50 3.35 3.60 3.75 4.10 14.80 25.30

1945 3.07 3.33 2.16 8.56 5.43 6.45 7.67 7.36 26.91 35.47

During the first three months of the year precipitation was prac-
tically two inches below normal. In April the heavens opened and have been
"pouring it on" ever since. Tho excess for April through July has been 12.11
inches, making the excess for the seven months of 1945 10.17 inchos.

This heavy rainfall, together with hot, humid weather during June and
July, has made the control of many diseases on both fruits and vegetables very
difficult. This has been the worst apple scab season in years. Orchards which
vrero not frequently and thoroughly sprayed are heavily infected. Also carry-
over for next year will be heavy. Brovm rot of peaches and plums has been
severe, particularly on susceptible varieties. The mummy berry disease of
blueberries, a very close relative of the brovm rot of peaches and plums, has
been unusually severe on both wild and cultivated berries. Because of this
disease and the depredations by birds, tho College blueberry crop will be far
belovf early estimates.

A good raspberry crop was in prospect but tho repeated rains caused
many berries to mold on the bushes or to become soft and v/orthless.

Several unusually heavy rains during June and July have made insect
control more difficult by washing off arsenicals soon after they were applied.
This has been especially true of codling moth control during July.

Because of the light crop and abundant moisture apples are sizing up
more rapidly than nonnal. The prospect is for many over sized ones of poor
keeping quality.

— J. S. Bailey

KILL THE CHOKECHERRIES

If you are growing peaches and don't want the X-Disease, get rid of
the chokecherries . Novj- is a good time to do it with a weed killing spray.
The X-disease, or Yellow-Red Virosis, is a virus disease which spreads read-
ily from chokecherry to peach but not so easily from peach to peach. There-
fore it is very important to eliminate all chokecherries within 200 feet
of a peach orchard.

The chokecherry is a very persistent thing and will sprout from any
pieces of root left in the ground. Attempts to get rid of it by mowing or
digging are ineffective. The surest means is a weed killing spray.

New weed sprays have been put on the market recently and mtHI probably
bo made available next year. Although several of these are being tried at
the College, it is too early to draw any conclusions. From past oxporience,
tho t^z-po of material containing ammonium sulfamato appears to be most ef-
fective. It should bo used according to the manufacturer's directions,

— J. S. Bailey

-3-

THE POISON IVY PROBLEM AND ITS SOLUTION

Poison ivy need not be tolerated in orchards now that adequate neans
for killing it out are available. Every year many orchard workers are af-
fected in varying degrees from minor localized irritation to serious poison-
ing requiring doctoring and hospitalization as a result of being poisoned
by this obnoxious plant. Incidentally, poisoning talces place only by direct
contact. When poison ivj' is established under and on fruit trees, it is very
difficult to harvest the fruit without coming in contact with the ivy. And
for persons viho are susceptible to ivy poisoning, it is rather foolhardy to
take a chance. Considering the scarcity of harvest labor, it is very much
to the advantage of fruit growers to exterminate the ivy in order to elim-
inate this cause of picker dissatisfaction. Several materials, usually to
be applied as sprays, can be used for this purpose.

In orchards at the Massachusetts State College and in a number of
commercial orchards j, poison ivy has been treated successfully with ommoniiim
sulfamate. One application in midsumner has usually killed most of the ivy
but often there is partial and spotty recovery tho folloif/ing season. A
follow-up application the second year should be made v^herever ivy is present;
othenvise, it may again bee ">me vigorously established. There are other ma-
terials, such as the complicated new "hormone" chemical known as 2-4-D, which
are promising. In any case, chemical sprays should be applied preferably on
Tfarm sunny days and while the ivy is gr'Tn'v'ing ivell. Following tho applica-
tion, no further measures need be taken at least until the following season
when some recovery may or may not show up. Care should be taken not to get
the spray on the foliage of the fruit trees,

--Lav^Arence Southwick

WHY POOR APPLE QUALITY?

A study of the defects causing poor apple quality ivas made by the
New York State College of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Economics,
from data collected at a fruit auction and at retail stores. Surface bruis-
ing was by far the most prevalent defect. In fact, practically every lot
saiapled contained bruised fruit. This emphasizes the vital importance of
handling apples r/ith utmost care from the tree to the consumer.

Lack of good color was the second most frequently observed defect
vdth tv;o-thirds of the lots failing to meet color standards. Apple scab,
stem punctures, and codling moth stings were each evident in one-half or
more of the lots sampled. Red bug stints, russeting, leaf roller injury,
limb rub, and dirtiness caused somewhat less severe damage. (From Farm
Economics, Hay 1945.)

— Lavifrence Southwick

APPLE MAGGOT FLY EIjERGENCE. The peak of emergence

in the ITaltham cages occurred on July 19, according

■to y;. D. T/liitcomb. By that time 75^ of the expected
total of flies had appeared.

^^•^

INCREASE IN APPLE PRICE FOR THE EAST (From July 28 issue of The New York Packer)

The ceiling price of fresh apples during the period beginning July 21
and ending August 19 will continue to be $3.45 a bushel, f.o.b. shipping point,
but in all states east of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabana an additional
allowance of Zb^ a bushel is made to covor further losses fron reduced yields,
the Office of Price Adr.iinist ration said this week.

The f.o.b. shipping point ceiling will be $3.70 a bushel for apples
grown in the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vemont, Massachusetts, Con-
necticut, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Mary-
land, Virginia, Vfest Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and
Florida.

The $3.45 ceiling price which applies to the remainder of the country
includes a "disaster" allowance of 30;z^, effective as of June 21. That in-
crease resulted in the retail ceiling price of fresh apples being increased
about a fourth of a cent r. pound.

The additional increase of 25;^ a bushel granted this week for apples
produced in the eastern seaboard states will increase the retail ceiling
price for those apples another \^ a pound, making the total retail increase
about -g-/ a pound.

The price increases v/hich apply to fresh apples are mandatory under
the Stabilization Extension Act, v;hioh provides for increased ceiling prices
when yields are substantia lly reduced by unfavorable growing conditions.

The additional increase in the eastern states is necessary because
the reduction in yield in those states is greater than in other sections of
the country. (Amendment 132 to Maximum Price Regulation 426 - Fresh Fruits
and Vegetables for Table Use, Sales Except at Retail - effective July 21,
1945.)

APPLES PREVENT SPROUTING OF POTATOES IN STORAGE

The following interesting experiment is reported by Donald Folsora of
the Maine Agr. Exp. Sta. in the May issue of Maine Fruit Notes.

"The unusual Virarmth of April has started potatoes to sprout unusually early
in storages that ordinarily are cold enougli to hold back sprouting. Apples
give off a gas that holds back the grovrth of potato sprouts as long as they
are exposed to the gus . As an example, at Highmoor Farm many seedling pota-
toes v/ere put into the apple storage in mid-April after they had developed
sprouts several inches Jong in a potato cellar. Today, May 26, these sprouts
are no longer than they were in mid- April. They have developed a hard, round
head on each sprout and, judging frora the past experience of other seasons,
will not resume gravrth as long as apples are left in -che same storage or un-
til the potatoes are taken out and planted. This principle can be used to
keep eating potatoes from wasting their strength on sprouts. The idea was
discovered and studied scientifically in Kansas and England. The gas involved
is thought to be the same gas that is used to ripen oranges and other fruits
artificially."

-5-

DO YOU KNOT

That the Plun Curculio is a ninor post of sola's consoquenco in culti-
vated blueberries in How Jersey? \'I, E. Tomlinson, fomerly of tho Y/t^lthan
Field Station who is now engaged in blueborry insect work at Penberton, N.J.,
forv;arded sample blueberries to ITaithar.! oarly in Jun(3, 1945, and tyi^ical
curculio larvae have eraerged fron them. The infested blueberries were raarked
vfith the characteristic crescent shaped scars v/hich are so noticoublo in
infested apples and pluras. C. S. Beclcwith, fonnerly entonologist and dir-
ector of the Cranberry and Blueberry Insect Investigation Laboratory at Pein-
berton, IJ. J., previously reported infestations of this insect in blueberries
in 1938. Wild blueberries are not knovm to bo attacked. (V[. D. Vfliitconb).

That the ivord "blueberry" is used to designate a group of plants con-
nonly called either blueberry or huckleberry the fruit of which has nany sraall,
soft seeds in contrast to the true huckleberry vmich has ten largo, hard
shelled seeds? In addition to the high bush blueberry (Vacciniuia coryi.ibosun)
and the low bush blueberry (V* angustif oliuia) four other species of blue-
berries are of inportance in the United States, tho dry land blueberry (V.
vacillcjas) and the rabbiteye blueberry (V, virgatura) of the Southoast and
the evergreen or box blueberry (V. Ovaturi) and tho nountain blueberry (V.
nenbranacoun) of the Northwest. The -^rilue of the lo\; bush blueberry alone
is estimated at ^5,000,000 annually.

That the state of Missouri, which according to the 1900 Census, had a
total of 20,000,OOQ7^ranked first in apple production at that tir.ie? The fol-
loviTing states ranked next in order vifith nujubers of trees ranging fron 15
nillion to 8 nilliont IJew York, Illinois, Ohio, Kansas, Pemisylvania, llich-
igan, Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia. It will be noted that the state of Y/ash-
ington which today produces about one-fifth of the apple crop, was nit in-
cluded in the first ten states 45 years ago.

That the oldest living grape vine in the United States is said to have
been planted in 1587 near Llanteo, N. C? According to tradition this Scupper-
nong vine was brought o\'er by a group of col'jnizers sent on an ill fated
mission by Sir Walter Raleigh. Many thousands of cuttings havo since been
taken from this mother vine, a 125-acre vineyard having been planted nearby.
The old mother vine, rambling fron its giant, gnarled trunk over nearly an
acre, is said to yield as much as 150 bushels toinually.

That a strav/berry plant, with its progeny of runner plants, is capable
of producing at least one quart of berries. On an acre basis this v/ould re-
sult in only a fair per acre yield. If plants are set 5x2 feet apart, such
a planting involves 4,356 plants per acre. The average producti ■)n in the
Faliaouth area in 1944 is reported to be 3,36^pe'r acre. In 1940 tho yield
was 4,600 per acre.

That tho widely publicizod insecticide, DDT, is effective over a long
period of tine because it is not soluble in water and does not evaporate or
volatilize appreciably? DDT is effective against a v;ide range of insect
pests but there are a ni-unber of posts against which it v/orks only moderately
well or is quite ineffective. An insect can apparently absorb DDT through its
feet. Hence, a snail deposit v/hore the insect v/alks may prove effective.

Annual

Average

June 1,

1910-14

1935-39

1942

1945

$22.09

§26.01

$42.93

^81.28

29.18

34.17

52.79

93.10

1.16

1.23

1.89

3.65

1.42

1.50

2.11

4.16

-6-

That an airplane has been used succossfully in spraying an orchard
with one of the plant homones to prevent proiiature apple crop? Tvro hours
v/ere required to spraya 40-acre block. Using a high concentration in oil
enulsion, only a pint per tree was said to give conplete coverago because
of high atonization and high air turbulence fron the plane's propeller.

That the prices of all coni-.ioditios bought by farraers in Hay of this
year were, on the average, 44 percent higher thsui in 1935-39 while fanu wage
rates in May Virero about three tines as high as they v;ere in 1935-39. U.S.D.A.
figures on fam wages are shown in the following tfiblo.

Per month, with board
Per month, without board
Per day, with board
Per day, without board

That iess than lO^o of the nation's retail stores are equipped to
handle frozen fruits and vegetables? In viev/ of the tremendous expansion
in this field (more than 500,000,000 pounds were packed last year), the
prospects for post v;ar development are tremendous.

That a 4-H Club project in Grainger County, Tennessee added 235,000
pounds of viild blackberries to the national supply of fruit last year?
More than 500 4-H Club mombors took part in this project. The pickers re-
ceived 7 cents per pound for the berries, 1 cent going to the club v/hich
received, crated, and paid for the berries. 7,500 checks, amounting to
$16,000 v;ere issued, some families receiving as much as $200.

That the irritation due to poison ivy may be relieved by painting the
skin with a ferric chloride solution made as follov;s: Tincture of ferric
chloride, 205.0; Glycerine, 50^; V/ater, 30^? It is said that this material
will reduce the inflammation and irritation luid control their spread to other
parts of the body.

That the Office of Price Administration has recently set up a tentative
schedule to govern the lifting of price controls in throe important catagories
affecting the farmer? V/hile no specific dates have been set, controls are to
be lifted in the following order: (1) Basic materials whose output has been
greatly expanded during the war, including al'aminu^n, copper, and zinc are in
this first class. Also to be among the first products to be freed fron the
ceiling are fresh fruits and vegetables, and cereal products. (2) Steel,
machinery, castings, most paper products, rubber goods, soap, household goods,
home furnishings, clothos, shoes, moats, processed foods, and later sugar.
(3) Building matp;rials, household appliances, automobiles and furniture.

That yields of apples in 131 Yakima and V/enatchee orchards in central
■Washington reached a new high of 500 boxes por acre in 1944 as compared with
374 in 1943? Those grov-rers produced 1,608,401 boxes of apples at an average
cost of $1.41 per box.

That a single application of nitrogen applied in an apple orchard in
early spring has been found as effective as splitting the amount and applying
half of it later? A single early application is found to be more effective
thtui the same application roade in late spring.

-7-

That the per capita annual consumption of apples decreased from 68
pounds in 1910-1914, to 43 pounds in 1935-1939? Citrus fruits offer the
strongest competition. Their consumption during this period increased from
19 pounds per person per year to 49 pounds. Bananas and other fresh fruits
(mainly peaches, grapes and pears) have not shovm any marked trends in this
regard. The per capita consumption of bananas has fluctuated betv;een 15
and 25 pounds. Of citrus fruits, oranges are still liked best and are used
in grea test volume, though grapefruit showed an eightfold increase in con-
sumption from 1.4 pounds per capita in 1910-1914, to 11 pounds in 1935-1959,
Even lemons seem to have gained in popularity.

That the word "fruit" from a horticultural standpoint is defined as
"The edible pulpy mass covering the seeds of various plants and trees, as the
orange, apple, pear, berry, otc," and from a botanical standpoint, "The
matured seed and its contents, together vdth such accessory or external
parts of the inflorescence as seem to bo integral \vith them"? The seed
of a dandelion is therefore as worthy to be called a "fruit" as a luscious
peach.

That some rain fell in Amhorst on 53 of the 92 days of May, June and
July? The excess rainfall for the first six months of 1945 amounts to more
than 10 inches.

That a white f orm of the common blackcap is sometimes found growing
wild? A few days ago a fon.ier student dropped in at the State College with
a sample of these berries gathered on Mt. Toby. The fjruit is amber yellow
in color and is technically known as Rubus occidentalis, variety pallidus.

That the genus Prunus, one of the sub-divisions of the Rose Family
which includes pluJis, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots and ali.ionds,
is divided into no less than 82 distinct species of plants? Ilany of these
species are again divided into large nuiabers of viirietiea.

That a fairly definite relationship exists in most orchards between
the percentage of apples in different grades and the fact of closely or
vddely spaced trees? The following table taken from Bulletin Ko. 443 of the
r/asliington Agricultural Exporinent Station brings out this relationship.

„ „ , , % "Extra Fancy" "^ "Fancy" % "C Grade"
Zone of tree t^ Close Wide Close vade Close Wide

Ground to 5 feet above 31 4 48 96 16

5 to 10 feet 7 35 39 55 54 8

10 foet above the ground

"to top 65 79 24 18 10 2

That the forerunners of our present large strawberries were first in-
troduced to Europe in 1712 from Chile? In August of that year five plants
arrived in France which, together v;ith later importations, laid the founda-
tion for strawberry grov/ing in Europe. Later those plants were crossed with
pollen from Europfjan and North American species and from the seed secured, a
new race of largo fruited strawberries originated, better than anything pre-
viously knov\m.

That apple varieties vary considerably in tlioir content of Vitamin C?
A variety under study in New York State is found to contain about 10 times

-8-

as much as is nornally found in an apple. Incidentally, the additi)n of
synthetic Vitanin C is said to prevent browning of dried cr frozen peaches?

That careless practices of fo^d shoppers, principally ivonen, cause
an annual loss of nore than 8,000,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables.
By handling food thoughtlessly and roughly, purchasers spoil perhaps 1500
tons of poaches, 4500 tons of tomatoes, and large quantities of other per-
ishable foods every year. The above nentioned 4000 tons would supply the
full needs of 143 array divisions for a week.

That a lailky disease spore dust offers nuch promise in the control
of Japanese beetle. The purpogQ of the product is to inoculate the soil
against the grub by introducing into the treated area a disease that kills
quickly and multiplies rapidly. Its application is simple and the inocu-
lation remains effective for many years. Under normal conditions subsequent
treatments are not necessary.

That one of the big pr iblems of the Mcintosh grovrer, probably next
in importance after scab control, is that of regulating the nitrogen appli-
cation in such way that he obtains the highest production consistent with
good fruit color? Since leaf color is directly related to this problem,
a set of nevj color charts which bear 7 shades of green should prove useful
in years to come. These charts range in color from a greenish yellow to a
dusky olive green and are based on leaves taken from Mcintosh trees which
were under knovm nitrogen treatraents for three years.

That Connecticut growers arc suffering some damage this season from
the 17-yoar locust? Damage to young trees is caused by the egg laying punc-
tures in the branches. One grovrer is roportod to havo wrapped the young
trees in a 40-acre orchard vdth totacco cloth to avoid dar.mge from this pest.

BLUEBERRY "STUNT" DISEASE

The blueberry "stunt" disease has recently been found in Massachusetts.
This disease is very serious in North Carolina and Now Jersey where it some-
times spreads very rapidly. It has boon found also in New York and Michigan
but is spreading very sl^owly or not at all in these states and in Massachu-
setts,

The "stunt" is a virus disease transnissable by budding, grafting or
cuttings. Although it is probably spread by some insect, the exact meumer
of spread is not known.

Diseased plants are stunted in their gr>Jivth, loaves are mottled, cupped
downward, and stunted, fruit is small, bitter and useless. Diseased plants
should be removed as soon as found and burned.

— J. S. Bailey

\ \

'"\L. ^-

\ 'T?

i\\J I t^a

August 31, 1945

Prepared by the Fruit Program Committee
of the Extension Service

W. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

Soil Conservation in the Orchard

A Record Short Apple Crop

Dichloro - Diphenyl - Trichlorethane

Oyster Shell Scale a Problem in Maine Apple Orchards

Apple Market Reports

Kill the Peach Borers

PCW Apple Picking Project

Inactivating Apple Scab

SOIL COHSERVATIOW IN THE ORCHARD

"It seems to me that some areas are ideally adapted to the
contour orchard, while other sites are totally unadapted," opines a leading
authority on orchard management, i^uite right. The fairly regular slope,
evBn if curved, lends itself to contour planting. The roly-poly, hummocky
topography, however, is not adapted to contour planting. It happens, however,
that the soil types of New England best suited for orchards have fairly reg-
ular slopes. The hummocky, irregular topography is more likely to occur in •
the soil types ill adapted to orcharding, such as Hinckley.

-2-

Contouring helps conserve soil, moisture and fertilizer in
the cultivated orchard, and likewise to a less extent in the sod orchard.
In either cultural system orchard equipment can be more easily and less ex-
pensively hauled on the contour than up and down hill. However, the freedom
of movement is largely restricted to the horizontal; this is almost necessary
anyhow on slopes greater than 15 per cent. Provision must be made for turn-
ing at the end of contour rows. Sheet erosion occurs on all sloping culti-
vated land. It is often so imperceptible as to be hardly noticeable. Its
effect is cumulative and serious in the end. It is not uncommon to find as
a result of sheet erosion during the years that good topsoil has accuraulated
to a depth of several feet at the foot of a long slope. Another type of soil
erosion that orchardists often have to cimtend with is road erosion. In
many cases this type of erosion can be reduced to negligible proportions by
proper road placement through careful planning in advance of planting,

Orchardists of this state having problems of soil conserva-
tion and land improvement, and most of them do have such problems, will be
interested in the possibilities in these fields through soil conservation
districts. The soil conservation enabling act, recently passed by the Mass-
achusetts Legislature, makes it possible for farmers of a given area to or-
ganize soil conservation districts. Through districts technical service in
conservation can be obtained free of charge, and the use of heavy equipment
of different kinds can be obtained at low cost. Many advantages may accrue
to farmers through districts. The fist step in obtaining a district is to
file with the State Soil Conservation Committee a petition bearing the names
of a number of land occupiers in the area under consideration,

— A. B» Beaumont

A RECORD SHORT APPLE CROP

What a pity this year, when there is need for every possible
pound of food, that Massachusetts, Nevi England, and practically the entire
East should suffer such a disaster in connection with apple crop prospects I
It has been a case of down , dovm , down, all season. Ever since the frost
first struck, following that "August weather in March," there has been a
series of wallops including serious lack of pollination, heavy drop, wet,
scabby v/eather, all of which have taken their toll of merchantable fruit
which will be available this season.

It now sums up to the shortest crop in New England since 1910,
It is even smaller than the 1921 crop which \re old timers thought was a ter-
rific disaster.

As it stands at this v;riting, the apple crop in the entire
North Atlantic area, including New England, is only a little more than 10
million bushels compared with about 35 million last year. In the South
Atlantic States, which takes in the very important Virginia section, the re-
duction is from 23 million last year dovm to a meager 6 million this year.
In the Central States it is about 50^o of a crop, from about 18 million to
9 million.

-3-

Tlhile it may sound disloyal for an old Yankee to say it,
the place for an apple man to live this year is in the Pacific Northwest.
Out there they have a real crop. They have had some av/ful tough times dur-
ing the depression, but in the past few years they have come back strong
and this year's nice crop, benefitting from higher prices as a result of the
eastern shortage, should make apple selling a nice proposition for western
grov/ers.

To sum it up, the estimates as compiled in August shov; a
United States crop of 68,882,000 bushels, compared with 124,754,000 last year
and 119,046,000 for the ten-year average.

In viexv of the short crop^ some comment here on the apple
ceilings seems quite appropriate. The "disaster" adjustment to the ceiling
prices, which is effective through September 30, makes the price in the east-
ern states $3.85 per bushel f.o.b, to growers, and $3.95 to growers' sales
agents and to growers who qualify as shipping point distributors (which many
in New England do). This ceiling applies to all the East and to some Western
States, but does not apply to the Pacific Northwest. In California, Washing-
ton, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho, the ceiling is $3.19 to growers, ^3.29 to
growers* sales agents, and shipping point distributors.

The mark-ups as scheduled at present are the same as last year.
For sales in the market there is a mark-up of 40 cents where sales are on
commission (and 30 cents if the shipment is from a shipping point distributor
or grwrers' sal^s agent). P''or apples which are owned by the seller in the
market the mark-up is 45 cents. For apples delivered to retail stores the
mark-up is 70 cents. In all of these cases the cost of transportation may be
added.

The $3.85 figure applies on standard containers, \uhich in-
cludes the eastern apple crate and the Massachusetts standard box. Yj'here
apples are sold in non-standard containers, the f.o.b, price is 8.56 cents
per pound for graded and packed fruit,

— Walter E. Piper
Massachusetts Division of Markets

DICIILORO - DIPHBNYL - TRICIILORETHAIJE

The end of the Japanese Y/ar and increased production facili-
ties undoubtedly mean that DDT v;ill be available to civilians in larger quan-
tities in 1946, and Massachusetts fruit growers are already wondering hoiv to
use it in their orchard insect control schedule.

Although about 25 years of normal experimentation have been
croweded into the last three years, there are many things about DDT which
are not yet known. Furthermore, the extremely unusual grov/ing season in 1945
will cast a reasonable doubt on the results of this year and v;e wonder if
they can be repeated in a more normal season.

-4-

Most of the preliminary results have been favorable, and a
dosage of 1 pound of DDT in 100 gallons of spray is generally accepted as
most desirable on fruit trees. At this rate, outstanding control of codling
moth, leafhopper and Japanese beetle has been obtained. DDT appears to be
exceptionally compatible with other insecticides and fungicides and promises
to provide many desirable combinations. Preliminary experiments indicate
satisfactory compatibility v;ith Fermate or Puratized for scab and other di-
seases; with DN for red mite; v/ith nicotine for aphids; and with lead arsen-
ate for plum curculio. It is safe' on peaches and we expect to develop a
satisfactory schedule against the Oriental fruit moth.

Some reports show a lack of uniformity in the manufacture of
DDT, and chemists have found the presence of isomers which are chemical mix-
tures containing identical elements in similar proportions but in different
arrangement and varying in their action.

DDT has already been micronized, fused vrith sulfur, dissolved
in paint, and sprayed onto carrier particles to form a dust. Many other
formulae, processes and combinations will be made before the most satisfactory
form for each purpose is established.

The effect of DDT on other animal life is being thoroughly
studied. Some birds are killed by eating poisoned insects or by drinking im-
pregnated water. Many native pollinating insects will be killed, especially
where flov.'ering cover crops are grovni in the orchard.

We are confident that a practical and profitable schedule for
using DDT in orchards can be worked out. But, please, be patient. Give us
time,

— Yf, D. ?/hitcomb

OYSTER SHELL SCALE A PROBLEM IN MAKJE APPLE ORCHARDS

During the past four or five years oyster shell scale has
been on the increase in a number of Maine apple orchards. At present the
scale presents a real challenge in some of the infested orchards. Although
the problem appears to bo most severe in Maine orchards, there are several
aspects of the situation that are of interest to apple growers throuj^h a much
wider section of Hev;^ England,

Destructive Hpbits of the Scales. As the name implies, infested apple
twigs appear as thougli encrusted with minute oyster shells. At first only
a few scales may be present, and as they are about the same color as the
apple bark J they are easily ovetlook^d. As the infestation increases the
smaller twigs become heavily encrusted, and a fovi of the scales settle on the
growing apples. Finally the whole tree^ in^iluding the tru:il: and large limbs,
as well as the tv;igs, may become heavily infested by the scales. As the in-
festation gr'T.vs, the tree becomes weakened; small tvdgs bo^in to die, and
later larg:jr limbs are killed by the scales. In some orchards only a few
scattered trees are severely infested by the scales. In other orchards, in-
festation is widespread.

-5-

Life History. The oyster shell scale spends the winter in the egg
stage, concealed under the protection of the old scale cover. In the spring,
soon after petal fall, the eggs begin to hatch, and hatching continues over
a period of ten days or more. The newly-hatched scale is a ninute, active,
crawler with six legs. The crawler soon settles down, inserts its sucking
tube into the apple bark, and begins to form its protective scale cover.
After the scale insect forms its protective cover, it sheds its legs, and
never moves from that spot. The scale grov.'s in size until late summer, vifhen
it reaches full size, and eggs are soon formed. After the eggs have been
deposited, the parent insect under the scale shrivels away and- dies. Each
scale may deposit from 50 to 100 or more eggs.

Control Pr oblems. The present infestation of oyster shell scale is
most severe in well-cared-for orchards, and especially in orchards which
have been consistently dusted. It has been observed that neglected trees
may be practically free from scales, while adjoining v^'ell-treated commercial
orchards are severely infested. This suggests that the spray or dust in
some way favors the development of the scales. Perhaps the sulphur destroys
many of the natural enemies which othoi'v.'ise v;ould 1<e ep the scales under con-
trol.

The thorough application of dinitro-oil spray in the early
spring, while the apple buds are still dormant, has given satisfactory con-
trol of oyster shell scale. There are some valid objections to this treat-
ment, however. First, very thorough coverage is required, vriiich is expen-
sive of time, material, and labor. In Maine there is only a very short
period between the passing of the snow cover and the beginning of activity
of the apple buds. Moreover, it usually is very difficult to drive a
sprayer through our orchards during that period.

There is need for an effective spring or sui.Tmer treatment,
perhaps directed at the destruction of the nev/ly-hatched scales. Preliminary
experiments have not yet developed such a treatment that fully meets the
requirements of the Maine apple growers,

— F. H. Lathrop, Entomologist
Maine Agricultural Experiment Station

APPLE MARKET REPORTS

By this time most growers in Massachusetts vdll have received
notice that the Apple Market Reports issued by this Department will again be
available this season. Definite decision to r esume the service, despite the
short crop, has been made upon receipt of a request representing the unanimous
vote of the Executive Committee of the Massachusetts Fruit Growers' Associa-
tion,

At first thought the combination of a very light crop, to-
gether with price control, might make it appear that apple quotations would
be subject to very little change this season. Hov/ever, sales of early apples

-6~

already are showing that everything does not sell at tho ceiling price*
In addition to this, the Executive Coiimittee of M.F.G.A. felt that the
other features of the report, namely, comrient on general market condi-
tions and the cold storage infonnation, as fully as important as the
actual quotations and, therefore, they feel the reports are needed this
year just as much as ever.

For the benefit of ajiy new readers, these reports cover
market prices on Boston, Vforcester, and Springfield markets, with supplemen-
tary reports from other outside markets, including Providence and New York
City. During the winter, holdings of apples in cold storage in New England
and in ths United States v/ill be reported regularly, vfith a special section
devoted to Mcintosh cold storage supplies. The development of this cold
storage report on Mcintosh movement has been a very helpful feature in keep-
ing growers informed as to the rate of v/ithdrawal and tho prospective sup-
plies available for later markets.

Reports may be obtained upon payment of the cost of postage.
The amount of postage depends upon the grower's preference as regards first
or second class mailing. This matter is handled by the M.F.G.A. through the
office of Secretary W. R. Cole, Amherst, Mass. Requests for the Apple Market
Report should be forwarded to Secretary Cole at that address.

— Frederick E. Cole, Commissioner
Massachusetts Department of Agriculture

KILL THE PEACH BORERS

It is time to be treating peach trees for borers. In some
orchards this is enemy number one of the peach tree. ViTith fewer apples to
pick this fall it should be easier to get this job done on time.

The paradichlorobenzene treatment is still the recommended
treatment. Directions for using PDB will be found in Mass, Agr. Expt. Sta.
Bui. 399 or a special sheet of instructions villi be sent to any one desiring
it. Since PDB is not effective after the soil temperature falls below 60° F,
this treatment should be used in late August or early September.

The ethylene dichloride emulsion treatment has been used
successfully at the College for five years. It has also been tried by a
few freuit growers with good results. This treatment is very apt to cause
injury on heavy, wet soils. On the other soils it may cause injury unless
the directions for its application are carefully followed. Directions for
the use of EDEmll be sent upon request.

Dr. Snapp, the originator of the ethylene dichloride treat-
ment, now has a propylene dichloride treatment which he says is safer and
more effective than the ethylene dichloride. Some propylene dichloride emul-
sion was tried at the College last fall. No injury to trees resulted but so
few borers were present, even in tho untreated treos, that its relative ef-
fectiveness could not be measured. This material is still very much in the
experimental stage.

— J. S. Bailey

"1 -

POTf APPLE PICKING PROJECT

German Prisoners of V/ar stationed at Fort Devens will assist
about 50 growers in harvesting the apple crop in the Nt-.shoba area this fall.
At least 600 prisoners have been requested including about 100 in Hillsboro
County, New Hampshire. The Army has contracts v;ith tvro associations of fruit
grov/ers, which in turn have contracts vfith the individual growers. Here are
three pieces of information which throw some light on the project; (1) A
memo sent by IT. H. Thies to Nashoba apple growers on August 28, (2) a section
from the grower's contract, and (3) information for employers to guards on
the apple picking project, released by the Camp Conmander.

(1) M emo. Your attention is called to the following items in connection
with the POW project: Telephone Number - Ayer 511 , Extension 4296 . You may
contact me by telephone during the following hours: Monday through Friday -
6:50 to 10; 00 a.m. and 2 to 5 p.m., or you may reach me by letter at Head-
quarters, POtY Camp , Fo r't DevensT ^Don't iiesitate to call or write about
anything which will contribute to a smoothly running program.

Requests for prisoners shall be made by Thursday of the previous week .
So far as possible, the same group of prisoners will be continued on a
particular job. This may not be feasible, however, if a group is requested
a second time after being once released and put to v/ork elsev^hsre.

Cancellations for causes other than rain must be made by 3 p.m. of the
previous day. For cancellations on account of rain (which must be made by
6 a.m. ), call Extension 4205 (operator on duty at all times). Growers nay
be assessed $1.50 a day per prisoner for cancellations not in accordance
with these rules.

The transportation allowance covers only the distance over which prison-
ers are actually transported, - not the empty truck or bus mileage to and
from the Camp. Each truck or bus should be identified by a conspicuous
placard shov\ring the grov^rer's name»

(2) Contract . The Grower shall pay for prisoner of war labor furnished him
at the rate of Sixty (60) cents per hour and for piece work at the rate of
Fifteen (15) cents per bushel box, -whichever is more. On either basis the
minimum hourly pay shall be 60/, The Grower chall also pay in advance five
(5) cents per day per prisoner employed to cover overhead expenses of the
Association. Any funds received from this source in excess of actual cost
will be returned pro-rata at the end of the season. The Grower shall, on the
signing of this contract, pay to the Association in advance for the prisoner
of war labor required for the first week of employment at the rate of $4.85
per day per prisoner. At the end of one week of employment the Grower shall
make a further payment for one week in advance (on Thursday) at the same rate,
and weekly thereafter as long as tlie employment continues. Checks should be
made payable to the Nashoba Fruit Producers Association and mailed to Harry
Bruns, Groton, Mass, (POVf Project Treasurer). At the end of the first week

of employment the Grower shall pay to the Association any amount due for the
employment of prisoners during that week in excess of the advance payment.
In the event that the advance payment is in excess of the actual amount due.

-8-

the difference shall be applied on the advance payment for the following
week. Any difference between advance payments and actual amounts due for
labor shall be settled in the same manner at the end of each vreek during
said employment.

The Grower shall furnish all necessary tools and equipment for carrying
on the work. The Grower shall not be required to furnish the noonday meal
for prisoners employed by him. This meal will be furnished by the United
States Government. The Grower shall furnish all transportation betv;een the
prisoner of war camp and the place of employment for prisoners of war and
the guards accompanying them. An allov^^ance for transportation shall be made
on the follov;^ing basis: An allowance of 50 cents per day per man, or the
following amounts on a "truck mile" basis, whichever amount is smaller:
Number of prisoners and guards Allowance per truck mile
1 to 9 5 cents

10 to 19 10 cents

20 or more 15 cents

(3) Treatment of POW Apple Pickers. The following information concerning
the use of prisoners of v.'ar on agricultural projects is published for the
guidance of all concerned,

1, The standard work day is 3 full hours of labor exclusive of noon
meal period and exclusive of transportation time. The noon meal period may
be as short as 30 minutes and should not exceed 1 hour.

2, (a) Nothing in Vfer Department regulations or in the Geneva Conven-
tion requires that any rest periods be given to prisoners of war. They may,
however, be used where they are necessary and helpful, (b) A comniittee from
the Boston Market Gardeners Association and the Nashoba Fruit Growers Asso-
ciation has recommended that a rest period of 10 minutes in the morning and
10 minutes in the afternoon be granted to prisoners of war, as their exper-
ience shows this to be of definite value. (c) It must be understood, however,
that any rest periods granted to prisoners of war are to be specifically giv-
en by the individual employer and that it is entirely within his discretion

as to whether any are given and what the length of them is (provided only
that they do not exceed one rest period of 10 minutes in the morning and one
rest period of 10 minutes in the afternoon).

3, Prisoners of war may be required to work under the same conditions
as are applicable to civilian labor. This covers, among other things, hours
of vtorkf amount of v;ork to be performed, weather conditions, etc.

4« There is no specific time at which prisoners of v:ar or guards are
required to return to Camp other than that they should be so returned as
expeditiously as possible after the completion of the day'd work of 8 full
hours of labor.

5, Attention is directed to the fact that fraternization with prison-
ers of war is forbidden. Fraternization in general forbids the taking of
anything from or giving anjH:hing to prisoners of war including specifically
all written or printed material of any nature, cigarettes, ice-cream, bever-
ages, etc. It does not prohibit talking with prisoners of v;ar in connection

-9-

with their duties, nor the furnishing of pure drinking water or other sinilar
items which would be furnished to civilian workers,

6. Sentries are not to be used as v/ork supervisors,

7, In case of any trouble with prisoners of war, including failure or
refusal to work, unsatisfactory vifork, insolence, sickness, escapes, etc.,
telephone to the Provost Marshal, Prisoner of ¥/ar Camp, Ayer 311, Extension
7116 or 7248.

INACTIVATING APPLE SCAB

Probably never before have Massachusetts fruit growers ex-
perienced a combination of events such as have happened this year. Vfithout
a crop and an income, growers have been rather reluctant to spend money fight-
ing scab as faithfully as in a crop year.

The eradication of the scab fungus in the trees during the
growing season has been an effective method of controlling scab v/hen the
more generally accepted method of protection by the eai'ly sprays has failed.
This has been the growers' method of attempting to end the disease, much as
the atomic bomb has been the means of ending the Japanese war, Yfith an
epidemic of foliage scab now existent in many orchards, the writer finds
that the grower should have taken advantage of this method of controlling
the disease rather than to have allowed it to run its destructive course.

Heretofore v/e have relied upon lime sulfur to burn out scab
and the directions in our apple spraying schedule call for 2 gallons of
liquid or 8 pounds of dry lime sulfur in 100 gallons. The application is
recommended after the Second Cover spray. At Waltham the writer has been
studying the merits of other spray materials for destroying scab by a mid-
season application. Some of these nev/ fungicidal materials are as sensa-
tional in disease control as DDT is in insect control. It is not too early
to predict some striking changes in our apple pest control schedule as we
learn more about these new organic . pesticides.

At Waltham some of our Mcintosh trees were allowed to develop
a very heavy infection of foliage scab, and on June 22 the following sprays
were compared for killing out scab:

1. Flotation Sulfur Paste

2. Lime Sulfur (32° Baum^)

3. Micronized Dry Vfettable Sulfur

4 . Fe rmat e

5. Puritized

6. Isothan qi5

A Spreader sticker, l/4 pint, was added to each 100 gallons
of spray, except to the Isothan Q15 spray which of itself has good spread-
ing properties. Following the treatments, scabby leaves were gathered from
the trees, and something like 5,000 scab spores wore tested for spore germin-
ation on each day that leaves v;ere gathered.

12 lbs.

2 gals,

6 lbs.
li II

6 1/3 liquid
ipt.

oz.

-10-

Isothan <^15, at l/2 pint in 100 gallons, did not kill the
scab spores, and it did not inactivate the scab lesions. V/hen the concen-
tration was increased to s/S pint in 100 gallons, the results were no better.

Micronized sulfur, representing a good grade of dry wettable
sulfur, was unsatisfactory. The spores germinated abundantly 5 and 6 days
after the application, and continued to do so on successive days thereafter.
The results were no better with 8 pounds than with 6 pounds of Micronized
sulfur in 100 gallons. The results with Flotation Sulfur Paste, 12 pounds
and 16 pounds in 100 gallons, were similar and not satisfactory for burning
out. Liquid lime sulfur, 2 gallons in 100 gallons, gave satisfactory results
and eventually cleared the foliage of scab very well, although numerous
germinating spores have persisted and now scab spots have appeared up to the
writing of this ngws article (August 20),

In contrast to the above results, the Fermate and Puritized
sprayed trees have never yielded any germinating scab spores. The clearing
of the foliage of the scab fungus is more rapid with Puritized. The effect
of the spray is more noticeable than with Fermate. The scab spots on the
trees sprayed with Fermate appear fresh and active even long after the ap-
plication, nevertheless the spores are ungerminable and dead. There is no
burning of leaf tissue from the use of either, such as happens from liquid
lime sulfur. The scabby foliage sprayed v/ith puritized offers the most
pleasing appearance, considering the manner in which the leaves are cleared
of the scab mold and the way in which the normal green color of the foliage
under the scab is restored.

— E. F. Guba

Delayed preparation and mailing of
August Fruit Notes are due to the
fact that the editor has been, and
will continue to be for the next six
weeks, actively engaged at Fort Devens
in supervising the POVT o.pple picking
project. He hereby acknowledges the
dozen or more interesting articles
recently received from others. Several
will appear in the September issue of
Fruit Notes.

-CiJ

■).A J

i 1/ \S H liv^

<i£>

Ih^i

September 28, 1945

Prepared by the Fruit Program Committee
of the Extension Service

W. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

The Returning Veteran in the Fruit Business

DDT Shows Promise in Recent Tests

Magnesiiun spray Precipitate

Effect of Mowing Grass on Moisture Conservation

Selecting the Blueberry Site

POV; Apple Picking Project - A Progress Report

Looking Ahead

Apple Storage Cooled by New Method

THE RETURNIUG VETERAN IN THE FRUIT BUSINESS

V/hat advice would an established fruit grower give to a veteran
who is thinking of getting started on an orchard? Fruit growing is an at-
tractive business. The fruit itself, the tree, the outdoors, and the type
of work will have an appeal for many. Without doubt a good many fruit
growers will have an opportunity to advise some veteran before many months
have passed. Perhaps he will be a relative, or perhaps some young friend.
The request for advice may be given in an informal or casual vfay, but it
will be no less important to the man concerned.

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of May 8 and June 30,
1914, Vfillard A. Munson, Director, Massachusetts State College, United States
Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

-2-

I am quite sure that on© of the first things you would ask him
would be I What is your training and experience with fruit? Probably most
fruit growers would suggest some agricultural school or college course,
coupled with actual work in an orchard as a preliminary.

The grower might then turn to some of the difficulties of orchard-
ing so that the young ■veteran would have a thorough understanding of the type
of business he was thinking of entering. It is not easy to get a start in
orcharding, he would say. In the first place, h© must have a good-sized
orchard - 20 acres of bearing trees at least - in order to handle it effi-
ciently. The equipment is expensive and unless you have a good sprayer and
■imilar tools you will never be able to grow good fruit. Thus the original
investment in a good bearing orchard is sure to be large. On the other hand,
it takes a long time for young trees to come into real bearing. This makes
it hard to start on a small scale, for one must vmit too many years before
there is a profitable income.

However, the general outlook is favorable. We can look forward
with considerable confidence to a period of good times when most people are
working and can afford to pay g.iod prices for apples. It may well be a
period of reward for the established orchardlst, but undoubtedly this same
orchardist would caution the veteran that to profit by these prospective
good times he must have plenty of espies to sell. If he were to reverse the
process and spend the years of good times in building up an orchard, he would
have to pay for it during a less profitable period, if such a time should
come.

Therefore, to the veteran who may be considering coming back to
his farm orchard, all of this would have its advantages. Even this veteran
should give his home place as careful appraisal as though he were buying a
new one. The size of the farm, soil, location, prevalence of frost, number
of trees, equipment, living conditions and financial arrangements should
all enter into his decision, for they all will have an effect for many years
upon his income.

To come back to the m n who is starting in on a new place, without
doubt the established grower would emphasize to him the need of having an
immediate source of income. This might come from a large block of bearing
apple trees. It might come from some other farm enterprise, or it might
come from some type of work off the farm, but it must be large enough to
pay the family living expenses and aleo the costs of developing the farm
or orchard for larger future profits. If a veteran can get started on that
basis, he will have a solid foundation under his business for the years ahead.

We shall, without doubt, have a large group of veterans in our next
generation of fruit growers. I think w© can expect too that our present fruit
growers, rather than professional counselors, ^re the ones who will give these
veterans the sound advice and the training that will get them off to a good
start,

— James W. Dayton

-3-

DDT SHCT/S PROMISE IN RECENT TESTS

Experiments by various federal agencies in several areas, notably
New England and Pennsylvania, show oxcellont results against gypsy moth by
the use of DDT from ground applications and by airplane. Som.e of the results
reported indicate not only commercial control but actually approach very
closely to extermination, at least in the experimental areas. In several
of the test areas, DDT applied for gypsy moth control was found to have giv-
en excellent results against a number of other injurious insects including
such pests as cankerworm, budworms, etc. Although final reports are not yet
available, some of the results surpass those anticipated and lend hope to
those who have heretofore felt much concern over the devastation wrought
by the gypsy moth in many areas of the state this past sumraer.

The Japanese beetle, a species which is already pre^sent over much
of the state and' which this season was fully as conspicuous as in any recent
years, is another pest against which DDT has given excellent results. Sprays
and dusts have proved very effective against the beetles, and preliminary
tests in the application of DDT to the soil indicate that the material is
very effective against the grubs; much more so, pound for pound, than is the
case with lead arsenate. The material also has shown a very' marked residual
effect against the beetles and thus enabled growers by one or, at most, two
applications to secure protection throughout practically the entire season
of beetle activity. Soil treatments v/ith DDT appear to be a very promising
addition to control measures and may serve as a valuable supplement to the
use of the so-called milky disease or spore dust which is also giving ex-
cellent results against the Japanese beetle grubs in heavily infested areas.

The oriental fruit moth for many years shov/ed such an excellent
defense against insecticidal applications that its control by spraying or
dusting was almost despaired of. At the present time the so-called oil-
sulfur-talc dust has given excellent results throughout the midwestern peach
areas, against this insect. Many Massachusetts growers have used this dust
and reported excellent results. For those grovrers who are equipped to spray,
a fixed nicotine such as Black Leaf 155 has also shown premising results.
Both sprays and dusts are available commercially, and apparently each year
more and more growers are availing themselves of these materials. Recent
tests also indicate that DDT combinations (dusts or sprays) have also shown
very promising results.

It is encouraging to note that the new material DDT has shown it-
self to be so efficient against all three of these very serious pests, and
the assurance that DDT in different formations will be available commercially
by another season is nev/s that will be v/elcome to fruit growers,

~ A. I. Bourne

MAGNESIUI.I SPRAY P R ECIPITATE

(An apparent change in the spray mixture, as evidenced by an in-
creased amount of precipitate, has been observed by a fe\t grov/ers, when mag-
nesium sulfate is placed in the spray tank. The following statement by

-4-

Dr. C. A« Peters of the Department of Chemistry at M.S.C. throws some light
on this problem,)

The use of magnesium sulfate in the spray material, as a source
of magnesium for the orchard gives rise to new problems. If mixed with an
alkaline spray, white magnesium hydroxide is precipitated in voliuninoua
quantity. The substance, in itself, is harmless as it has a solubility
of less than one-tenth of one per cent. The precipitate is colored dark
by the lead sulfide if lime-sulfur and lead arsenate are present. The black
substance does not cause burning. The alkaline spray materials that bring
about the precipitation of magnesium hydroxide are lime or dry lime-sulfur.
The dry lime-sulfur is much more alkaline than the liquid, in fact, generally,
the liquid is nearly neutral.

It is a question whether there is more black precipitate when al-
kaline substances are present or whether it just looks more abundant spread
out through the copious white precipitate. Anyway, the amount of the black'
precipitate is a measure of the amount of decomposition of lead arsenate
and too much decomposition may give rise to harmful products,

~ C'. A. Peters

EFFECT OF MOVING GRASS ON MOISTURE CONSERVATION

To mow or not to mow the grass in an orchard, - that is the ques*-
tion^ Will the benefits of hand mowing around the trees, for example,
justify the cost? How much water, if any, is conserved when we cut a
growth of grass and does the stage of maturity make much difference? These
questions were put up to Dr, Wm. G. Colby a few days ago. His reply, which
for lack of space was omitted from August Fruit Notes, is as follows »

"In order to inject some new ideas into the problem you recently raised
pertaining to the mowing of orchards, I submitted your memorandum to
Dr, V. G. Sprague at the Regional Pasture Laboratory in State College,
Pennsylvania, I am submitting Dr, Sprague 's reply together with a re-
print of some experimental work which he has done on water utilization
by Kentucky bluegrass and alfalfa. The results which Dr. Sprague ob-
tained indicate rathfer definitely that more frequent cutting of grass
will conserve more moisture than infrequent cutting.

"It would seem that the problem of mowing orchards is one of balancing
the extra cost of frequent mowing against advantages gained in moisture
conservation. The answer to this problem will undoubtedly vary fran one
farm to another. Where orchards can be easily and quickly mowed with
tract ional machinery, two mowings would be more satisfactory than one»
Where mowing is difficult and expensive then I am inclined to feel per-
sonally that a single mowing would be the most desirable. If two mow-
ings are practiced, I suspect Dr. Sprague 's suggestion as to stage of
plant growth is quite accurate. But where only one mowing is practiced
I am inclined to think that my earlier suggestion of mowing when the
vegetation was fairly well along toward maturity would be satisfactory.
This would call for mowing a bluegrass stand in June and timothy, redtop,
or witch grass stand in late June or the early part of July,"

-5-

And here are the comments submitted by Dj.. V. G. Sprague;

"Some years ago it was noted that the very heavily grazed Kentucky blue-
grass pastures in southwestern Wisconsin remained green during severe sum-
mer droughts whereas adjacent, moderately grazed pastures dried up and
turned brov/n. To investigate the reason for this, an experiment was per-
formed in the greenhouse. Low carbohydrate (-CHO) plants v;ere obtained
by frequent clipping.

"In 1938 and 1939 here at the Laboratory a number of clones of Kentucky
bluegrass were grovm in gravel culture and the water used was measured.
A number of clipping treatments were used. The greatest amount of v;ater
was used v;hen the plants were clipped every 12 weeks and the least when
they were clipped every 10 days — .the ratio being about 8 to 1. The water
transpired by a plant increases considerably as it approaches and during
heading, or as the total leaf area increases.

"For orchards, as a matter of conserving the moisture in the soil as well
as to provide a mulch which would allow greater infiltration, less runoff
and less surface evaporation, it would seem to me advisable to cut the
grass the first time about when the head was emerging and then later in
the summer when the recovery growth had attained any appreciable size-
say 10 inches high. It v:ould seem advisable to leave the cut grass on
the ground rather than remove it. This probably would have as great an
effect in increasing infiltration as in reducing evaporation since the
latter water loss is probably confined to the surface 4 or 5 inches—the
greatest v/ater loss from the soil being through the roots of growing
plants. On droughty soils or in years when drought appears imminent,
it might be advisable to out before the emergence of the head and clip
again vihon recovery was appreciable."

— Y7m. G. Colby

SELECTING THE BLUEBERRY SITE

First of all, the location for the blueberry field should be as
free from the damage of late spring frosts as possible, for while the culti-
vated varieties seem to resist frost better than most of the native varieties,
they sometimes are injured in blossom time and even after fruit has started
growing. Select a site with good ai'r drainage, not a frost pocket.

In selecting the site there are three important characteristics of
the soil to keep in mind;

1. The soil must be acid. A soil with a pH test of 4.4 to 5.1 is best al-
though they will grovf where the soil is as low in acidity as pH 7. They vfill
stand high acidity better than too low acidity, and will do well in soils hav-
ing a pH test lower than 4.4. The Experiment Station will be glad to test
samples of soil at any time to determine the acidity.

2. The soil must be loose in texture, either a sandy peat or a sandy loam.
A 50-50 sand and peat is perhaps ideal but providing the moisture is right,
a sandy loam gives very good results. Heavjr clay soils v;hich tend to pack
should be avoided, although they can be made more suitable by mixing in sand
or mulch. It is very iiaportant that soil is loose enough to enable the roots
to get their oxygen.

-6-

3. The correct amount of moisture appears to be the most important factor
in successful blueberry growing, for while some variation in acidity and
texture of soil will be tolerated, the water content must be just about right.
Therefore, it is best to select a site which is as nearly right as possible
and then by either drainage or irrigation to make conditions still better.
Wild varieties grow in swampy places, but they have bailt up a mossy mound
at their base so that the roots can get oxygen. In locations of this nature,
where it is not possible to lower the water table, it is sometimes practical
to prepare the lajid in such way that the plants are on ridges. In other
cases, where material such as sajidy loam or plain sand with a peaty bottom
is available, conditions may be corrected by adding fill.

On the other hand, while some species in the wild grow on high,
relatively dry ground, the cultivated blueberry will not. At least it will
not produce first class fruit, except on hillside locations where water from
above is constantly passing down the slope. Where dry conditions exist, it
may be practical to supply water. Underneath irrigation would be preferable
although overhead sprinklers have the added advantage of supplying frost
protection. Heavy mulching is beneficial on too dry locations.

In general, on fairly level land, the plants should be from two
to four feet above the water table and even higher on certain types of land
which keep moist through the summer.

After selecting the site, one should take sufficient time to clear
the land properly and prepare it for planting. It should be well worked up
by plowing and cross discing or by some other satisfactory method, and when
ready for planting, the plants should be set not closer than 8' x 8'. They
may be set 8' x 4' but only with the idea of removing every other plant in
the row after 6-10 years so that the permanent planting will be 8' x 8'.

(The foregoing discussion of blueberry soils and culture was written by a
pioneer blueberry grower, John Carleton of Sandwich.)

POIV APPLE PICKING PROJECT - A PROGRESS REPORT

German Prisoners of War are harvesting a fairly large proportion
of the scattered apple crop in the Nashoba area. Up to September 15 they
had worked a total of 32,639 Man-Hours in Middlesex and V/orcester Counties
and 5,972 in Hillsboro County, N.H. Transportation is furnished by the
grower for which he receives an allowance based on mileage and number of
POW's transported. The total transportation allowances in the two areas
mentioned above are $893 and $279 respectively, while the net balances paid
by the growers are $18,690 and |3,005.

In addition to 44 fruit projects (one cranberry) thus far, at
least a dozen -uegetable grov/ers are availing themselves of POW help. During
the 5-day period, September 10 to 14, the following numbers of POlV's were
at work. Mass, (apples) - 394, 455, 408, 380, and 242 (total man-days, 1899);
Mass. (vegetables) - 191, 188, 219, 230, and 215 (total man-days, 1,043);
N.H. (apples) - 29, 132, 129, 132, and 103 (total man-days, 525). The min-

-7-

imum unit is 15 workers under one anued guard, although the unit is sone-
times reduced to 14 on account of illness. Thus far there have been no
more than half a dozen cases of illness or accident in the field requiring
a trip by a staff car to transport a P0V7 back to camp.

Many grav;ers have expressed their satisfaction witli the work done
by the PQT's this season. Here are quotations from two letters: "They vrere
in every way cooperative, willing, able and intelligent, far more so than
any group we had last season." "I am writing to commend the work of the
prisoners of war v;ho picked apples in my orchard Sept. 5 to 10. These men,
whose names I list below, started off slowly but once acquainted with the
work, they became steady, industrious, and cooperative workers. The fore-
man and I have felt ourselves most fortunate in having this particular crew
and are sorry to have run out of apples just when these men were reaching
top notch ability. Y/hatevor their political views may be, I take my hat
off to them as workers."

In one orchard where one or two units worked nine days and picked
a total of 3,972 bushels of apples, the numbers of bushels picked per man
per day v;ere as follows; 21-, 24-*, 26, 23-, 25, 25*, 18-, 10-, and 22*
(average, 21*5). The apple picking project will continue until about Oct-
ober 20.

LOOKING AHEAD

ViTith the end of the war and the "reconversion" to peace, conditions
are changing rapidly. How will this affect the fruit grov/er and what should
he do about it? This question was the basis for a series of discussions by
professional horticulturists at Nev;- Brunswick, Nev/ Jersey, on August 27 and
28. Representatives were present from most of the northeastern states and
from the United States Department of Agriculture.

As a result of the discussions, the follovdng recommendations and
suggestions regarding the future of the fruit industry vrere dravm up;

1. Remove orchards v/hich are unprofitable either because of age, un-
favorable soil or climatic conditions, or undesirable varieties,

2. No increase in the present total commercial production of tree fruits
seems desirable under the apparent marketing conditions. New plant-
ings should be made only to maintain present production and to secure
a proper succession of plantings.

3. More thought and study should be given by many fruit growers to the /
possibilities of some diversification in their source of revenue aside
from one kind of fruit.

4. Groirers are advised to give more attention than previously to the
selection of the site and soil for any new tree fruit planting ta\d
to the best land use on their own farm.

-8-

5. No varieties should be commercially planted without a searching
investigation by the grower of their merits from the standpoint
of both tree and fruit qualities and particularly with respect to
their adaptability to the locality where they are to be planted.

6. Better varieties are needed in most districts,

7. plant well-grown, vigorous, healthy, virus-free trees with uniformly
strong, congenial rootstooks.

8. An increase in the yield per acre of a good grade of fruit is impera-
tive.

9. Every effort should be made in cooperation with public sind private
agencies to reduce the con^^lexity and cost of production and marketing,

10, The growers need to assume more responsibility for the condition of
fruits as delivered to the consumer.

In future issues of Fruit Notes these recommendations will be
discussed further,

— J. S. Bailey

APPLE STORAGE COOLED BY NEVf METHOD

After months of exhaustive tests, a large apple storage in the
Wenatchee district in Washington is now being cooled by what is known as
the reversed air method. In this storage which holds 260 carloads and
looks like a civic auditorium, a huge blast fan pumps 50,000 cubic feet of
air per minute past great banks of cold pipes. The air goes through one
set of ducts for three hours and then is reversed automatically when a time
clock sets the machinery in motion which shifts the dampers and sends the
air in the other direction. The intake ducts thus become outlets, and the
air passes through the rooms in the opposite direction. This makes it pos-
sible for air at a temperature of 26° to be blown through the rooms because
its direction will be reversed before the fruit near the intake ducts is
frozen.

The temperature of the air rises a few degrees as it travels across
the room although every three hours the direction changes and the warm side
becomes the cold side. Extensive tests have shown that less than one degree
difference in fruit temperatures will be experienced in any part of the stor-
age room, - corner, center, top or bottom. This new method, therefore,
means not only quicker cooling but more uniform cooling.

Believing that the whirling compressors are the most impressive
part of a cold storage plant, the architect has placed them in this building
where passers-by csin see the wheels spin. A huge sound-proof plate glass
panel separates the manager's office from the compressor room. Every con-
ceivable modern feature has been built into the plant to keep pace with the
new reversed air installation, and to improve the quality of the product
during the highly competitive years ahead.

7 '-.5^

October 29, 1945

Prepared by the Fruit Program Committee
of the Extension Service

W. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Con tents

Fall Spraying to Reduce Apple Scab Carryover

Shrivelling of j^ples in Storage

Conserving the Orchard Soil

I/3oking All ■sad

Post-War Readjustments in Fruit Farming

A Note on Orchard Management

FALL SPRAYING TO REDUCE APPLE SCAB CARRYOVER

I. ■ ■ ■ ■ !■ I ■ - II- !■! ■ ■ m m m « ■■■! ■ ■ ^ I ■ 11 !■ - I ■ ■ ■ ■ »■ ■ ■■ ■ -ui ■ -^ l». — ■■■■

Growers are expressing more interest than usual in the possibility
of fall treatments in the orchard for the purpose of eliminating or reducing
the overwintering supply of the Spab fungus. This interest is to be ex-
pected in view of the generally heavy leaf infections that occurred this
season. Those most interested in the question appear to be growers who gen-
erally find it difficult to operate a heavy spray rig in the orchard at the
proper time in the spring when an eradicative spray should be applied to the
orchard floor.

Issued by the Extension Service in furthereoice of Acts of May 8 and June 30,
1914, V^illard A. Munson, Director, Massachusetts State College, United States
Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

»2-

Plant pathologists who have devoted much time to this subject have
been unable to locate a spray that, when applied to the matured leaves short-
ly after harvest, will eradicate the Scab fungus without appreciable injury
to the trees, to the fruit buds in particular. Moreover, even though such
a spray mixture were discovered, its use could not be expected to be very
effective for the reason that in most seasons many scabbed leaves fall to
the ground before the eradicative post-harvest spray could be applied to the
trees. Hence, for the present, the use of an eradicative spray to the trees
following harvest seems to be out of the question.

There remains, then, the advisability of a ground spray in the late
fall or early winter. It is a well proven and accepted fact that early spring
applications of certain sprays to the orchard floor are very effective in
destroying the Scab fungus in the overwintered leaves. Effective sprays in-
clude one-half per cent solution of sCdium dinitro-ortho-cresolate (Elgetol)j
100 pounds of sulfate of ammonia in 100 gallons of spray; 100 pounds of ni-
trate of soda plus 4 pounds of calcium arsenite in 100 gallons of spray.
Are these same sprays equally effective v>rhen applied to the leaves on the
ground in the fall? There appears to be no experimental evidence on this
question. Pathologists who established the usefulness of the springtime
eradicative sprays have indicated (through correspondence this fall) that
the same sprays might be expected to prove effective, although it is point-
ed out that the Scab organism is not in the same stage of development in
the early winter as it is at delayed-dormant time in the spring. Further-
more, it v;ould be advisable to wait until practically all the leaves are
down before such a ground spray is applied in the fall. It is felt that
if such caustic sprays are applied in late fall or early winter to both the
ground and the remaining leaves on the trees,. Injury to fruit buds would
likely result.

Hence, it seems advisable for growers who ordinarily cannot get
into their orchards at the silver tip to delayed dormant period and who
wish to try out a fall or early winter eradicative spray for Scab control,
to wait until all of the leaves are on the ground. Then wet the leaves
thoroughly on the ground with one of the sprays mentioned above, preferably
Elgetol one-half to one gallon in 100 gallons of spray. Thorough coverage
of the floor cannot be expected v;ith less than 550 to 600 gallons of spray
per acre. For those who generally are able to operate the spray rig in the
orchard in the early spring, it is preferable to wait until that time of
year to apply the eradicative spray to the orchard floor,

— 0. C. Boyd

SHRIVELLING of APPLEI3 IN STORAGE

Studies on shrivelling of apples in storage by Dr. Smock of Cornell
University indicate that the early part of the season often is a critical
period. Dry boxes and wooden walls absorb a great deal of moisture and keep
the air dry. The obvious solution is to keep the floors and perhaps the
walls v/et, especially in the Fall months. Vfetting the boxes themselves
would be an even more effective procedure but might not be advisable if
apples are stored in market boxes,

— R. A. Van Meter

-3-.

COIISERVING THE ORCHARD SOIL

Since good orchards are almost invariably found on sloping areas
of fairly high elevation, the problem of erosion is of real concern to the
fruit grower. In one such orchard, sheet erosion over a period of thirty
years has raised at least tvro feet the layer of loimy, surface soil above
a stone v/all at the base of the slope. At the top of the hill one is con-
scious of walking on a compact, cement-like material, the subsoil of years
past. But sheet erosion, or a downward shift of the surface layer is only
one of the problems involved. Gullied roadways, unequal stimulation of
trees through a movement of nitrates, exposure of roots to winter injury
and a disrupting of new seedings are also of concern to anyone interested
in orchard management .

The writer has often wished that a particular hilltop orchard which
towers above an extensive marsh, might be the recipient of an "upward shift."
Its response to a layer, one foot in depth, of fertile loam crammed full of
organic matter, challenges the imagination. The only hitch in this vision-
ary project is that a loamy soil, once shifted to a lov/er level seldom if
ever moves back to its original position. Our job is to prevent this soil
movement, so far an possible, and here's where the principles of soil con-
servation should be applied.

Are all soil types and all kinds of topography suited to contour
planting? The answer is definitely "No." A hummocky area or one with
abrupt, irregular slopes is not suitable because they involve either rows
with drastic curves, or short rows. But if we make a study of the various
soil types, v;e will find that those best suited to the grOF/ing of tree
fruits such as the Paxton, Charlton, Colrain, and Gloucester series are
generally of a slope well suited to contour planting. Anyone contemplating
the setting of a new orchard should become familiar with the available soil
types and plant only on those rating at least lQi%. He should also seek the
council of a skilled soil conservationist. This service may be arranged
through the county extension office.

Keeping the soil where it is, making water penetrate where it falls,
and preventing gullies are easier of accomplishment than most folks realize.
They do not entail the same practices in every orchard. But in every case
one must cooperate with nature. If harrowing is to be done, the driver
should travel as nearly on a level as possible. Alternate strips may be
more safely harrowed than the entire orchard. And it should be borne in
mind -that a heavy cover of vegetation, either growing or in the form of a
mulch is an excellent means of encouraging the penetration of rainfall.
Water, soaking into the soil where it falls, comes into contact with roots
which need it, while that which flows to the foot of the slope is merely
added to an already existing surplus. Soil conservation halts the loss of
water, soluble mineral elements, and the finer soil particles, processes
which tend to make a poor soil poorer. Post war agriculture must of neces-
sity team up vath soil conservation.

-4-

LOOKING AHEAD (continued from September issue)

As indicated in September Fruit Notes, a meeting of 15 eastern
pomologists representing 9 states and the U.S.D.A., was held at the State
University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, on August 27 and 28 for the purpose
of discussing "Reconversion Problems in Fruit Production." On the second
day, a series of recommendations and suggestions was drawn up and approTed
vj-ith regard to the future welfare of the fruit industry, as follows:

1. Remove orchards which are unprofitable either because of age, un-
favorable soil or climatic conditions, or undesirable varieties,

2. No increase in the present total commercial production of tree fruits
seems desirable under the apparent marketing conditions. Nev^ plant-
ings should be made only to maintain present production and to secure
a proper succession of plantings.

3. More thought and study should be given by many fruit growers to the
possibilities of some diversification in their source of revenue
aside from one kind of fruit,

4. Growers are advised to give more attention than previously to the
selection of the site and soil for any new tree fruit planting and
to the best land use on their ovm farm,

5. No varieties should be commercially planted without a searching in-
vestigation by the grower of their merits from the standpoint of
both tree and fruit qualities and particularly v/ith respect to their
adaptability to the locality vifhere they are to be planted,

6. Better varieties are needed in most districts,

7. Plant well-grown, vigorous, healthy, virus-free trees with uniformly
strong, congenial rootstocks.

8. An increase in the yield per acre of a good grade of fruit is
imperative,

9. Every effort should be made in cooperation with public and private
agencies to reduce the complexity and cost of production and marketing,

10. The growers need to assume more responsibility for the condition of
fruits as delivered to the consumer,

1. "Remove orchards ..,." The Extension Service has been ad-
vocating this for years. In \7PA days many unprofitable trees were cut
down. However, there are still many orchards which need to be pruned with,
an axe. Orchards where the trees are too thick, orchards on poor soils,
orchards of poor varieties, need to be given special consideration in order
to reduce the cost of production.

It may legitimately be asked, when does an orchard become too old
to be profitable? Unfortunately, no rule of thumb method can be given for

-5-

answoring this question. Since conditions vary from orchard to orchard,
each grower should consider carefully the records of his older blocks.
Are they producinj^ enough to pay for their increased cost of upkeep and
yield a profit besides?

Orchards on unfavorable soils or sites should be eliminated to
increase the efficiency of the enterprise. Orchards on unfertile soils,
on soils too dry or too vret, in frost pockets or on sites subject to win-
ter injury must be viewed with a critical eye. Sometimes only part of a
block is on poor soil or in a poor location. This often results from the
old practice of planting in more or less rectangular blocks. Too often
a fence or hedgerow has' determined the size and shape of an orchard.
The practice of removing hedgerows and stone fences, v/hich is becoming
more common among fruit growers, is to be commended. This allov/s the or-
chard to be fitted to the soil and site instead of planting that north
five acres and then hoping the trees in the poorer places can be carried
along somehow. Those poor spots v;ill probably grow better mulch than trees.

Remember the New England Seven?' A bulletin illustrating them in
color was published in 1928. That v;asn't the first attempt to eliminate
poor ■varieties, but it v/as a notev/orthy one. And still there are orchards
with varieties no longer profitable to raise. Fuel is scarce. It's an
excellent time to use the axe.

2. "No increase ...," In viev; of the present overall situation,
it appears that no increase in the total planting of apples and peaches for
the country as a v/hole is justified. However, there are local situations
which should justify small increases. Some growers may need to increase
the size of their plantings to the point where labor saving equipment can
be used economically. Twenty years ago there vias talk of Mcintosh being
over planted. Yet the number of Mcintosh trees has increased from 240,000
in 1925 to 376,000 in 1940 and Mcintosh still has a ready market in all
except the occasional year such as 1942 when a large Mcintosh crop coincided
with a large total crop. With better handling and distribution, it should
be possible to sell many more Mcintosh than are sold at present.

The overall outlook for peaches is one of heavy planting and prob-
able over-production in the very near future. Peach plantings in Massachu-
setts are at the lov/est ebb since peach growing was started. Good home-grovm,
tree-ripened peaches always find a ready market even Virhen the shipped-in
supply is large. Therefore, some increase in Massachusetts peach planting
seems justified. Since very few pears, plums, and cherries are grown in
Massachusetts, plantings of the better -varieties of these fruits could be
increased. They should be particularly valuable for the roadside stand trade.

3, "More thought ..,." Notice that this recommendation says
"thought and study. ,■». given, .. .to the possibilities." That doesn't mean
that every fruit grower should diversify. Perhaps your particular setup,
your temperament, your training, your market or any one of numerous other
reasons may make it inadvisable for you to diversify, "Thought and study"
should reveal this.

The word "diversification" should be given the broadest possible
interpretation. Thinking of diversification in terms of growing other tree
fruits or small fruits is too narrow. Any source of income, aside from the
main crop, whether it be running a gasoline station, renting a truck or
tractor to the town for road work, keeping poultry, fattening livestock, or
selling gravel, should be considered as diversification. Look around you,
Vfhat other worthwhile opportunities do you have or could you develop?

4. "Grov;ers are advised ...." The selection of a good site and
good soil is highly important, especially with peaches, when one considers
that the success or failure of a long time venture depends to a large extent
on this decision. In making this decision old conceptions should be cast
aside and the farm thought of as a unit. How can the farm be divided up,
regardless of present field boundaries, to make the best use of the sites
and soils available? The soil conservation service has studied intensely
this matter of land use and is in a position to give much aid in working
out a plan.

5. "No varieties ...." This may seem like a big order> but it
must not be forgotten that the final decision concerning any variety rests
with the grov;er, and further that this decision, like that regarding site
and soil, will have a very important bearing on the future success or failure
of the orchard. The State College and other agencies test varieties and
eliminate some which are obviously worthless and make general recommendations
in regard to the rest. For a particular set of conditions on a particular
farm the grov^er must take all the information available and use it as it ap-
plies to his conditions,

6. "Better ...." Fevj- v:ould disagree with this. Massachusetts
needs one or more better late winter apples. An apple of Mcintosh quality
and season that v;ouldn't bruise so easily would be a great help,

7. "plant ...." Sometimes the temptation to cut planting costs,
especially when prices for trees is high, is very great. Buying low grade
trees is poor economy because they usually get off to a poor start and never
catch up with high grade nursery stock. The chance of getting virus troubles
in apples is very slight, because only one virus disease has been reported

on apples and it is irery uncommon. No virus diseases of pears have been re-
ported. Plums are carriers of peach yellows but are not affected by the
disease and show no symptoms. Peaches and cherries, on the other hand, are
subject to several virus diseases. V/'ith the increasing use of clonal root-
stocks and double working of trees to produce trees with more hardy frame-
works, more attention will have to be paid to getting compatible combinations,

8. "An increase ...." The words good grade should be emphasized.
Anything has a market this year, but don't forget that green Mcintosh were a
problem last year and that in 1942 only U.S. No. 1 could be sold to the gov-
ernment. Ijj a big crop year, poor apples are hard to sell even for cider,

9. "Every effort ...." Fruit growing has become during the past
20 or 30 years a more and more highly specialized and complex business. Can
this trend be reversed? Can, for example, the number of materials and the
number of spraye used in pest control be reduced? A single material applied

once a year to control all insects sind diseases would be ideal. Visionary?
Yes, but so was the atomic bomb 20 years ago. Simplification is certainly
coming but it will take a great deal of effort on the part of many agencies.

10. "The grower ,..." The question may legitimately be raised
as to just how much responsibility the grower should be expected to take.
Fruit may pass through the hands of several individuals or concerns betvifeen
the time it leaves the grower and the time it reaches the consumer. If the
grower delivers the fruit in good condition v;hen he makes his sale, doesn't
his responsibility end? Hasn't he done his part?

In answer to these questions let us ask some others. Wtio should
take the responsibility for all the poor and unattractive apples offered
for sale in various stores? If the grocer ruins them, isn't that his hard
luck? Or if the v/holesaler ruins them, isn't that his hard luck? The grov;-
er has received his money for the apples. Is he concerned? Suppose the
public won't buy apples but buys other fruit instead, then who suffers? No
matter v;ho ruins the apples they are still the product of the fruit growers'
sv;eat and toil on which he is depending for a living. If the fruit grower
doesn't take more responsibility for seeing that the consumer is offered good
apples, who will?

— J. S. Bailey

POST-VJAR RE-AD JU S TK ENTS IN FRUIT FARIvII NG

Like every other important branch of Massachusetts agriculture,
fruit farming will face many readjustments, which, if carried out success-
fully, should place the local fruit industry, especially apple growing, in
a sound competitive position. The problem of wartime OTerexpajision v^hich
may arise in connection with some other lines of agricultural production
is not one to trouble the fruit industry. As a matter of fact, within re-
cent years in the country as a whole the replacement of old orchards has
been on a rather low level. Apple consumption, on the other hand, is at
the point where it has already met all its competitive factors and its course
promises at least stability, if not some expansion, in line with a generally
higher trend in demand for fruit products.

V/ith this generally favorable background, the Massachusetts pro-
ducers will be able to maintain and even improve their position if they
continue proper efforts to organize the industry according to the best
methods that are now available both in production and in distribution.

From a long-time point of view it is vitally necessary to secure
the location of orchards in areas with the most suitable soil and climate
conditions. Considerable progress has been made within recent years in
soil classification in this state to determine the land best adapted for
the growing of fruit. Likewise the lessons of long experience clearly in-
dicate the necessity of proper location of orchards in relation to air
drainage and avoidance of frost pockets.

From the immediate point of view it will be important to keep the
orchards in vigorous condition by removal of old trees and sufficient new
plantings to provide for both replacements and possible expansion on the
more favorable sites.

-8-

With the general trend toward mechanization in the whole field of
agriculture, fruit fanners should also take advantage of possibilities pro-
vided by nev; types of machinery, such as light tractors, trucks and electric
motors. This should provide for greater efficiency in the use of labor and
the possibility of taking care of larger producing units with the same amount
of labor. The latest developments in spraying materials and methods should
be properly studied and adopted.

Much as can be accomplished on the production side of the business,
the opportunities for improvement in the handling and marketing of the product
are equally great. The advantageous location of the Massachusetta industry
in the midst of the greatest consuming area has not been heretofore explored
to the fullest possible extent. There is no reason why more Massachusetts
apples should not be sold both within the State and in outside areas if more
forceful action is taken in marketing the product and if proper methods are
adopted by more growers for the grading, inspecting and packaging of the
product. In the matter of the adoption of nev; methods of handling and market-
ing their product the Massachusetts fruit producers on the v^hole have been
more conservative than those in other sections of the country. The natural
advantages of the quality of the local product and of location in the prin-
cipal consuming region should enable the fruit growers in this State to im-
prove their competitive position considerably, if the modern methods of
production and distribution are fully adopted and developed.

— David Rozman

A NOTE OH ORCHARD MANAGEMENT

The campaign to eliminate the plow from our list of farm implements
is apparently passing into obscurity and our Massachusetts onion and tobacco
growers continue to plow their fields. The plow has, for more than 20 years,
been practically obsolete in Massachusetts apple orchards. Sod culture and
mulching are the most common practices. Liberal nitrogen applications are
essential in the sod orchard but we have observed that nitrogen fertiliza-
tion of mulched orchards may be injurious after a few years of liberal ap-
plication of mulch. The primary objective in applying phosphorus and potash
in the orchard is to favor the grovrbh of grasses and other plants needed to
maintain soil organic matter. The v/riter believes that it will pay to use
a grass fertilizer, perhaps a 7-7-7 formula on grass land outside the orchard
to grow hay for mulching purposes. In our experience such a program will
generally make unnecessary any direct fertilizer application to the orchard
trees. There are doubtless special cases where something additional will be
necessary.

— J. K. Shaw

The strawberry planting should be mulched soon after the ground
freezes. It is just as important not to mulch too early as too
late. It takes several light frosts to accomplish the hardening
of the plants, and fully matured plants can endure a temperature
as lovif as 21° F. The mulch should be applied before the temper-
ature drops below that level.

November 26, 1945

Prepared by the Fruit Program Committee
of the Extension Service

W. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

Winter School for Fruit Growers

Supply Outlook for Fungicides and Insecticides

Apple Blocm in Massachusetts; 1798-1849

Removing Trees and Brush for Frost Prevention

Chemical Elements Required by Plants

Prospective Use of DDT Against Fruit Insects

Experiments with DDT at Maine Agr. Exp. Sta»

Notes from DDT Conference

Do YOU Know?

The Present Situation in the Fruit Business

WINTER SCHOOL FOR FRUIT GROWERS - January 21 to 25, 1946

This school is intended primarily for experienced fruit growers -
for foremen, for skilled workmen, for the orchard owner who wishes to
come abreast of recent developments. It will review the fundamentals
of fruit growing, but it will emphasize particularly the things that
are new. Look for further announcement in December Fruit Notes.

iBBued by the Extension Service in furtherstnce of Acts of May 8 and June
30, 1914, V/illard A. Munson, Director, Massachusetts State tollege, Unite<i
States Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services aooperat-
ing.

^ 2 ^

SUPPLY OUTLOOK ^OR rUNSICIDBS ,AITD IHSSCTICIEBS IH 19^6

Exports Increased ; The Chemical Unit of the Bureau of Foreign and Domes-
tic Commerce forecasts heavy exports of fungicides, insecticides, disinfec-
tants and other sanitation supplies in 19^6, It is expected that export
shipments will increase from the pre-war value of $5,000,000 to around
$11,000,000, Copper sulfate is the material in greatest demand. In 19^3
the United States shipments abroad of this item alone were valued at approx-
imately six and one-half million dollars. In the same year, exports of other
pesticides were as follows: nicotine sulfate $593fOOO; calci'om arsenate
$510,000; lead arsenate $USl+,000; Paris green $196,000; seed disinfectants
$185,000; petroleum oil sprays $131,000; rotenone-hearing materials $3^,000;
and chloropicrin $22,000,

Domestic Supply Ample in Most Cases : In its October issue of A. I, P. News,
the Agricultural Insecticide and Fungicide Association made the following
announcement regarding anticipated supplies of agricultural pesticides for
19^6: rotenone, tight ; nicotine, tight with supplies uncertain ; borax, foi>-
maldehyde, paradichlorobenzene, organic fungicides and wettable spreaders,
tight to adequate ; practically all others, including pyrethrum and DOT formu-
lations, adequate to ample.

Exceptions to the stated situation for organic fungicides are as
follows: The supply of Fermate is reported (November 12) by the manufacturer
to be ample for use not only on farm crops but on greenhouse crops and outside
ornamentals as well. It will be available in threo'-^ound bags and 25-pound
drums. The manufacturers and distributors of Puratized state (November) that
the supply of Puraturf may be adequate for disease control in turfs and lawns,
but that stocks of the Puratized Agricultural Spray v/ill be sufficient only
for limited use under caref^ol supervision. This spray has proven highly ef-
fective experimentally in the control of apple scab in Massachusetts during
the past two seasons.

Need for Early Orders and Recommendations ; Due to the hangover of labor
and container shortages, production of fungicides and insecticides is expected
to be slow and gradual with distinct interruptions at times. For this reason,
the manufacturers and distributors are still requesting that users place their
orders as early as possible in order that distributors may know what to ex-
pect for their total orders and stocked supplies, and in order to insure an
orderly, even flow of supplies from the manufacturers to the retailers, This
appears to be particularly important in the case of nicotine and other mater-
i^s that are likely to be short in supply. Such materials should by all
means be ordered early in the winter so that they will be on hand for emergency
use during the growing season.

The Agricultural Insecticide and Fimgicide Association also recont-
mends and urges that, in view of the increased supplies of new fungicides and
insecticides, Federal and State pest control recommendations for 19^6 be
issued to farmers just as early this fall and winter as possible. Doing so
will permit farmers to estimate their needs and to place orders in ample
time for normal delivery. If release of recommendations is delayed until
next spring or suxamer, a "rush on the market" for new pesticides may be ex>-
pected, resulting in all probability in marked local shortages and unequit-
able distribution.

-3-

Price Outlooki Although manufacturers of fungicides and insecticides
have not yet announced prices for the 1946 season, it is felt by some at
least that there is likely to be an increase in price for many of the stand-
ard materials over last year's figures.

Recommendations for 1946s Information on the recommended use« of the
newer fungicTdes ^d~irisecticides in Massachusetts for 1946 will appear in
this publication from time to time during the winter months, as well as in
the revised printed pest control schedules.

— 0. C Boyd and A. I. Bournd

APPLS B LOOM IN liASSACH USETT S; 17 98-.1849

(Me are indebted to Prof. R. L. McIIunn of the Dept. of Horticulture,
University of Illinois, for calling to our attention this interesting informa-
tion printed in an old Boston publication.)

The blooming period of fruits is one of the records invariably taken
by workers who have charge of varietal test orchards. For the most part such
records do not date back more than fifty to sixty years. Scattered references
in the early proceedings of horticultural societies and early farm papers
yield some information, yet it is v;ith difficulty that the year to year per-
formance can be gotten for a given location. Just recently I came across an
article giving the blO'Oming dates of apples for the years 1798-1849 in Massa-
chusetts, so am presenting this data to you. The article, which appeared on
June 23, 1849 on page 213 of Volume 1, Number 14, of "The Nev/ England Farmei"
(published in Boston), a semi-monthly journal devoted to agriculture, horti-
culture, etc. is as follows;

"Ilr. Editors Thinking that you may be pleased to lay before your readers
the follov^ing table, I forward it for insertion in the New England Farmer. It
contains the blossoming of apple-trees in Mansfield, Massachusetts for fifty-
tT-v'o years, from 1798 to 18'49, inclusives

1798-May 13

1799- " 19

1800- "

1801- "

1802- "
1303- "

1804- "

1805- "
18«.6- "

1807- "

1808- "

1809- "

1810- "

17
17
26
22
22
14
27
27
18
25
1»
15

1815-May

1816-

1817-

1818-

1819-

1820-

1321-

1822-

1823*

1824-

1825-

1826-

1827-

1828-

1829-

1830-

1831-

183 2 -Hay

1833- "

1834- "

1835- "

1836- "

1837- "

1838- "

1839- "

1840- "

1841- "

1842- "

1843- "

1844- "

1845- "

184fi- "

1847- "

1848- "

1849- "

-4-

"Observation - May 9, 1930, and June 2, 1812 are the two extremes. Dif-
ference, 24 days; the mean of v;hich is May 21. The mean annual blooming for
the whole fifty-tv/o years, is exactly May 21. The meaji of the first 26 years,
is May 22, nearly; and of the last 26 years, is May 20. The observations
were taken when the blossoms had fully expanded, generally, (except some late
kinds, as the russets, etc.) and their petals had begun to fall to the ground}
(that is, as many petals had fallen as what remained to expand.)

"My father, Isaac Stearns, Sen., who was a farmer of Mansfield, took the
old Farmer's Almanac, published by Robert B. Thomas, from its commencement,
in 1791, till his death, (my father's), in 1837, and carefully noted in the
margin of the Almanacs, the time of the blossoming of apple and other trees,
with other events, which are to this day preserved in the family, making
four good-sized volumes. We have been careful to continue the practice, so
that you may depend upon the accuracy of the memoranda.

Most respectfully yours,
Mansfield, June 4, 1849 Isaac Stearns '^

The editor of the magazine, S. 17. Cole, commenting on the article, said
many persons have observed this is the latest season (i.e. 1849) they ever
knev/. By the above record it appears that several seasons have been more
backward, and one was four days later.

In Illinois the almanac is consulted to determine the better time to
plant, best fishing days, the phase of the moon and is a place to set down
the date when the old grey mare will foal. Massachusetts has gone us one
better and made, out of fifty- two almanacs, a four volume set, which we
might call "Apple Blossom Time in Massachusetts."

REMOVING TREES AITD BRUSH FOR FROST PRE VEN TION

Most fruit growers are familiar with the term "air drainage" and its
relation to the occurrence of frost in the orchard; an orchard with good air
drainage is relatively free from frost while an orchard with poor or inadequate
drainage is the one to get frozen out.

Frequently orchards which are located on comparatively high elevations
appear to have good air drainage but are damaged by spring frosts. This is
sometimes due to a thick stand of trees or brush bordering the orchard on the
lower side of the slope which acts as a barrier to the natural flow of cold air
and causes it to back up and accumulate in the orchard.

The removal of trees and brush bordering the orciiard will often aid
in lessening frost injury by allov/ing the cold, heavy air to settle out to
lower levels, provided there is a sufficiently large area of low lying ground
below the orchard.

— Y(. D. Vfeeks

-5-

CHEMI CAL ELE ivIENTS REqUIRED BY PLAIJTS

Carbon (C ) - absorbed by leaves as carbon dioxide (CO2). Used in the manufac-
ture~"of carbohydrates. A by- or end-product of plant and aniraal respiration
and of plant and animal decay.

Hydrogen (K) - absorbed by roots as water (H2O). Used in making food.

Oxygen (O) - absorbed by leaves, stems and roots, as oxygen and by roots, as
water. Also absorbed by roots in other ions as nitrates, phosphates, etc.

Phosphorus (?) - absorbed by roots as soluble phosphate ion (PO4). A con-
stituent of some of the most important plant proteins. "Phosphorus makes seeds."

Potassium (k) - absorbed by roots as soluble potassium ion. A catalyst or
regulator of vital processes. "Potassium makes sugars and starch."

Nitrogen (N) - absorbed by roots mainly as nitrate or ammonium ion. Found in
proteins and protoplasm. "Nitrogen makes leaves."

Sulfur (S) - absorbed by roots as the sulphate ion (SO3). A constituent of

most proteins. Responsible for many characteristic odors and flavors in plants -

onions, cabbage, etc.

CaJciun (Ca) - absorbed by roots from soluble lime compounds. Neutralizes acids
ill soTTs and plants, and provides for proper absorption of other nutrients.

Iron (Fe) - absorbed by roots as iron ion. Necessary/ for the formation of
chlorcphyll, although not a constituent. Often tied up in alkaline soils.

Magnesium (Ug) - absorbed by roots from soluble magnesium and lime compounds.
A constituent of chlorophyll, an acid neutralizer, an.d perhaps a carrier for
phosphorus in plajits.

Boron (B) - absorbed by roots from borates. A catalyst which is toxic if pres-
ent in m re than minute amounts - tied up in alkaline soils.

Manganes e (Lin) - absorbed by roots. A catalyst - tied up in alkaline soils.

Copper (Cu) and Zinc (Zn)- absorbed by roots. Catalysts - probably essential
to grovj-th. Toxic in more than very small amounts. (A few others may be re-
quired in very small amounts.)

PhotoaynthesiB « the manufacture, from water and carbon dioxide,
of primary cai'bohydrate by green plants exposed to (sun) light.

Equations 6CO2 -t SHgO -^CqEizOq + GOg

carbon dioxide -f water — *• sugar -f oxygen

Respiration (breathing) in this process sugar is broken Aown to
carbon dioxide and water.

Equation* CgHi206 "* ^"^2 — * ^^°2 ■*■ 6H2O

sugar -t oxygen-* carbon ■♦ water
dioxide

— A. P. Tuttle

-6-

PR QSPECTIVE U SE OF DDT A GAINS T FRUIT DTSECTS

DDT has shown promise for the control of such important fruit-insect
pests as the codling moth, apple leafhoppers, oriental fruit moth, grape
berry moth, grape leafhoppers, rose chafer, Japanese beetle, little fire
ant on citrus in Florida, sucking bugs that cause distortion of peaches,
and, in preliminary small-scale tests, some others. It does not appear
promising in the control of the plum curculio, orchard mites, or pear psylla,
and its value for the control of scale insects and aphids, or plant lice,
that infest" various kinds of fruits is questionable. For the control of
fruit insects it has, in general, been most satisfactory when used in the
form of a water-dispersible pov/der at the rate of l/2 to 1 pound (more often
1 pound) per 100 gallons of spray. It can be used in combination with most
of the common insecticides, such as lead arsenate, cryolite, and nicotine
preparations, with fungicides such as various forms of sulfur and bordeaux
mixture, and v;ith oil. For the control of the little fire ant in citrus groves,
the best results have been obtained by spraying the trunks and larger branches
of trees with emulsified fuel-oil solutions containing 4 to 8 ounces of DDT
and 2 to 4 quarts of fuel oil per 100 gallons of final spray mixture.

Detailed recommendations for the use of DDT to control fruit insects
are not given here, as for the most part there will be little reason for such
use during the remainer of the 1945 season, and more detailed and reliable
recommendations can be made when the results of experimental work now under
way become available.

— A. I. Bourne

exferhjents y;ith ddt at maine agric. exp. sta.

Some very interesting results have been obtained by Dr. F. H. Lathrop
in the control of fruit insects. Dust containing 3^ DDT, 3 applications,
(average .59 pound per tree), at each application, on apples reduced the jium-
ber of fruit fly egg punctures by approximately 6G^b. The setup was as follows;
An old, neglected orchard at Monmouth, Maine, consisting of 69 trees, including
29 V/olf River, was selected for the test. The rest of the trees were Mcintosh,
Ben Davis, and a few other varieties intermingled. The dust plot included 43
trees. A small backyard planting of neglected and heavily infested trees ad-
joined the orchard on the north. The entire neighborhood was severely infeste»l
with fruit flies. (The "fruit fly" of Maine is the same as our apple maggot.)

Examinations were made of Vfolf River apples from the dusted trees and
from check trees at harvest time. Several hundred apples were examined to as-
certain the percentage of apples stung by the flies. Detailed examinations
were made of several hundred additional apples to ascertain the number of egg
punctures in e ach apple. All of the examinations were cai*e fully made. The
detailed counts of egg punctures, especially, were painstakingly made with the
aid of hand lens and binocular microscope, in the plot dusted with DDT &,!%
of the apples examined were in the "not stung" class while in the check plot
,8^ v/ere in that class. The average niomber of stings per apple in these two
plots were i.68 and 25.92 respectively.

-7-

NOTES FRO M DDT_ CONFEREIICE

Following are a few notes taken at raradom from the minutes of a
conference on DDT held at Horticultural Hall in Boston on October 19 i DDT
has no fungicidal value. It is very effective against mosquitoes. Beneficial
insects killed by DDT include hymenopterous parasites, lacewing flies, lady
beetles (to some extent), and honey bees. It will not control mites, Mexican
bean beetle and some aphids. Among scale insects, crawlers are killed to some
extent. It is very effective against both the grubs aad adults of the Japanese
beetle and against the corn borer. DDT applied April 29 gave protection against
gypsy moth for 6 to 8 weeks. Six weeks after application larvae blovm into
sprayed plots v/ere destroyed, DDT can be combined v/ith most insecticides and
fungicides. Lime probably should be left out of DDT sprays or dusts. DDT is
very effective against leaf hoppers and against fall v/eb worm. It is fairly
effective against oriental fruit moth although very ineffective when used
alone against curculio. There is a possibility that the Food and Drug Admin-
istration may stop the movement of apples v/ith DDT residue.

DO YOU mm

That DDT, if used indiscriminately, may interfere with pollination
and may also destroy insect parasites and predators which ordinarily keep cer-
tain injurious pests under control? This new material is very deadly against
certain groups of insects such as flies and moths and quite ineffective against
others.

That the small, roundish holes often found side by side in horizontal
rows in the bark of fruit trees are made by a woodpecker commonly known as the
Yellow Bellied Sapsucker? This bird feeds to a limited extent on the inner
bark, cambium and sap of fruit trees although the major portion of its food
consists of insects and wild fruit. The amount of cambium consumed is not
large .

That selective breeding of honeybees is now possible due to the suc-
cessful development of a technique for artificial insemination? Improvement
of the honeybee by breeding, hov/ever, need not be as slow as in cattle breed-
ing because 10 or more generations of bees can be produced during the time
require for one generation of cov/s.

That, in the larger economy of Nature, insects are beneficial? A
prorainei.t entomologist of a generation ago, after pointing out the very bene-
ficial effects of various groups of insects said, "If the time ever comes when
insects are fought to the extent recommended by some economic entomologists,
there v/ill be as a consequence a great economic disaster due to the scarcity
of insects.

That the 8 important commercial apple varieties in British Columbia
include three common New England varieties (Mcintosh, Delicious and Yfealtliy)?
In addition, the British Columbia list includes Rome Beauty, Newtown, Jonatiia«,
Vfinesap and Stayman.

-8-

That fruit prices fluctuated widely after Tforld War 13 On Armis-
tice Day in 1918, orsinges for example, were quoted at 51.5/ per dozen. By
the middle of 1919 the price had dropped slightly to 5l/, but by the middle
of 1920 it had soared to 71.8/ per dozen, and later in 1920 it crashed to
43.7/. It is to be hoped that history will not repeat itself.

That bees may go a mile and a half or more from well established .
colonies in search of nectar and pollen? In a California study, honey-bees
constituted 62^ of the blossom visitors in a pear orchard, and one bee -visited
84 pear blossoms to obtain its load of pollen. It was estimated that on a
good flight day, 822,720 bees issued from 16 colonies in one pear orchard.
Strong over-wintered colonies surpassed package bees in population, flight
activity and amount of pollen gathered.

That a helicopter is being used successfully in the dusting of more
than 4,000 acres of vegetables on muck soils in Michigan. One big advantage
is found in the fact that a helicopter may be used v/hen the soil is too wet
for an ordinary sprayer or duster. The time nay not be far distant when a
helicopter will hover over Mass, apple trees as a humming bird hovers over
a flower.

That tablets containing vitamin G will improve the color and flavor
of h'lae canned peaches, pears and plums? In experiments conducted at the Mass.
Agr. Exp. Sta. it is found that the cost is less than 2/ per pint jar at pres-
ent Gelling prices of tablets at drug stores. Vitamin C acts against oxida-
tion thus preventing darkening and change of flavor in fruit at the top of the
jar v/here it comes in contact with the air.

That 44 million cases of canned fruits and fruit juices, excluding
citrus, will be available to civilians during the 1945 marketing period, com-
pared with approximately 33 million cases in 1944, and 43 million cases in
1943? Because of reduced government needs, set-aside requirements for canned
fruits and fruit juices other than citrus have been terminated.

That the carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and other atoms which make up the
living v;orld of today are the same identical atoms v/hich formed the living
world of a million years ago? This striking comment is found in a recent book,
"Microbes of Merit." According to the author, our own bodies may consist of
some of the identical atoms which once were part of a dinosaur, or of one of
our ovm ancestors. Only the pattern has changed. The same clay is cast in
ever changing molds.

That alloys of magnesium and aluminum make ladders lighter and more
lasting than wood? Twelve-foot ladders designed at Y/ashington State College
weigh approximately 11 pounds less than similar ladders made of wood.

That, in a fertile soil, about 90jJ of the roots of the strawberry
plant are in the upper 6" of soil and nearly 75/o are in the upper 3"? With-
in this limited depth of soil a strawberry plant is a heavy feeder. It is
estimated that about 1^0% of the immediately available mineral elements are
found in the plov/ slice, or darker colored surface, layer.

-9-

That the total holdings of apples in cold storage in the U. S. on
November 1 were about 60^^ of the holdings one year ago? In spite of this
fact the State of Washington actually had more apples in storage Nov. 1 of
this year than it had a year ago (10,958,000 bu. as compared with 8,910,000
bu.) The totals in the U. S. were 30,858,000 ('44) and 18,515,000 ('45).

That about 19,000 farmer ovv-ned and farmer controlled cooperative
associations and mutual companies nov/ operate in the U.S.? More than 10,000
are engaged in marketing farm products and purchasing farm supplies. An es-
timated 3 million farmers hold membership in these organizations.

That agriculture in the U. S., as measured by the value of its goods,
grev/ from a 49 billion dollar industry to a 70 billion dollar industry during
the four years ending January 1, 1944? During these four years the equities
of all owners of farm land and of tenant farmers appear to have increased
nearly 7 billion dollars.

That German Prisoners of TiTar were an important factor in harvesting
the scattered apple crop in the Nashoba area this season? The total number
of man-houis amounted to 54,691, and the net bill paid by 37 growers v;as
$31,297.10. The largest number of man-hours in any one orchard was 6,624,
vihile in four other orchards the total was in excess of 3,000 men-hours.

That a red Bartlett pear has appeared as a bud sport on a tree in
Washington? Because of its bright red color it is believed to have market
possibilities. A second generation tree bore a crop of these unusual pears
this season.

That nearly 90^ of the available nectar produced by flowers in the
U. S., goes to v;aste? It is estimated that there are only about 5,219,000
colonies of bees in this country.

FROST PREVEIJ_TI0N IN THE ORCHAED . A bulletin on frost prevention
in the orchard is in the initial stages of development. To make
this bulletin of more value to Massachusetts growers, vre should
like to have information on experiences of growers, successful or
otherv;ise. Some points v/hich would be of value include (1) the
type of heating equipment used, (2) number of heating units used
per acre, (3) niomber of degrees temperature was raised, (4) at
what temperature were fires started, (5) did the heating pay, and
(6) approximate cost per acre. Any experience which you may have
had in protecting your orchard from frost v/ill be greatly appre-
ciated. Just drop a card to If, D. ViTeeks, Pomology Department,
Massachusetts State College, Amherst, Mass.

Exp eriments with Fruit in R. I. In a recent Experiment Station report we
find the following Interesting conclusions* (1) Solid boxes restricting ven-
tilation shovr promise as a means of reducing water loss of apples during stor-
age. (2) Pre-storage treatments of R.I. Greening apples with high concentra-
tions of carbon dioxide give promise of controlling storage scald.

-10-

THE P RESENT SITUATION IN THE FRUIT BUSIHESS

Y^here soil and site are favorable there is reason to be optimistic
about fruit growing in Massachusetts, although the v/ar years have left many-
fruit enterprises in a "dovm at the heel" crondition. Shortcuts and neglects
have created problems which need prompt attention. The short apple crop of
1945 resulted in a greatly curtailed spray prograia in many orchards, with a
resulting buildup of apple maggot, curculio, codling moth, and apple scab.
This condition must be faced next spring if the prospective bumper crop is to
be brought through in good condition. Labor has been scarce and many growers
have done only enough to "get by". A few growers have done remarkably v;ell,
however, in overcoming handicaps and are entering the postwar period with very
promising prospects. High prices during the past three years have brought a
decided decline in apple grading. It might be said that grading no longer
exists in this state since the most mediocre type of fruit is likely to sell
at the coiling price. This condition cannot continue.

■"iniile orchards have grown older, nev/ plantings have not kept pace
with orchard decline. Yh are not planting a quarter as many trees as are need-
ed in commercial orchards to maintain plantings on a proper age basis. It is
not a question of nevfcomers planting fruit trees, but rather of already estab-
lished growers rejuvenating their present plantings by cutting out older blocks
and planting new ones. The tovm of Kardwick which 35 years ago was an important
apple export town is an excellent example of what happens when apple growers
fail to plant trees. A shortage of good nursery stock at a reasonable price
is partially responsible for the failure of growers to replant.

The spring of 1945 v/ith its frost on April 23, teaches an important
lesson as regards future plantings. Favorable sites, that is, areas relatively
high with respect to the immediately surrounding country, must be selected for
future plantings and varieties must be so distributed as to provide nearby
pollinizers for the Mcintosh variety. All over Massachusetts we have observed
cases this season where Mcintosh trees next to good pollinizers have borne a
good crop while trees more distant from pollinizers bore only a scanty crop.
Bee flight was so limited last spring as to emphasize the need for nearby pol-
linizers. On most fruit farms there has been a tendency to plant open fields
with little or no regard to air drainage. This practice must be discontinued.
Numerous orchards nay be cited in v;hich a particular block bears only now and
then because of frost damage, while other blocks are bearing 500 bushels of
apples per acre per year. Selection of soil and site for future plantings arc
of utmost iiiiportance.

During the past two or three years at least 50 commercial apple grow-
ers in Massachusetts have made a start in the removal of crowding filler trees,
or in the removal of older blocks of trees. This practice should continue,
since many of our applo orchards are now in the 30 to 40 year class where se-
vere crowding is apparent. The apple business would be on a firmer basis if
every commercial grower vrere to follow the example of a few of th" more pro-
gressive growers. Removal of older trees and crowding trees as well as unwant-
ed varieties, and planting of young trees on good .soils and sites by grov/era
now in the business, are strongly recommended.

— ■ <■'

iSil:

•"ft-..*

^§^

'i«i

.vi^

/«

December 31, 1945

Prepared by the Fruit Program Committee
of the Extension Service

V*'. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Content s

New Fungicides for Fruit Diseases

Meadow Mice Control

Control of Orchard Insects with DDT

Cost of Operating a Bulldozer

Air Purification in an Apple Storage

1945 Fruit Crop

1946 Apple and Peach Spray Charts
The "Green Mcintosh" Problem
Classification of Massachusetts Farms
1945 Index

WINTER SCHOOL FOR FRUIT GROVffiRS - January 21-22-23-24.

Massachusetts State College

Amherst, Mass.

NE\T FUNGICIDES FOR FRUIT DISEAS ES

During the recent war period, considerable headway was made by
various manufacturing concerns in the development of new organic fungicides.
Some of these have been tested repeatedly on apples and other fruit crops.
A limited number of then are considered both effective and safe when in-
corporated into our fruit pest control schedules. Others, while effective
fungicides for certain major diseases, are either not safe to the plant
or they present handicaps regarding compatibility with certain other stand-
ard materials commonly used in combined' spray mixtures. In other words,
they are still in the developmental stage and require more experimental

-2-

work in laboratory and field before they can meet the requirements of a
standard fungicide.

Fermate (Ferric dimethyl dithiocarbamate ) . This black, soot-like
powder has""b'een~sub jected to experimentation and field trials for several
years, and is now recognized as a standard fungicide for several fruit
diseases. J-fc is given full recognition in the 1946 apple spray chart.
Fermate may be used either as a spray or a dust. It is compatible with
all other common spray materials including summer oils, except lime and
copper. Although lime does not reduce its fungicidal value, it reacts
chemically with Fermate to form a more soluble compound that may injure
various crops/ Fermate is particularly compatible with sulfur, appearing
to be benefited by the sulfur as well as stepping up the fungicidal value
of the latter, but it should not be mixed v;ith copper,

Fermate, either in dust or spray form, is a decided specific for
cedar rusts on apple and quince. It also acts as a safener for arsenical
injury when combined with lead arsenate. Fermate is as effective as or
better than wettable sulfurs for the control of scab and black rot of
apple and pear, also leaf and fruit spots of pear, and it is much safer
for those crops as regards fruit russet. It likewise is as effective as
standard copper sprays, with much less injury to foliage and fruits, on
apples for control of blotch, Nev; Hampshire fruit spot, and bitter rot.
Fermate is as effective as Bordeaux mixture or copper dusts for black
rot of grapes; the equal of sulfur, and with less injury, for cherry
brown rot and leaf spot. It is considerably superior to Bordeaux and
other copper sprays for the control of cranberry fruit rots. V/hile Fer-
mate is effective against peach scab and brown rot of stone fruits, it
is not considered safe for tender peach foliage.

In 1946, Fermate will be available in three-pound packages as
v/ell as in 20-pound drums. The spray deposit is improved at least on
some crops by the addition of a moderate amount of spreader. Fermate
should be made into a slurry or water suspension before it is added to the
tank, preferably by pouring the mixture, v/ith the spreader, repeatedly from
one large pail or can into another. At the prevailing price of 60 to 70
cents per pound, Fermate may perhaps be employed most economically for
control of cedar rusts and as the standard fungicide on russet-susceptible
varieties such as Baldxvin, Delicious, etc,

Puratized N5-E (Phenyl mercuri triethanol ammonium lactate).
This complex organic compound occurs in true solution, and has been used
extensively by the U.S. armed forces for mildevir-proof ing various kinds
of cloth and other fabrics. It is considered compatible with arsenicals,
nicotine sulfate, fish oil or linseed oil, but not with lime. There is
some question whether it is compatible with summer oils, also with hard
water, and with sulfur and when following sulfur sprays. It is considered
at least as effective as the best wettable sulfurs in preventing apple
scab and black rot; also the equal of limo-sulfur in burning out apple
scab leaf spots without causing any injury whatever to the foliage or fruit.

The principal handicap for Puratized is the extremely small amount
of mercury it contains. As long as there exists no set tolerance for this

-3-

highly poisonous metal on fruits and vegetables, the material must be used
in such a manner as to preclude any mercury residue on the harvested crops.
Analyses made of apples spra^'^ed by Puratized in 1944 and 1945 indicate a
detectible residue of mercury when the spray was used throughout the season,
but none when the spray was discontinued after the first cover spray. If
Puratized is used on fruit crops, it should not be included in the schedule
later than the oalyx or first cover spray.

The supply of Puratized is still limited, and the manufacturers
indicate that it will be plentiful in 1946 only for limited use under care-
ful supervision. It vjill be sold as Puratized Agricultural Spray, and the
stock solution v/hen diluted in the spray tank at the rate of one pint to
loo gallons will give a concentration of the active ingredient of 1:15,000'.

Isothan Q-15 (Lauryl isoquinolinium bromide). This is one of the
recently developed quartenary ammonium derivatives that has given consider-
able promise in the control of apple scab and the leaf and fruit spots of
pears. It, like Puratized, is vifater-soluble ; it possesses a high degree
of inherent vretting and spreading qualities, and it is not supposed to be
poisonous to higher animals. In tlie spray test at the College this year,
(^-15 fell dovm badly in apple scab control, and when combined with lead
arsenate the spray mixture caused considerable fruit russet and pronounced
late season leaf burn characteristic; of arsenical injury. Isothan Q-4 is
a close relative of '<i-15, is a stronger fungicide generally, but it also
causes too much injury to be considered practical.

Phygon or ^604 (2 .3-dichloro-l ,4-naphthoquinone). This promising
nevj- fungicide has been tested rather exteiisively on a number of crops, in-
cluding a dry or dust treatment for vegetable seeds, and has proven gener-
ally highly fungicidal i However, its chief handicap is a tendency to burn
the plant when applied in sufficient concentration to give satisfactory
disease control. Dithane and Methosan are tv;o other new organic fungicides
likev/ise still in the experimental stage of development as regards their
use on fruit crops.

~ 0. C. Boyd

t'EADCTT MIC E_C01^ITR_OT.

Surveys of representative orchards in the Ilashoba area of Massa-
chusetts during the latter part of November indicate moderate infestations
of meadow mice this year. Only one instance of early damage was observed,
but signs of mouse activity were abundaait in several localities.

Field observations show that most orchardists have secured ade-
quate control through use of poisons, but there was evidence tliat some
grov/ers have not seriously considered the following factors:

1. Infestations are spotted or localized and not general throughout
orchards. Some gi-owers have unnecessarily magnified the task of control
operations by placing the poison at every tree. Baits must be placed along
active trails to be effective. Such trails are most numerous in relatively
smn.ll areas v;hich are low. rough, wet. and covered by thick grass or mulch.
Check such locations carefully and don't worry too much about the rest of
the orcharcl.

-4-

2. Meadow mice runways nay also be used by shrews, which are insectivors ,
and the smallest and raost abundant of our mammals. Deer mice too may use
these trails, but they are primarily seed eaters, and like the shrew, do

not constitute a menace to fruit trees. In order to verify results of
poison operations, the runways should be examined for signs of fresh grass
cuttings — a sure indicator that meado\7 mice are still present.

3. Apple cubes, lightly sprinkled with the rodenticide, are the best
baits for use in the fall. VYith the advent of freezing weather, ?inc phos-
phide treated steam crushed oats is preferable. Y/hile some orchardists are
still partial to strychnine grain, there is no evidence to indicate it is
as effective as the zinc phosphide. The bitter taste of strychnine, and
the ability of mice to build up a resistance to it, are two reasons why this
poison is no longer recommended.

4. Foxes, skunks, hawks, owls, wire guards and cleared tree bases are
all helpful in controlling mice, but should be augmented by fall poison op-
erations and frequent winter checks to provide maximum protection.

Massachusetts fruit growers are reminded that assistance with rodent
problems and poisons for control aro available through the United States
Fish & Wildlife Service at the Massachusetts State College.

— TTalter W. Dykstra

CONTROL OF ORG HARD IN SECTS IT ITH DDT

Follov/ing is a brief report covering experiraental work with DDT
submitted by Philip Carman of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station

1. DDT is more effective against the Oriental fruit moth than any chemical
which we have tested in the field so far* Reports from others indicate
that it is equally effective against codling moth,

2. DDT is better for Japanese beetles on peaches than lead arsenate.

3. Combined with Fermate, DDT gave the best control of quince insects and
diseases that we have ever been able to obtain at Mount Carmel. It con-
trolled the quince curculio as well as the codling moth and Oriental
fruit moth.

4. DDT is only partially effective against the plum curculio.

5. DDT is only partially effective against the apple maggot.

6. DDT is useless against the periodical cicada or seventeen-year locust,

7. DDT is useless alone against the European red mite. U. S. Rubber "72 E"
gave promising results for mite control and may prove of value in over-
coming this DDT deficiency. Destruction of lady beetle predators by
DDT-kerosene applications v/as noted at Meriden.

8. DDT dust is ineffective against the adult pear psylla. Nicotine dust is
much more effective.

Fruit Moth

of trees
8

7.20

3.44

1.48

10.95

-5-

9. DDT is safe on peaches v/here standard lead arsenate is not.

10. DDT, in general, does not cause as much foliage injury to apples as
unaafened standard arsenate of lead.

11. DDT is no more destructive to honeybees than arsenate of lead, probably
less. From the evidence at hand, it is not nearly as toxic as origin-
ally feared.

12. DDT v/ill be useful, certainly on quinces, probably on peaches, possibly
on apples and to a very limited extent, if at all, on pears. The main
factors operating against full-scale use on apples lie in the partial
curculio control and the negative red mite control, as v/ell as the
doubtful maggot control.

Control of Oriental Fruit Moth in Elberta Peaches

Treatanent - --•- — - ^^^^^

(1) Sulfur-oil dust (No DDT)

(2) Sulfur-oil- jDT dust {3fo DDT)

(3) Sulfur + 5% DDT fused dust (No oil)

(4) Sulfur + 5% DDT mixed dust (No oil)

(5) Check - no dust for fruit moth

Dates of dust applications; July 11-12, August 9. Plot
No. 1 received a third dusting on August 30. Remaining plots were
not treated on that date.

CCST O F OP ERATING A^ BULLD OZER

The following figures were taken from the recor,^,s of a farmer vrho
owr.ed and operated a bulldozer which was used 1200 hours in 1943 and 800 hours
in 1944, or a total of 2000 hours.

The bulldozer was purchased in Juno, 1943 at a cost of ^6700. Its
estimated life is 10 years or about 10,000 hours, and is given a thorough
overhauling annually.

Total cost of operation over a two year period;

Fuel, 5000 gallons, Diesel $ 460

Oil and Grease 300

Repairs and Parts 120

Labor for overhauling 180

First year - dfo of $6700 « v335

Second year - bfo of $6030 = $501 636

Y/'ages of operator 3 $45 per week 1935

Total cost for U-ro years ^497T

The total cost of operation (v4971) divided by the number of hours
(2000) reveals a cost amounting to approximately $2,50 per hour,

- - R. H- Barrett

-6-

AIR PURI FICATIO N FOR LBNGTHEIIIIIG THE STORAGE LIFE OF APPLES

Following is a progress report on this interesting subject, prepared
by R. M. Smock and F. T,'. South.wick of Cornell University.

Purposes of Air Purification

1. To remove foul odors in the storage room which may contaminate the
apples and hence reduce their eating quality.

2. To remove the ethylene generated by ripening apples. Study has shown
that as fev/ as one percent of the apples in a storage chamber if ripe
T/ill tend to ripen up the rest of the apples in the room,

3. To remove scald gases. Scald is caused by accuraulations of certain
gases generated by the fruits.

Methods of Air Purification Used Heretofore in Apple Stor_age

1. Some attempts have been made to reduce the odor level by the use of ozone,
OzOne is of benefit primarily in reducing the growth of surface molds on
the fruits or containers. Ozone has been found to merely mask and not
destroy many odors in an apple storage.

2. There have been no comaaercially feasible methods heretofore of removing
naturally generated ethyJ.ene.

3. Scald gases have heretofore been removed by wrapping the apples in paper
impregnated with mineral oil or placing shreds of such paper in the pack-
age. There are enough objections to the use of oiled paper to justify

a search for a better and more convenient method of scald control.

Principles In volved in Air Purific ation

Many gases can be "adsorbed" on the surfaces of specially prepared
activated carbon pdmilar to that used in a soldier's gas mask. The Cornell
trials have made use of this fact. The storage atmosphere is passed through
a bed of activated carbon and then the "purified" atmosphere is circulated
to ail parts of the room. Ethylene seems to be removed from the atmosphere
more completely if the activated carbon is impregnated with a strong oxidiz-
ing agent like bromine. The use of bromine has resulted in considerable cor-
rosion of the canisters containing tiie activated carbon, however. Until
a substitute for bromine can be found, impregnation with special materials
will not be done in most comiaercial tests for 1945-46. The use of un-
brominated carbon has given very promising results. It is felt that better
resulijs v/ill be had when something as pov/erful as bromine can be success-
fully impregnated in the activated carbon.

Results o f 1944-45 Tests

During the 1944-45 storage season ten tests were conducted on a
commercial scale in cold storages around New York State. Only one of these
storages had an acute odor contamination problem, but in this one storage
the odor problem was solved by use of air purification. A careful study
of differences in softening (ripening rate) was possible in only six of
these ten tests. In these six tests the ripening rate of apples was sig-
nificantly retarded (as compared with apples in control room) in four cases.

-7-

Lack of success in the other tv;o tests seemed to be due to lack of good
air circulation. Differences in scald due to air purification was studied
in all ten tests. In five of these tests the results v.-ere very striking,
that is, air purification gave as good or better control of scald than
oiled paper. In two of the tests the results could only be called "promising."
That is, there v/as a significant reduction in scald but not a satisfactory
control. The remaining three tests were classed as "failures." These fail-
ures seemed to be due in large part to inadequate circulation of the purified
air.

Four tests were made on a commercial scale in controlled atmosphere
storage. Three of the four tests gave very satisfactory control of scald
whereas in the fourth the results could only be classed as "promising." The
reason for lack of complete success in the fourth case is not clear at this
time. One of the striking results of air purification in this t-^^e of storage
was that the apples could be sold immediately after opening the room. Here-
tofore the apples had to be aired out for a few days in fresh air to rid them
of the accumulated foul odors of the gas tight rooms. In this type of storage
it can be said that eating quality is actually improved by air purification.

Points Needing Further 3tudy

1. Is impregnation of the activated carbon with something like bromine ab-
solutely necessary?

2. Is there a more satisfactory impregnating material than bromine?

3. Is the present standard of 4 canisters of activated carbon per 1000 bushels
sufficient? of a^^y

4. Y/hat is the optimum rate/flow per canister?

5. Are auxiliary fans necessary for the activated carbon unit v/hen the cold
diffuser blower is "over-capacity?"

Conclusions:

Results on air purification to lengthen the storage life of the apple
have been good enough to warrant further testing on a large scale. Good air
circulation is absolutely necessary for good results. YIe are not yet ready
to recOTiimend the process v^rith any real guarantee of success, but feel that
commercial trials are well worthwhile.

1945 FRUIT CROP (from Farm Economic Facts)

Apples

On a National basis, the commercial apple crop estimated at 66,754,000
bushels is the smallest ever recorded and a little more than half as large as
the 1944 yield. Likewise cold-storage holdings on October 1, 1945, were only
3.8 million bushels or less than one half the quantity in cold storage a year
earlier.

In Massachusetts a much similar condition exists with extremely light
receipts and a strong demand even at the nev/ ceiling price which is a step-
up of 20 cents per box. Due to the shortness of crop and good demand., practi-
cally all apples are packed orchard-run this year and would not measure up to

-8-

any standard grade specification. In spite of this f act ^practically all,
if not all apples are bringing not less than ^3.00 a bushel.

For this calendar year, it is quite evident that the civilian supply
will ran short of demand and prices remain around ceiling. Already the Gov-
ernment has required handlers in certain areas v^ho handle over 500 or more
bushels of given varieties to set aside an equivalent of 25 percent of the
total quantity of "C" or higher grades. V/'ith these existing situations, the
available supply per capita will be 18 percent less than last year or about
22 pounds per person.

Peaches and Cherries

Contrasted to the apple crop for the United States, peaches, pears,
and svfeet cherries were compaT-atively high. The combined production of the
principal deciduous fruits is ].3 percent below last year but only 2 percent
belov7 average. In New England the poach crop is estimated at 140,000 bushels,
36 percent less than the ':.9^4. ci-op and. 21 percent below the lO-y^ar average.
In response to the high consujiier demondj prices for deciduous fruits for the
past year have been up to wartime levels. It is quite likely that they will
continue as such in response to the consumer demand.

Cranberries

The cranberry crop this year for Massachusetts is estimate'! at
470,000 barrels. Though this is not final, indications shov; that the crop
will at least reach this estimate which is 317,000 barrels more than the
light crop of last year.

With respect to the industry as a whole, the estimated production is
634,100 barrels or 72 percent over last year's production. Most of this in-
crease, hoiTevPTf is in Massachusetts . As a result of this shortage, berries
are sellin.g at oei]ing prices.

G-e.n^ra] conditions cf the vines this fall are good, indiosting that
■with favcubl'^ v.-eather Tondj.tions prevailing during the v.-int-^r and spring, a
normal crrv-. size ifr 194o can ba s^peeted which vrou-ld be ap'TCx'riately
423,000 bai'rels.. "^h-3 lO-year average fcr llansachuFotts . I'irll.rr.pt'^-s beyond
the averages are hardly prodictabls tv ■ to the ucar:?ity <^f .labc^-. Very lit-
tle bo^ v^o-]: ±3, being done, although gro-.ver^ are dcing as much bog mainten-^
ance as po.ssible to keep properties in good productive condition.

~ J. C. York

1946 APPLE AIJD P E ACH SPRAY CHARTS

S5.nce there will be some delay in printing the new spray charts
the follovring nev; or revised Notes which will appear in the 1946 charts are
here present^ds

(Apple) IJote^^o. Apple scab infections may be prevented by either a wettable
sulfur or F'jrmata if thoroughly applied ahead of or during rainy
periods. Lime -aulfur (liquid 2 gallons or dry 8 pounds) usually
prevents infection when applied v/ithin 60 to 70 hours after the

-d-

rain begins, but it may also cause serious damage to foliage and
fruit. (See Note 17).

Note 4, In the combined spray of vmttable sulfur and lead arsenate,
the addition of tv/ice as much lime as lead arsenate tends to reduce
arsenical leaf injury and fruit russet. Use a freshly hydrated, 300-
mesh, high calcium (70^^ calcium oxide) lime. Line is not needed in
spray mixtures containing Fermate or puratized, and should not be
added to them, (See Notes 5, 17),

Note 5, Fermate 1^ - 100, or -g- - 100 plus one-half dosage v;ettable
sulfur^ is far more effective than sulfur alone against cedar-apple
and quince rusts, and is equally or more effective for apple scab and
black rot. On Baldwin, Delicious and other russet-susceptible var-
ieties, use Fermate 1-g- - 100 through Second Cover, followed by 1 - 100
in later sprays. Omit lii.ie in all Fermate sprays. Fermate 1-g- - 100
in Second and later Cover sprays affords much better protection against
Brooks' spot and bitter rot than sulfur sprays.

Note 6, Vflaenever the blossom period promises to be rainy and prolonged,
a spray or dust of sulfur or Fermate will be needed around mid-bloom
on scab-susceptible varieties, vrtiile either Fermate or a mixture of
Fermate and sulfur (See Note 5) should be applied at that time on rust-
susceptible varieties.

Note 13. (Add follov;ing to old Note 13): Puratized spray is equally
effective against scab and does not injure foliage or fruit. (See
Note 17.)

Note 15, (DDT) Wettable powder at rate of 1 pound DDT in 100 gallons
(ii pounds 50% powder; 2-g- pounds 40^3 powder; or 5 pounds 20_5o powder)
has controlled codling moth. Because of residue toleranco (7 p. p.m.)
only 2 or 3 applications arc advised. Applications at 2nd Cover and
in Emergency Spray A are suggested. If codling moth is abundant, a
third application at 4th Cover period may be made on varieties later
than Mcintosh. Do not use DDT vdth lime. If red mite increases after
DDT sprays, use Emergency Spray B. Information on control of codling
moth v;ith DDT dust is incomplete. (This Note will be mentioned in
the 2nd Cover, 4th Cover, and Emergency Sprays A and B,)

Note 16 . A spray of Elgetol -g- to 1 gallon - 100, or sulfate of am-
monia 100 pounds - 100, or nitrate of soda 100 pounds - 100 plus cal-
cium arsenite 4 pounds - 100, applied to the orchard floor between
green-tip and pre-pink at not less than 500 gallons per acre, so as
to insure wetting of all exposed leaves, will greatly reduce scab
ascospore formation in the overwintered leaves. These sprays will
injure nev;, green leaves.

Note 17 . Puratized spray is more effective than v/ettable sulfurs

for preventing scab infections, and is as effective as lime-sulfur

in burning out scab spots without injuring leaves and fruit. Hov^ever^

it is not plentiful this year. To avoid mercury residue, it should

not be used in successive applications later than the First Cover spray,

nor later than June for the Emergency Spray A to burn out scab. Do

not add lime to Puratized spray.

-10-

(Peach) Note 4 . (To replace Special Note) Basic lead arsenate is suggeFted
on peaches because it contains less soluble arsenic and is safer on
the tree. It is also less toxic to the curculio and should not be
expected to control a severe infestation. Sulfur has some repellent
action against the curculio, and vihere this insect is not serious,
sulfur alone, either as a spray or dust, may be used.

Orien tal F ruit luoth. (To replace statement in 194-5 chart.)
Spra:;r-with fixed nicotine* or dust with sulfur-oil talc*. Apply four
times at 5-day intervals beginning 3 weeks before harvest. Experimen-
tal spraying or dusting vath DDT has been promising. Use DDT dust 5%,
or wettable powder, 1 lb. DDT in 100 gallons (2 lbs. 50jo powder; Z^ lbs,
40^0 pov^der, 5 lbs. 20^i powder in 100 gallons). Because of residue
tolerance; only 3 applications at 10-day intervals, beginning middle
of July, are advised. *As recoriimended by manufacturer.
(This Note v/ill be mentioned in the Shuck and First Cover Sprays.)

THE "GREEN MCINTOSH" PRO BLEIvI

Evidence is being assembled that the problem of inferior color of
apples is in many cases closely associated with a crov/ded condition in the
orchard. In the December Nev/s Letter of the Illinois State Horticultural
Society, V/. A. Ruth refers to an orchard experiment in which a careful study
of the effect of crowding fillers had been made. Half of the trees in this
orchard were Grimes and half were Delicious, planted 20 x 20 feet apart in
1922, In 1934, one-half of the trees in parts of the orchard were removed.
At the end of the 17th growing season the trees in the middle of the 40 foot
square were removed. In the unthinned parts of the orchard the filler trees
were cut back severely each year to reduce croviding. All other trees were
pruned lightly but uniformly. Quoting from Dr. Ruth's statement;

"In the thinned areas, the trees v/ere spreading and v/ell-f onned;
the un-thinned trees v/ere more upright, v/ith vj'eak wood and poor foliage, es-
pecially on the lower branches. In 1939 shade had become so dense in the un-
thinned blocks that Delicious was practically worthless due to poor color.
Grimes fruit from similar blocks developed a poor finish. Because the trees
had become so crowded spraying vias difficult aaid scab became a serious problem;
leaf -hoppers v/ere abundant where the trees had not been thinned

"Althougli the total yield between 1935 and 1939 was in favor of the
unthinned areas, individual tree yields on lightly pruned trees v/ere higher
in the thinned areas. The presence of the extra trees, therefore, was already
exerting an unfavorable effect upon individual tree-yield: this difference
was less v/here nitrogen was used than where it was not used. During this
period, also, the favorable effect of the 1935 thinning was reflected in bet-
ter tree growth, as indicated by greater trunk circumference.

"It is concluded that the filler trees should have been removed two
years earlier, when the trees were 10 years old; if this had been done, the
unfavorable effect upon the permanent trees would have been less severe. In
the writer's experience, hov/ever, trees which receive a setback in their earlier
years, by unfavorable treatment, never catch up,"

-11-

I.IA 5SACHUSETTS FARJ.IS CLASSIF IED OIJ TIIE B.ASIS OF TYPE AJID V ALUE OF OUTPUT

The total number of farms in Massachusetts, reported by the Census
of 1940, is 31,897. The following classification, prepared by David Rozmsin,
is based on 30,868 farms.

"Substandard" Family Farms
9,745 (31.6^)

Value of output, ^600 to $2439

(average $1,308) /

Family Farms ^

5,990" (19.5Jo)

Value of output, $2500

to 19999 \

(average $4,618}

Part Time and Self-sufficient Farms
14,079 (45.6^)

Value of output, lender |600
(average $257)

Value of
output ,
$10,000
and over
(average
$23,153)

From the above diagram it will be noted that almost one-third (31.6^)
of the fai-ms in Massachusetts are classified as "Substandard" Family Farms with
an average output of only 01,308, while almost one-fifth (19,5^o) are Family
Farms with an average output of $4,618. As tlie "Substandard" Farms are shifted
into the latter class through the adoption of more efficient methods, clearing
of nevj- land, diversification, combining of farms, etc., the standard of living
of a large number of our rural people v/ill be improved.

-12-

1945 INDEX

Apple Scab 4/l, s/l, 6/7, 8/9, lo/l

Bios son Thinning 4/4, 4/5

Blueberries 3/ll, 5/8, 7/8, 9/5

Boron Deficiency s/s

Brush Drag 3/10

Bulldozer 12/5

Chenical Elenents ll/5

Crop prospects 5/4, S/s, 12/7

DDT 1/B, 8/3, 9/3, 11/6, 12/4

Do You Know? 2/8, 5/6, 6/5, 7/5, ll/7

Fertilization l/3, 3/5, 6/4

Frost Injury 4/9, 6/4, ll/4, ll/9

Fruit Byproducts l/l» I/8

Grapes 3/6

Green Mcintosh 4/7, 6/2, I2/IO

Harvesting 6/8

Historical ll/S

Index (1945) 12/l2

Land Use 2/3

Leaf Analysis 4/6

Lime 2/5, 3/6

Magnesium Deficiency l/5, 3/6, 4/8, 6/7, 9/3

Marketing 6/2, 7/4, 8/5

Meadow Mice 12/3

Nurseries 2/2, 3/4

Nuts 1/4

One-Man Sprayer 3/l2

Orchard Heating 4/8

Orchard Management l/4, I/6, 4/6, 9/4, lO/S

Oriental Fruit Moth 6/7

Peaches I/2, 4/4, 5/8, 7/2, 8/6

poison Ivy 7/3

Pomological Paragraphs 4/4

Post IVar problems 9/l, 9/7, lo/4, I0/7, ll/lO, 12/11

TO(I project 8/7, 9/6

Pruning s/lO, 12/10

Rabbit Injury 3/8

Raspberries 4/6, 6/1

Scale Insects 2/4, 6/7, 8/4

Soil Conservation 8/I, 10/3

Spraying 2/5, 2/IO, 3/7, 3/l2,- 4/2, 12/8

Spray Materials 4/2, I1/2, I2/I

Storage I/6, 3/l, 5/2, 5/5. 7/4, 9/8, I0/2, 12/6

Strawberries 2/l, 3/4, 5/3, 6/I, 12/4

U. 3. Hort. Council 1/7

Yfeather 4/3, 5/3, 6/4, 7/l

V/'inter Injury l/3

Winter School ll/l

Ylork Simplification 2/6, 6/3

(First number indicates month; second number, page.)

i?.-i^^";S./**'*'y

January 31, 1946

Preparjed by the Fruit Program Committee
• of the Extension Service

ViT. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

Conditions Which Affect Spray Coverage

Buying Cultivated Blueberry Plants

Answers to C^uestions on Diseases and Fungicides

Growing Strawberries on a Poultry Farm

Notes on New Peach Varieties

CONDITIONS Y ffll CH AFFECT SPRAY C OVERAGE

In the control of fruit pests by spraying, adequate coverage is fully
as important as timing and the use of the proper materials. Adequate cover-
age means application of the spray in such a way that all parts of the tree —
especially the top and tips of the branches — are thoroughly wet . Various
methods employed in applying sprays are described and illustrated in Mass.
Ext. Leaflet 178, "Spraying and Dusting Fruit Trees." Because of the nature
of some of the pests to be controlled, such as plum curculio, the speed with
which the orchard can be covered is of special importance. Any orchard that
cannot be covered in three days of good spraying weatlier is certainly inade-
quately equipped. Lack of proper equipment may be due to a sprayer that is

-2-

too small for the job or to failure to make the most efficient use of it.
Factors which affect the size and efficiency of a sprayer are suggested in
the following table;

2 3 4 5

Number of trees
Age of trees
Height of trees (ft.)
Spread of trees (ft.)
Gallons per tree
Total gallons
Hours per day
Output per minute
Size of pump

(gals . per min.)
Tank size (gals.)
Min. to unload
Min. to reload
Total time per load(min,)
Number leads per day
Total gals, per day
Days to cover orchard

1,000

,000

15,000

15;

,000

15,

,000

15,

,000

15,

,000

300

400

3,900

,500

,800

,600

3.8

3.3

3.1

2.2

2.6

In this table it is necessary to make certain assumptions. Let us
assume that the orchard contains 1,000 mature trees v/hich on the average will
require 15 gals, eaoh to obtain adequate coveragOo (The number of gallons
of spray required for trees of various ages and sizes is indicated in a table
which is published as a part of the "Spray Chart for Apples" as well as in
Mass. Ext. Leaflet 178.) Thus, a total of 15,000 gallons of spray will be
required to cover the orchard.

In Column 1 it is assvimed that the discharge from the nozzles is 15
gals, per min. Thus, a 300 gal. tank could be emptied in 20 minutes. Allow-
ing for interruptions, it is assumed that it would take 25 minutes to unload.
V/ith such a piece of equipment operating 10 hours per day it would require
3.8 days to cover the orchard. Obviously this equipment is too small for tho
job. In Column 2 let us assume that the output, by the addition of more noz-
zles, can be increased to 20 gals, per min. The time required to cover the
orchard will be reduced to 3.3 days, but still the equipment is too small.

In Column 3 let us assume that the tank is increased from 300 to 400
gals. This will help somewhat but not enough. In Column 4 let us assume
that it requires only iO minutes to reload instead of 25 minutes. Then, with
the same equipment as before, the orchard can be covBred in 2«2 days. Even
working 8 hours per day a-5 indicated in Column 5^ the orchard can be covered
in less than 3 days pjovided it takes only 10 minutes to reload.

It is fully recognized that in this table many assumptions have been
made and no allowance has been provided for delays due to weather and other
caus«5. The two blsjik coluinns have been provided for the ucie of anyone who
•wishes to do so to fill in the actual conditions which exist in his ovm or-
chard or orchard.-; and hh'is datorrriineto what =jxt«i.t hir present equipment is
adequate to do the job.

The chief object of this discussion has been to indicate the numerous
factors that are involved in determining the size of sprayer that is needed
for a particular orchard and that a sprayer which may not be adequate under
existing conditions may be fully adequate if the output per minute can be
increased and the time of reloading reduced.

— 0. C. Roberts

BUYING CULTIVATED BL UEB ERRY PL.WTS

Anyone starting to grow cultivated blueberies wants to get good,
healthy, vigorous plants of the right varieties. The prospective purchaser
wants to know what varieties are best for Massachusetts, what age or size
of plants to order, how they should be handled, and where to purchase. (For
information on varieties see Fruit Notes for March 8, 1945.)

plants used to be sold by age classes, that is, one, two, or three-
year-olds, and so on. In the terms of the nursery trade a one-year-old is
a rooted cutting. These are usually not large enough nor vigorous enougli
to be set directly in the field but need to be grown in the nursery a year.
A two-year-old has been grown in the nursery a year and, if well grown and
properly handled, will v/ithstand the shock of transplanting very well.
Three-year-olds are larger and better but the price is correspondingly higher.

Recently there has been a marked tendency for nurseries to sell by
height rather than age. Vrtiere this is done the 12" to 15" grade would prob-
ably be satisfactory for varieties of lower, more spreading habit, like Cabot
and Pioneer, but 15" to 18" or 18" to 24" vrould be better for the tall var-
ieties like Rubel and Jersey. The more vigorous the plants, the better they
will start and the sooner a crop will be produced. Vj'eak plants at a low
pric^ are usually more expensive in the end.

Some nurserymen ship plants with bare roots; others ship them balled
and burlaped or "B & B" as it is expressed in the nursery trade. "B & B"
means that a ball of soil is retained around the roots and held in place by
a piece of burlap. This is a more expensive way of handling plants and,
therefore, the purchaser should expect to pay a higher price for plants
handled in this v/ay. Tv/o- year- olds and perhaps three-year-olds can be handled
successfully either way, although "B & B" is preferable. Plants over three
years old should always be balled and burlaped. If plants are handled with
bare roots care must be taken to see that they do not dry out#

It is more desirable to purchase plants from a nursery which propa-
gates its avm plants than from one which buys plants for resale. There are
several nurseries in Massachusetts, Michigan, Nev/ Jersey and New York which
produce cultivated blueberry plants for sale.

Since blueberry stunt, a serious virus disease, is prevalent in
New Jersey and North Carolina, anyone buying plants from nurseries in those
states should insist on plants certified to be free from stunt. This dis-
ease is present in Massachusetts to a limited extent and probably has been
for a number of years with little or no signs of spreading. Nurseries in

-4-

Massachusetts, Michigan and Nev; York are practically free from it. Since
bushes infected vrith stunt neither grov/ nor produce well, the purchaser
should protect his ovm interests by insisting on healthy plants.

The demand for plants, both among commercial grov/ers and home gar-
deners, has been very heavy the past few years, so heavy, in fact, that
propagators have had difficulty in keeping up with it. Because of the short
supply, anyone wishing to set blueberries next spring should get his order
in early.

— J. 3. Bailey

AIOTCRS TO qUESTIUNS ON DISEASES AJTD FUNGICIDES IN M. F.G,A. "BLUE LIST"

<^i Did wettable sulfurs control scab in 1945? A: In some cases it did —
mostly (1) where there vms a very light carryover of the scab organism in
the orchard; (2) where the usual or a larger number of sprays (and supple-
mentary dust applications) were applied; and (3) where spraying was thorough
and timely.

1^; How can I clean up a scabby orchard? A: Any one of the following pro-
cedures should enable a grov/er to control apple scab satisfactorily in an
orchard with a heavy carry over of scab — even if the season is v/et: (a)
Spray the entire orchard floor and adjacent borders with Elgetol 2 to 4
quarts to 100 gallons preferably betv^een green tip and full delayed-dormant
(or at dormant if the same spray is to be applied to the trees for insect
control), using 500 - 600 gallons per acre on the ground. Follow with usual
wettable sulfur schedule. (b) Spray with liquid lime-sulfur 2 - 100 in pre-
pink to first cover spray, inclusive, followed by wettable sulfur in remainder
of covers. (This schedule would probably cause severe injury to all var-
ieties sprayed.) (c) Use wettable sulfur (or Fermate, or sulfur plus Fer-
mate) program as usual, but increase the dosage (in the tank) by at least
one-third for applications through first cover; and spray more frequently
than usual; make sure to have the spray, or a dust, on ahead of or during
infection periods; and be more particular than usual regarding thoroughness
of coverage.

<^: Yfill Puratized be available for apple growers in 1946? How about mer-
"cury residue? A:The supply of Puratized Agricultural Spray will be limited,
according to the distributor. According to fruit analyses made in 1945, no
mercury residue was found v/here Puratized N5-E was used in first four sprays
(pre-pink to first cover, inclusive).

Q_; Is scab likely to be any earlier than usual next spring? A: In view

of premature defoliation in scabby trees last summer and fall, scab ascospores

should mature somewhat earlier this spring — ■unless there is an unusually
heavy and late snow cover.

Q: What sprays other than Elgetol may be used to eradicate the apple scab
Tungus in the overwintered leaves? As Sulfate of ammonia 100 pounds -
100 gallons, or nitrate of soda 100 'pounds - 100 gallons plus 4 pounds cal-
cium arseuit«, should equal the Elgetol spray for killing the scab organism

-5-

in the overwintered leaves — when applied at the same rate (500 - 600 gal-
lons per acre). This rate, hov;ever, may supply more nitrogen than is needed
for some orchards.

Q; Are there any advantages of using Fermate over v/ettabla sulfurs in the
apple spray program? A: Yes. (1) its use vj-ith lead arsenate, and v/ithout
lime, will produce muc'h~less fruit russet on Baldwin, Delicious, etc.;
(2) the mixture of Fermate one-half pound and one-half dosage of sulfur
gives better control of apple scab than full dosage of sulfur or Fermate,
and as good control of cedar rust as a full dosage of Fermate (1^ - 100).

Q: How much Fermate should a dust contain? V/hat is the filler in a Fermate
dust? A; A Ferroate dust for varieties subject to fruit russet should con-
tain lOjfTermate (remainder talc or talc and lead arsenate). For non-russet-
ing varieties, it should contain b% Fermate (remainder dusting sulfur or
sulfur and lead arsenate).

Q; Vfiiat is the best spray program for Baldwin and Delicious to control
pe^sts without russeting the fruit? A: Use Fermate 1-|- - 100 in pre-blossom,
calyx and first cover sprays (or through second cover if cedar rust is con-
cerned), followed by Fermate 1 - 100 in later covers. For supplemental dust,
use Fermate-talc dust (see preceding paragraph).

^j Is a ground spray of Elgetol v/orthwhile for fruit crops other than apples?
If so, which fruits and for what diseases? A; Yes, for brovm rot of stone
fruits (4 quarts - lOO); pear scab (2 to 4 quarts - lOO); and for black rot
of grapes (2 quarts - 100 on vines, 4 quarts - 100 on ground) — before green
tissue is exposed.

(^; V/hat constitutes a good v/ettable sulfur? A: A sulfur that contains the
right amount of a wetting agent that is compatTble v/ith other standard spray
materials; and a mixture that contains at least half of its sulfur in par-
ticles less than 10 microns in diameter. The degree of coverage and the
interval between sprays are at least as important as the particle size in
the sulfur preparation — probably more important.

<^i On an equal sulfur basis will the best wettable sulfur products control
apple scab as well as lime-sulfur? A: Although the best wettable sulfurs
are the equal of lime-sulfur in preventing scab infections when applied
ahead of rainy periods, yet a succession of wettable sulfur sprays is not
as effective as a succession of lime-sulfur sprays because the latter have
a post-rainy period effect in preventing scab infections as well as an
eradicative effect on established new scab spots, which wettable sulfurs
do not have.

— 0. C. Boyd

(News itom in The Packer) Northampton, Mass., Jan. 4 — It didn't
take H. I. Bean, 86, of Northampton, long to get rid of his 1945
apple crop. Bean just sat under a tree and ate the entire crop —
one apple. He had hoped for a harvest of 2,500 bushels but a freez*
depleted his crop.

-6-

GRQYnNG STRAY/BERRIES ON A POULTRY FARM

Although only l/40 of the farms in the United states are classed as
fruit farms, they produce 5/6 of our national fruit crop. This suggests
that fruit growing is a specialized business. Yet we find in the eastern
states an occasional poultryman, dairyman, or vegetable grower who is oper«-
ating a fruit enterprise as a sideline, with considerable success. The
chances of success with an apple orchard on such a farm are less favorable
than with a strawberry planting since the latter involves little if any
spraying or dusting. The possibilities of growing half an acre, more or
less, of strawberries on a poultry farm in Massachusetts are well worth con-
sidering.

Strav/berries require considerable hand labor. No one should attempt
to grov; this fruit unless favorable soil and enough labor at the right time
are available. An inexperienced grower is likely to set strawberry plants
on poorly prepared soil and then ask what kind of fertilizer should be used,
instead of fitting the soil at least a year in advance. He may even attempt
to produce a crop of berries by heavy fertilization in the spring of the
bearing year. Such a practice cannot be too strongly condemned.

How many strawberries may one expect from an acre? The average for
Massachusetts is less thEoi 3,000 quarts. One Massachusetts grower, however,
actually harvested 12,000 quarts from an acre. But he did it by taking a
year in advance to prepare the land. During that time he grew three cover
crops, each of which v;as fertilized and plowed under. The soil was well
supplied v/ith organic matter, an important factor in a strawberry planting.
A yield of from 5,000 to 8,000 quarts per acre is a reasonable goal. It
is better to aim for a heavy yield on half an acre than to spread one's
efforts over a larger area. The beginner should start in a small way and
plant no more than he is able to handle properly.

The bulk of the strawberry harvest comes between June 10 and June 25/
Ample help must be available during that period. Other busy seasons in a
strawberry planting are planting time, around the first of May, the season
for cultivating, v;eeding, and spacing of runners in summer and early fall,
and the mulching season around the first of November.

And now for a few suggestions for those poult rymen interested in
making a start in the strawberry business. If the poultry enterprise is
to be curtailed somewhat, a bit of diversification along fruit lines may
take the form of a well planned strawberry planting.

(1) Soil . The ideal soil is fertile, well drained, retentive of moisture,
and well supplied with organic matter. It is a vmste of time to set plants
on a poorly adapted soil. If the soil will grow a good crop of vegetables,
flowers, or weeds, it has possibilities for strawberries.

(2) Source of plan ts. The best are none too good. Northern grovm plants
are preferred. Plarits should be set while the weather is still cool and the
soil well supplied with water. Care must be taken to prevent drying of roots.
Roots begin to grow before weather conditions are favorable for top growth.

.7-

Thus, plants which ar*? set in late April or very early Hay have a chance
to get established before top growth, with its demand for v/ater, begins.

(3) Varieties. Howard 17 or Premier is still a favorite, particularly on
lighter soils. Catskill is an excellent variety v/here soil conditions favor
a strong plant growth. The planting may well include both varieties.

(4) planting systems. Opinions vary as to the ideal spacing of strawberry
plantT. The rows should be at least 3,5 feet apart and preferably 4,0 to
4.5. plants may be set two feet apart in a row. Many growers use the matted
row system; others prefer the spaced runner system. The latter, of course,
requires much more hand labor.

(5) Meed control. A clean bed will facilitate harvest and lessen the amount
of rot.

(6) Mulching . "Putting the plants to bed for the winter" is very important.
A mulch of straw applied about the time the ground freezes in November pre-
vents deep freezing of the soil and consequent heaving of the plants. Mulch-
ing also helps to protect the blossoms to some extent against spring frosts
and it helps to keep the berries clean.

Commercial strawberry growers seldom hold the planting over for a
second year's crop. This means planting -a nevif bed each year. Even though
weeds have been well controlled, the second crop may be disappointing and
the berries are likely to be smaller.

On a poultry farm where poultry manure is plentiful there is a dan-
ger of using this fertilizp.- too liberally. The best amount to use can be
determined only by experiment. Certainly it can be used to good advantage
as a fertilizer for tue cnv3r crop or vorops to be plov/ed under. This may
be the best way to us-e it. Seme, mcy also be plov;ed under or harrowed in
before setting the plai-'ts. Under no circumstances should a heavy poultry
litter be used as a mulch^ nor r;hou.'.i it be broadcsst over the planting in
the spring. Too liber?.] use of poi..'.:i-y manure v:ith its fairly high content
of nitrogen will result in more rotten berr.ies. particularly in a v;et season.

The leaves which a. runner plant develops the first season determine
the number and size of the berries it will produce the folloviring June. The
successful strawberry grower is therefore interested in growing vigorous run-
ner plants the first seac-or. instead of trying to stimulate them into profit-
able production the following spring.

VflNTER FRUIT SCHOOL. The school f-.r commercial fruit growers, held in Amlierst
January 21--24, was apparently a oUcoe.T&, Approximately 100 were present at
each session, including at leari: 15 rotur.'nsd vete-ans. The large proportion
of relatively young grov;ers reflects a forv/ard looking industry.

Getting a Paper Out is .sometimes fun., but it is never a picnic. If
we print jokes^ people .^ay ve are silDy. If v;e dcn't, they say we
are too ^erinv.s.. If we clip things from other papers, we are too lazy
to write ''en. oarselvfes,. If v/s Ci.jn't. we are roo fond cf our own stuff.
If we print ecntributions , the paper is filled wir.h junk. If we don't.
We don't appreciate true genius. Now, like as not, someone will say
we swiped this piece from some other paper. WE DID,

NOTES ON imf PEACH VARIE TIES

There is no question that the three varieties. Golden Jubilee , Hale-
haven, and Elberta form the backbone of peach growing in Massachusetts. The
several other varieties recommended for commercial planting, or for trial,
are to fill in or extend the season where this is desirable.

The chart "Ripening Season of Peach Varieties in Massachusetts" gives
an overall picture of ripening dates. Varieties recommended for planting in
Massachusetts are starred.

The solid line represents the average picking season. It was obtained
by averaging the dates of the first picking and the dates of the last picking
for three or more years unless 1 year or 2 years is indicated. The dotted
line shows the variation in picking seasons. The first dot shows the earliest
date on which the variety was ever picked; the last dot, the latest date.
These two dates are not in the same year unless the number of years involved
is very limited. If many years are included, there is apt to be more varia-
tion in season and the dotted line will be longer.

Marigold, is a yellow fleshed, semi-cling to free, small to medium
sized peach of good quality. It is quite bud hardy; the best of the very
early peaches .

Fisher, 6. bud sport of Valiant, is yellow fleshed, semi-cling, of only
fair quality, and ripens unevenly. It is very hardy in wood and is said to
be hardy in bud.

Raritan Rose (Hale x Cumberland) is one of the newer New Jersey intro-
ductions. It is white fleshed, usually free, fair to good quality, but apt to
be soft and stringy at times. It is fairly hardy in bud and seems worthy of
trial.

Oriole is yellow fleshed, free-stone, good in quality, small to medium
sized, needs heavy thinning, very hardy in bud and wood. Many grovifers object
to its lack of size.

Red Haven (Halehaven x Kalhaven), a Michigan peach, is yellow fleshed,
free when fully ripe, unusually attractive because of the brilliant red blush,
has thick tough skin, very fina flesh, fair quality, is said to be a heavy
yielder, to require heavy thinning, and to be much hardier than Elberta but
not so hardy as South Haven or Rochester.

Golden Globe is a large, round, yellow fleshed, freestone of high
quality. Unfortunately, its buds are a bit tender for Massachusetts.

Triogem (Hale x Marigold), one of the newer New Jersey varieties, is
a yellow fleshed, freestone of very high quality sind very attractive appearance.
It is said to require good soil, good culture sind heavy thinning. Bud hardi-
ness is fair but not up to Greensboro or Carman. It hangs to the tree well.
It appears to be susceptible to brown rot.

Sunhigh (Hale x 40 CS), another of the newer Nev/ Jersey introductions.

■ 9-

is yellow fleshed, semi-cling to free, very good quality, probably a little
hardier than Elberta in bud. It is worthy of trial although its tendency
to cling and nearness to Halehaven season may eliminate it.

Goldeneast is a beautiful, extra large, fine flavored, yellow free-
stone. A few may have a place on unusually favorable sites but in general
the buds are a little too tender for Massachusetts*

Red Rose (Hale x Delicious), another of the nev;-er introductions from
New Jersey, is white fleshed, freestone, of good quality,, usually firm but
sometimes soft and stringy. It yields well and is said to be hardy in New
Jersey.

< Pacemaker (Hale x Marigold), a recent New Jersey introduction, is a
very attractive, yellow fleshed, freestone, of very good quality but is prob-
ably too tender in bud for Massachusetts,

Summe rcrest (Hale x Cumberland), also recently introd«eed by Nev/ Jer-
sey, is a yellow' fleshed freestone of very good quality. It is fairly at-
tractive although at times it does not color up well. It is said to be better
on soils not too high in fertility. It yields well but the fruit does not
hang to the tree well, Buds are fairly hardy but not up to Greensboro or
Carman,

Kalha ven (Hale x Kalamazoo), a recent introduction from Michigan,
is yellow fleshed, freestone with a tendency to cling, fair flavored, and
yields v;ell, Michigan reports it to be above average in hardiness. It is
in the same season as Sumraercrest. So far Summercrest has the edge but
Kalhaven seems worthy of trial.

Sun go Id originated as a chance seedling in lov/a and is said to have
borne a crop after withstanding -25° F. It is a yellow fleshed, freestone,
of very good quality. It sets heavy crops and needs considerable thinning.
The fruit is medium size or a little larger. The tree is a semi-dwarf like
J. H. Hale. It seems worthy of trial.

Vfhite Hale (Hale open pollinated) is a large, round attractive free-
stone - a Hale tj'pe with white flesh. Thus far the quality has not been too
good. Its season is probably after Elberta rather than before as shown on
the chart which represents only two crops, one of which ripened abnormally
early.

F ertile Hale is supposedly a self-fertile sport of the self-sterile
J, H. Hale. Since fertile sports of Hale have been reported from three
states, they may no't all be the same. The variety as it appears in the
College Orchard has not been very impressive.

Afterglow (Hale by N. J. seedling) is a yellow fleshed, fairly at-
tractive freestone, better in quality than Elberta, It yields well and is
hardier than Elberta. The normal ripening season is probably slightly later
than shown in the chart,

— J. S. Bailey

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-OT-

March 30, 1946

Prepared by the F^uit Program Committea.
of the Extension Service

¥/■. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

y/hat the Variety Survey Reveals

Blossom Thinning Sprays

Coating Bees with Pollen

The Apple Scab Outlook

Vniy Some Apple Trees Grow Too Tall

Some Early Spring Tips for Fruit Growers

Michigan Eliminates Infested Fruit Trees

YJHAT THE VARIETY SURVEY REV EALS

In analyzing the 77 returns . of a questionnaire on apple varieties
some interesting trends v/ere revealed as to what gro\Yers are thinking about
in their .choice of varieties.

While the survey did not make it possible to figure accurately the
percent of each variety which the grovirers would plant in the future, it did
indicate that the numbers of Mcintosh v;ill be materially reduced. Growers
are now thinking in terms of 50 percent Mcintosh instead of 70 to 80 percent,
BaldviTin will still be planted by many grov/ers, but it will not figure as
prominently in the variety picture as it has in the past.

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of May 8 and June 30,
I9I4, Vfillard A. Munson, Director, Massachusetts State College, United States
Department of Agriculture, and County Extension Services cooperating.

• 2-

Varieties such as Cortland, Delicious or its red strains. Early Mcintosh,
Rome Beauty and its red strains, and Red Spy appear to be slated for slight
to moderate increases.

Gravenstein and its red strain. Golden Delicious, Rhode Island Green-
but

aras J

ing, Macoun, and possibly Red Astrachan will just about hold their own; bu
Wealthy, Yellow Transparent, Duchess, Roxbury Russet, V/inter Banana, Vi'illi
Kendall, Stark, and l/Vagener seem to be on the way out. In general, red
strains are preferred to standard varieties. Richared is the popular red
strain of Delicious, v/ith Starking meeting with little favor.

The- accompanying table shows v/hat the growers think of the different
varieties. Column 1 indicates the number of growers v;ho are now grcwiing the
variety; column 2, the number who v/ould select the variety for a new commer-
cial planting; and coluiiin 3, the number who have grown the variety but would
noviT discard it.

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^ -^

^•H

tiO

£ p^

O X)

o cu

O tJ

<Vh P!

U <D

<iH a

!-, a>

O -H

bJO-J U

tax)

O-rH

iifl'Ci u

t-Oi:!

Variety

. g

• 3 -P

• 3

Variety

. • 3-P

^ 3

o u

O O 3

o o

o u

0:3

o o

S u

^^^

S U)

tr, ^v,

s. ^

Baldwin

, 70

.Northern Spy

Cortland

Red Spy

♦Delicious

Red Astrachan

Richared

R. I. Greening

Starring

*Rome

♦Other Red Strain

Gallia

Duchess

♦Other Red Strain

Early Mcintosh

Roxbury Russet

Golaoii Delicious

Stark

Gravenst>3in

TiTagsner

Red Gravenstein

ITealthy

Kendall

V/illiams

Macoun

Winter Banana

Mcintosh

Yellow Transparent

Milton

One questionnaire was from a grower who does not have an orchard now,
but he plans to set one this spring. This is. the explanation for only 76
growers having Mcintosh. Some growers failed to answer the question in
column 2 and others tvnsvjered it only with the idea of adding to their pres-
ent plantation wiiioh will explain why the figures in columns 2 and 3 do not
total that of column 1.

One other point which ijhe survey brings out is the attempt of many
growers to choose varieties which will extend the harvesting and marketing
seasons. This is particularly true among those growers Who now have large

-3-

aoreages of Mcintosh. Growers are beginning to see the folly of a one
variety orchard.

There were too few returns of the peach and strawberry question-
naires to give any detailed report, but they did indicate some interest-
ing trends. The peach survey shows that Elberta is still the leading
peach variety v/ith Golden Jubilee a close second. Halehaven ranks a good
third with J. H. Hale a poor fourth. Of the newer varieties, Summercrest
and Triogem appear to have made a hit with some growers. Strawberries
show a reversal of form with the old standby Howard 17 losing first place
to Catskill, although it is still a strong second. There are not any other
varieties which show much strength, except Sparkle, a new variety, v/hich
looks as if it may find a place in the variety picture.

~ W. D. V^'eeks

BLOSSOM THIOT IING SPRAYS

The prospect of a heavy apple crop in 1946 and a light crop in
1947 has focused attention on the possibility of using blossom thinning
sprays to reduce the 1946 crop and possibly increase the 1947 crop. Un-
fortunately, we know too little about these sprays to warrant recommenda-
tion for general use. Some growers have used them with good success.
The on-year crop of biennial bearin-; trees has been reduced and at the
same time fruit buds for the succeeding year's crop have been fonned.
Others have had less success. Elgetol has been the most used. \'Je were
able to reduce set by spraying at full bloom with the usual harvest sprays
last year, but the season was abnormal and we do not yet knov/ what the
effects will be. Suggestions and directions for grovrers desiring to ex-
periment with blossom thinning sprays are being prepared and will be sent

on request. ^ ,^ _,

~ J. K. Shaw

COATING BEES WITH POLLEN

From time to time the question is raised concerning a device for
coating bees with pollen as they leave the hive to fly to the trees. Such
a device was made in the early 1930 's by Burrell and King. They reported
that the method held promise.

Later workers have abandoned the idea, feeling that greater return
would result from more emphasis on the use of strong colonies of bees.
Present knowledge would seem to support this view. VJhether anything of a
practical nature could be v/orked out in conjunction with the pollen traps
now available is problematical. Until v/e have definite information, it
would not seem advisable from a practical standpoint to shift from the
present suggestion that strong colonies be used for orchard pollination,

— F. R. Shaw

WALT DISNEY'S next movie will be "JOHNNY APPIESEED," it is reported.

THE APPLE SCAB OUTLOOK

The number of scab spore cas
wintered leaves is abnormally large
heavily scabbed leaves. In the Coll
and fruit bud development are approx
date (March 26) last year. TJ'ith Mc
stage, about one-fifth of the old sc
maturity in a small percent of the p
thecia contain either no spores at
(ascospores).

es (perithecia) developing in the over-
this spring due to the abundance of
ege orchards perithecial development
imately the sane as they were at this
Intosh fruit buds in the silver tip
abbed leaves show scab spores reaching
erithecia. The remainder of the peri-
all or only immature winter spores

Scab spore development in one South Amherst orchard is in the same
stage as here at the College, while in another orchard perithecia are con-
siderably less advanced. The most advanced stage of ascospores so far ob-
served was in a leaf sample from Yfallace Pratt of Bridgewater (Plymouth
County) where 10/J of the leaves showed a goodly number of mature spores
at the sv;elled bud stage (llarch 19).

Had it not been for the very dry v;eather during the past week of
mild temperatures, scab spore development would be even farther along than
it is now. Should cool, wet v/eather prevail in the near future, scab spores
will develop much faster than fruit buds. If the present kind of weather
(v/arm today v/ith showers predicted for tomorrow) should last for several
days, a small portion of the ascospore supply will be ready to shoot by the
time the fruit buds reach the green tip to early delayed dormant stage.

Last year at this same date and corresponding fruit bud stage, the
weather turned very \^arm and remained so for a full week, bringing fruit
buds in Amherst into pre-pink by April 5. It is hoped, of course, that
such will not be the case again this year.

The accompanying table indicates the time of season in past years
when Mcintosh fruit buds in Amlierst reached the silver tip stage, and the
corresponding stages of scab ascospore development; also when ascospoxes
were sufficiently matured to discharge in the orchard during each of rthose
years .

Buds' in i

Year

1946

Silver
Tip Stage

Scab Ascospore
Stage

First Spore Discharge
Date*~

March 24-27 Only a few ripe spores j }4/2(?)
I none shooting {

Bud Stage

Green tip (?)

1945

March

ti II

4/2 1

Pre-p re-pink'

1944

April

11-17

Few spores mature,
shooting lightly

4/11

Silver tip

1943

April

19-23

(Same as 1945, 1946)

5/3

Late del. dorimant

194q

April

8-10

Asci present but no
spores formed

4/24

Pre-p re-pink

1941

April

14-15

(Same as 1945, 1946)

4/17

Del. darmant

-5-

In most past seasons, a small percent of the scab ascopores were
ready for discharge, in some orchards at least, at the delayed dormant bud
stage (^ - 3 inch green tip). Our records over the past sixteen years in-
dicate that this situation is not dangerous, even in Mcintosh, because under
such conditions scab infections either do not occur or are quite unimportant.
Hov/ever, if ascospore development is abnormally advanced, v/ith possible
heavy discharge during that bud stage, it is advisable to include a copper
fungicide or Fermate in the oil spray, particularly if tha* spray is applied
at the late delayed dormant stage. Enough Bordeaux powder, or a neutral
copper fungicide, is added to give two pounds of metallic copper to 100
gallons of the oil spray, or 1-g- pounds of Fermate may be used.

As has been emphasized time and again this v^^inter, this is one of
the seasons occasionally encountered when it is considered highly advisable
for many apple growers to apply a ground spray of Elgetol (-g- to 1 gal. in
100 gals.) to reduce to a minimum the unusually heavy carryover of the scab
fungus before very many of the ascospores reach maturity. This spray should
be applied so as to wet all of the old leaves on the orchard floor including
those along the borders, and at the rate of 500 to 600 gallons per acre.
Any time now through the delayed dormant stage would be appropriate for the
Elgetol spray, although care should be taken to avoid its drifting to the
green leaf tips. Such a spray would not only eliminate the need for a fun-
gicide in the delayed dormant oil spray on the trees, but it v/ould permit
the grower to proceed with his regular sur.imer spray program vdth much more
confidence in his effort and ability to prevent scab infections than would
be the case if the huge, initial supply of scab spores were present.

This sane spray of Elgetol may be used to advantage on the floor of
the peach and plum orchard for brown rot control, and of the vineyard for
black rot. However, the spray should be prepared at l^o concentration.

— 0. C Boyd

Yjm SOIvIE APPLE TREES GROyf TOO TALL

Abnormal height in an apple tree may be due to one or more of the
following causes: (1) crov/ding from closely adjacent trees, (2) lack of
production, (3) two or more "leaders," (4) unwise heading back of top, and
(5) variety. These five factors are arranged in approximately a descending
order of importance. Let's examine them separately.

(1) The closely planted orchard v/ith its gradual loss of lower limbs,
results in tall, trees because they are continually trying to overtop their
neighbors to maintain their "place in the sun." In other v/ords, the trees
must grov/ upward because they can't grov/ in any other direction. Nearby
buildings or shade trees have a similar effect.

(2) A good spray prograr.i tends to develop a drooping type of tree.
The downward pull of 10 bushels of apples brings many of the branches to a
horizontal position or lower, while a peck of apples on the same tree would
permit the branches to grov/ upward. The average backyard tree is tall
partly because it lacks this earthward pull.

-6-

(3) Double, triple or multiple tops, particularly if accoinpanied
by a scanty crop of fruit, result in a taller than nonaal tree. Here we
find competition betT./een competing leaders similar to that between adjacent
trees in a crowded planting. Each leader tries to overtop the other.

(4) V/e have all seen tall trees which the ovmer tried to lavier by
what we might call "high level topping." This may stimulate a tremendous
growth of sprouts v^hich make three or four feet of annual growth because
they are replacing very vigorous, advantageously located branches. By the
time these new limbs bear fruit the tree is not only taller than before
but the nev/ branches are too stiff to be bent dovmward appreciably. The
result is an extremely tall, dense tree,

(5) A Northern Spy or an Early Mcintosh tree has an upright habit
of growth while a Rhode Island Greening or a Cortland is naturally more
spreading. Even so, a bearing tree of the former varieties, assuming a
good framework and ample spacing, will begin to droop and remain within
reach if it comes into early production. If »all of the above mentioned
factors • are as they should be, there will be no need to worry about a
source of 20-foot ladders , or of pickers sufficiently courageous to climb
them.

SOME EARLY SPRING TIPS FOR FRUIT GROVreRS

1. Lime. Anyone applying ground limestone in the orchard this year, should
insist on getting high magnesium or dolomitic limestone. Our soils are
inclined to be low iiT'magnesium. High magnesium lime is the cheapest
way of avoiding a magnesium deficiency.

2. Apple Scab. There is an exceptionally heavy carry-over of apple scab
in many Mcintosh orchards this spring. If the month of May is as rainy
as in 1945, Mcintosh growers will have a real fight on their hands in
preventing scab infection. Scab spores are maturing early, A ground
spray of Elgetol will help to solve the problem. The Pre-Pink and Pink
sprays will be very important. It is easier to prevent a scab infection
than to check it after it becomes established.

3. Bridge Grafting, Mice have damaged many fruit trees in Massachusetts
during the past winter. It will pay to look over every tree where the
grass is at all heavy. Trees surrounded by heavy grass are not only
more subject to mouse injury, but the damage is likely to remain unde-
tected. If bridge grafting is needed, well matured, flexible growths
of last year should be cut while fairly dormant and kept in a cold,
moist place. Bridging is most easily done about the time the leaves
appear.

4. Tree Framewo rk. The critical period in the development of a framework in
a fruit tree are the second and third years. Fruit trees which were set
either last year or the year before should be looked over this spring,
V/eak crotches, competing leaders, whorls of branches, and other symptoms
of a poor framework should be corrected now instead of waiting until the
trees are older, when larger cuts will be necessary.

-7-

5. Raspberry Spur Blight. Two troublesome diseases of raspberries, spur
blight and anthracnose, may be controlled by properly timed applications
of Fermate. These diseases are an important factor in reducing rasp-
berry yields. Anyone interested in the control of spur blight and an-
thracnose will find full details in February Fruit Not'js.

6. Bloesom Thinning. Any apple grower interested in applying a blossom
thinning spray to reduce the set of fruit in 1946 may obtain some prac-
tical suggestions by writing the Department of Pomology, M.S.C,
Amherst, Mass. Although this practice cannot be generally/ recommended,
it has possibilities and may v/ell be tried on an experimental basis.

MICHIGAN ELIM IN ATES INFESTED FR U IT TREES

A new law became operative in Michigan September 6, 1945 which
will be of much benefit to the fruit industry. Following is a quotation
from a letter recently received from C. A. ^ Boyer, Chief, Bureau of plant
Industry, Lansing, Michigan:

"Our fruit growers and nurserymen in the state realize the necessity
of giving more adequate protection to the fruit industry which shows
an aiinual income of some $35,000,000. Since this program was instituted
following the passage of the law, we have eradicated some 85,000 fruit
trees and may I relate it is just in its infancy. It is our intention
to have sufficient personnel, equipment snd moneys to see that every
fruit tree in the fruit growing area is either properly cared for or
removed .

"It is interesting to note that we have been hiring bulldozers to re-
move these large apple tre^s, and the cost is about 12^ on apples > 9^
on cherry and pear, and as little as 5/ on peaches. They did a com-
mendable chore in removing trees. YIe likewise make our regular in-^
spections for virus diseases at the proper season of the year, and are
instrumental in having growers remove virus diseasetJ peach trees. If
you have any questions concerning the same, please feel free to call."

Any reader of Fruit Notes interested in studying the details of
this new law (Destructive Insects and Plant Diseases, Act No. 72, Public
Acts 1945) may obtain a copy by v;ritinr V/. H. Thies, French Hall, M.S.C,
Ajnherst, Mass,

Fruit and Vegetable Produce rs get' about l/3 of Consumers ' Dollar.
Of "the Consumers' Dollar syent for Fruits "aJiT'VegeT:lbreT'the
Producer gets 35^: and the Retailer ,. SO-tfo, The remaining Zi-tfo
goes to the VJTiolesaler (15^^J and for Transp orta tion (19^). Ten
percent of the Retailer's share could go to the* Retailer through
certain economies in trimming of vegetables, etc., and 5% more
, through bringing stores together into larger units, thus' giving
the Producer 50jJ instead of 35^.

-8-

Preventing Frost Damage. By the time this issue of Fruit Notes is re-
ceived a new mimeographed leaflet No. 134, "Frost Prevention for the
Orchard," by YI, D. Weeks will be available. A copy may be obtained
from your County Extension office or from the State College. It tells
the conditions under v/hich frosts occur and offers some practical sug-
gestions. If it were easy to insure against frost damage most growers
would do something about it. For an orchard in a frosty location, how-
ever, preventive measures are both expensive and laborious.

HOUSING for orchard workers will be the key to the labor problem, 36 mem-
bers of Yfenatchee Farm Vforkers Housing, Inc., agree. They plan to enlarge
a $25,000 housing facility which started as a tent camp, adding new build-
ings. (Adequate housing at harvest time is also a critical problem in
Massachusetts.)

Boron Deficiency in Massachus etts S oils. Dr. F. E. Bear of Rutgers Univer-
sity states that crops grov/ing on Gloucester, Merriraac, and V/ethersf ield
soils are frequently benefitted by borax applications. These soils are
all found in Massachusetts, Dr. A. B. Beaumont, State Conservationist for
Massachusetts, advises that most of the outwash soils in Massachusetts are
likely to need borax.

Are you interested in irrigation? The v;riter has recent-
ly received two copies of an excellent booklet entitled,
"Supplemental Irrigation." They are available on a loan
basis to any reader of Fruit Notes.

AMAZING RESULTS in the use of DDT on 800 acres of apples at Paw Paw, Vir-
ginia, are reported by Henry W. Miller, Jr. Codling moths trapped in 10
bait pails in May, rose from 546 in 1943 to 1,070 in 1944, to 2,536 in
1945. June figures were: 1943 - 204; 1944 - 236; 1945 - 60.
July: 1943 - 365; 1944 - 1,048; 1945 - 42. Percent of v;ormy apples:
1942 - 2; 1943 - 11; 1944 - 22; 1945 - less than ^ of 1.

A few days' delay in mimeographing and mailing this issue
of Fruit Notes is due in part to a heavy volume of work
in the Mailing Room and a small staff plus a few part time
student vrorkers . Besides many individual releases. Fruit
Notes is only one of several regular publications to go

through the mill." if it is held up temporarily we console
ourselves by knowing that something of an emergency nature
has priority, or perhaps the anticipated student assistance
didn't materialize.

April 30, 1946

Prepared by the Fruit Program Committee
of the Extension Service

W. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

Some ObEervations on European Fruit Growing

DDT in Oriental Fruit Moth Control

Good Crop Still in Prospect Despite Frosts

Progress in Fruit Marketing

Some Interesting Facts about Apples

A Study of Apple Scab in New York State

Poultry Manure and Apple Scab Control

The Farm Labor Situation

SQtIE OBSERVATIONS ON EUROPEAN FRUIT GROfflMG

During the eight months recently spent with the army as a civilian
instructor at the Biarritz American University, I had opportunity to observe
some of the practices of fruit growers in southwestern France. V/ithin a
radius of 75 miles north and east of Biarritz there is little other than home
orchard trees and the ever present small vineyard for local wine production.
Open grown trees, usually in sod, are typically very high headed, little
pruned and make slavr growth. The fruit from such trees is used chiefly for
cider although some of the best (about a U.S. Utility Grade) will be found
on the retail market as mixed lots. In the Gironde Valley running from
Toulouse to Bordeaux, fruit growing is one of the major typos of farming.

-2-

Mixed tree fruits with some American apple varieties predominate around
Montauban, plums at Agen and of course thousands of acres of grapes around
Bordeaux. In this valley the soil is usually cultivated, but frequently
the trees are very low headed, open center or goblet and very severely
pruned. The V/ar Period with its shortage of fertilizers and spray materials
as^ well as tools and labor, has been pretty hard on the French fruit grower,
but at best their methods and knowledge of pest control as well as most other
practices are years behind what \<re enjoy. At a meeting in Toulouse witl\ a
group of French agricultural experts and fruit grov/ers, I found them keenly
interfisted in learning about new varieties and especially in our system of
getting information to the growej^s « the Extension Service.

— A. P. French

DDT IM ORIENTAL FRUIT MOTH CONTROL

The Oriental fruit moth is the most destrxictive pest of peaches.
Some growers might nominate the plum curculio or brown rot for this doubt-
ful honor, but the characteristic habit of the newly hatched fruit moth
VtTorra to enter the fruit without leaving noticeable evidence of infestation
seems to overcome all other arguments.

There are three or four generations annually, depending upon the
season and locality. Each generation requires about 40 days to develop,
and the moths are present in greatest numbers about June 1, July 15, August 1,
and September 15. In cool seasons and locations, the fourth generation may
not develop, or it may not appear until after the fruit is harvested. Strange-
ly enough, the fruit moth is less serious in the South than might be expected
because the last two generations develop after the fruit is mature and the
twigs have hardened, making it difficult to find suitable food to produce
a strong and abundant over-wintering population.

V/orms of the first generation, and a large part of the second genera-
tion, attack the tender nev/ growth of the twigs which they enter at the ter-r
minal bud, or at the base of a nev,' leaf and bore through the pith for 2 or 3
inches. Apparently, they prefer the twig growth to the young fruit until
after the stone-hardening period and they may bore into several twigs before
they complete their feeding.

Many newly hatched worms enter the fruit near the stem where the tiny
hole heals quickly and is inconspicuous at harvest, misleading the consumer
to think that the fruit is sound. In fact, many of the most prominent holes
in mature fruit are exit holes showing that the worms have left. Entrance
holes on the side of the fruit are usually where the frriit touches another
fruit, a leaf or twig and are distinguished by masses of dried "gum." This
habit puts a premium on careful thinning.

Fortunately, the Oriental fruit moth is readily attacked by several
parasites. Liberations of these beneficial insects have held the pest in
check in many places but they have seldom given the freedom from vrormy fruit
that careful growers desire. Sprays of fixed nicotine and dusts of a sulfur-
oil-talc mix-feure have been helpful and some growers have used them satisfac-
torily. Recently, it has been found that DDT is very effective against this

pest and that it is harmless to peach foliage, bark, and fruit, and can be
combined safely with sulfur and other fungicides.

The preferred forms of DDT for this purpose are wettable powder or
dust. The wettable powder should be added to provide one (1) pound of actual
DDT in each 100 gallons of spray. If the powder contains 50% DDT, use two (2)
pounds in 100 gallons. A 40% powder requires two and one-half (2^) pounds;
and a 25% powder needs four (4) pounds. Vfettable sulfur may be added as
needed for brovm rot control. Where dusting is desirable a 5% DDT-sulfur
dust or a 5% DDT-sulfur-talc dust is suggested.

At present, treatments are concentrated against the second generation
and applications are suggested at 10-day intervals beginning about July 15.
Until further information on residue tolerano is available, peaches should
not be treated with DDT less than 3 weeks before harvest. Therefore, many
of the common varieties of peaches can safely receive only one or two appli-
cations. Varieties ripening in September are subject to the greatest injury
by the third generation worms and this application of DDT appears safe and
practical on them.

DDT kills the moths and the worms of the Oriental fruit moth by con-
tact with the spray or dust residue. Careful and regular applications should
not only give good control of the worms but it should reduce the moth popula-
tion to a minimum,

— YI. D. Whitcomb

GOOD CROP STILL IN PROSPECT DESPITE FROSTS (National Apple Institute Bulletin,.

April 26, 1946)

Having passed the half^vay point in the period of freeze danger, the
prospects for a large apple crop have been reduced only in a few areas. Tele-
graphic reports for this bulletin indicate that lYestern New York, the central
part of the Appalachian belt, and parts of Ohio and Indisma have had serious
but localized damage, while other areas have escaped severe losses,

NeV'T England ; Total prospects affected about 5 percent by damage to
Gravensteins, Greenings, Baldwins* Mcintosh still promise big crop. New York:
Average of five Hudson Valley fruit counties 35 to 40 percent of bloom gone,
but enough left for good crop if weather is favorable through bloom. In Vf'est-
em New York, enough buds are left for a moderate crop; damage is spotty
depending on altitude, varying from zero to over ninety percent. Mcintosh
and Cortland badly hurt; Spies and Romes probably suffered least. Orchards
neglected last year did not set buds for this year. Appalachian Area: Bud
kill heavy in central part of belt except on high ground . Yorks v/ere hurt
least, Delicious most. Blossoming generally one of heaviest on record. A
few orchards neglected last year defoliated early resulting in sparse bloom.
Total prospects for four states still good. Nev^ Jersey and Delaware: Some
damage mainly confined to low areas. Ohio ; Damage spotty on low sites re-
ducing Delicious, Stayman, Baldwin, Duchess. Romes generally okay. Prospect
for state continues average or better, Michigan ; No frost damage to apples.
Indiana ; Vincennes and south okay. Central and south central badly hit;
Delicious all killed in some orchards. Three-fourths of full crop possible
for state. Illinois and Missouri; Main producing sections unhurt, Wisconsin:

-4-

No damage. Vfashington, Oregon, Idaho, ggid California are more nearly on
schedule than the Midwest and East.

probably in no previous year have so many expedients in frost pro-
tection measures been tried by growers as in the past few weeks. Few apple
orchards in the East and Midwest are equipped with burners, but all sorts
of improvised smudge producers have been used, including v;et baled hay
drenched with oil; oil pits in the ground v;ith gunny sack wicking; old tires;
old railroad ties; portable brush burners with smoky fuel.

Reporting on frost damage in Monroe County, New
York orchards, one observer with a sense of humor
says: The injury must run from 2& to 50^ kill
of apple blossoms. It is irregular by trees, by
varieties, by elevation, by location on the tree
and by plain cussednesa.

PROGRESS IN FRUIT I.IARKETING

At a statewide marketing conference held in Cambridge March 12 and
13, seven items of importance to the fruit industry were outlined, two of
which vifere referred to the State College. A oonmittee has since met to
formulate a procedure as follows;

I. Expansion of store-door delivery of apples.

~ A. The Situation. (1) Store-door delivery of apples, by growers,
saves much trucking and handling with att'^ndant deterioration
and keeps grower and retailer in direct contact. This contact
opens the v;ay to mutually agreeable arrangements on such things
as grading, packaging, and handling in general. It shOLi.ld lead
to the solution of some of our most serious and difficult marketing
problems. (2) Some 5 to 10^ of Massachusetts apples are now de-
livered by grov:ers to retail stores. (3) Chain stores sell about
bOfo of the Massachusetts apple crop. All chains favor store-door
delivery by growers. (4) Many independent stores sell few or no
apples, but might merchandize apples effectively if assured a satis-
factory store-door supply. (5) Buyers would rather deal in volume
with large growers. Growers with smaller crops might have to as-
semble their apples at a central point to gain volume and uniformity.
(6) Any procedure for store-door delivery must be mutually profitable
and satisfactory, and it must fit the local situation. Details of
procedure must therefore be developed locally by agreement between
growers and retailers,

B. Procedure. (1) Submit the idea to growers for careful consideration.
Retailers are already sold on the proposal. (a) Feature at twilight
orchard meetings through the summer. Invite retailers to attend,
(b) Take the afternoon session of the Farm and Home lleek Program
for a discussion of the problems of store-door delivery, (2) Final-
ly, bring growers and retailers together in neighborhoods where there
is the most interest, to develop satisfactory local arrangements.

-5-

The important thing is to get the problems of direct delivery
into the open where they can be dealt with, and to avoid unneces-
sary mistakes until a satisfactory procedure emerges with exper-
ience. If store-door delivery can be made mutually profitable
it will grow and spread fast enough.

II. Reduction in sales of immature Mcintosh apples.

A. The Situation* Green Mcintosh reach the market for a number of
reasons. Among them are: (1) There seems to be a limited consumer
demand for Mcintosh apples in late August and early September. To
the extent that early-picked Mcintosh are a response to this demand,
probably little can be done about it. (2) Aside from the pressure
of consumer-demand, Mcintosh apples are sometimes picked too early
through fear of a heavy drop before they can be harvested. A part
of this at least is grounded in experience and is not imagination.
Some of the real problems are: (a) A serious shortage of help at
harvest time. (b) Widespread shortages of magnesium and boron in
Massachusetts orchards. When symptoms of eithgr deficiency are ap-
parent, apples are likely to drop before coloring, regardless of
hormone applications. There is reason to believe that in years when
weather conditions do not result in deficiency symptoms, the apples
may still drop early and caWJiot be held on until they reach proper
maturity by hormone applications, (c) Mcintosh trees in Massachu-
setts are, in general, mature and so large that the shading problem
in crowded orchards has become serious. These shad»^rown apples on
the lower pairts of trees mature late or not at all. Inadequate prun-
ing due to shortage of help, high nitrogen in the trees in late sum-
mer, ajid unfavorable weather conditions ail aggravate the trouble.

B. Procedure. (1) Urge growers to allow apples to reach a reasonable
stage of maturity before harvesting them, even if this means a 10
or 15 percent preharvest drop. Increased size and greatly improved
finish on the rest of the crop should more than offset the drop.
(2) Urge thinning of crowding trees and adequate pruning of remain-
ing trees. (3) Intensify the campaign looking to the correction of
mineral deficiencies in orchards. (4) Assist with the better adjust-
ment of nitrogen applications to fit individual orchards. (5) Urge
more effective use of hormone sprays where there is no mineral de-
ficiency. (6) Urge spot picking. (7) Continue assistance in finding
an adequate supply of harvest labor. (8) Urge the grading out and
disposal of green fruit in the Fall. It gets no better in storage.

SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT APPLES

The original Baldwin tree which grew on the old Baldwin Farm, Chestnut
Street, TJ'ilmington, is reported to have blovm down during a terrific storm
which occurred September 23, 1815.

Apple seeds viere in the Memorandum of 1629 of seeds to be sent to the
Massachusetts Company. Thus it appears that the apple played a part in the
very early history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

-6-

Jtonong the varieties of apples which originated in Massachusetts arej
Westfield Seek-no-further, Baldwin, Hubbardston, Sutton, Roxbury Russet,
Williams, Tolman Sweet, Porter, and Mother.

In "Downing's Fruits," (Edition of 1866) 643 varieties of apples are
discussed, and in 1879 the Anerican Pomological Society endorsed 321 varieties
of apples as being vrarthy of planting.

In 1648 Peregrin IThite, the first European born in New England,
planted apple trees in Marshfield. This is the first known record of the
planting of an apple tree in Massachusetts.

The apple appears to be a native of temperate Europe and Asia in the
regions south of the Caucasus. Although the apple as we know it has been in-
troduced to the United States we have several kinds of native crab apples
which grow wild.

Until the beginning of the 20th Century practically all of our apple
varieties originated as chance seedlings. Since that time much progress has
been made in the development of new varieties through plant breeding, thereby
combining the desirable qualities of two varieties. The Cortland, a cross
between Mcintosh and Ben Davis, is an exsimple of this new development. Early
Mcintosh, Macoun, and others v^ere also developed in that way.

The V/estfield Seek-No-Further variety originated in the town of V/est-
field at least 150 years ago. In 1846 a comraittee of the New York State
Agricultural Society investigated the plantings of this variety in the Con*
necticut Valley and reported as follows: "This truly excellent apple origin-
ated in ¥/estfield, a beautiful meadov: town about ten miles v^est of Springfield.
For many miles up and dovm it is the apple par excellence of that locality.
Vfnole orchards are planted to this fruit and nowhere does it flourish in
higher luxuriance and perfection."

The apple is one of the oldest of our cultivated fruits. Carbonized
apples have been found in the ancient lake habitations of Switzerland dating
back to the Stone Age, but these are small and resemble those which still
grow wild in the Swiss forests. These Stone Age people understood the art
of drying and made extensive use of dried fruits, v/hich v:ere part of their
winter food supply. Apples and pears were usually cut lengthwise and dried.
In this drying process some specimens became carbonized. Specimens of these
fj*uits are nov/ on display in the National Museum.

John Chapman, familiarly known as Johnny Appleseed, a native of Leomin-
ster, Massachusetts, played a prominent part in the early history of apple
growing in the United States. Chapman traveled through the Middle V/est on
horseback carrying with him a bag of apple seed for distribution among the
pioneers along the Western frontier. He believed that the pioneers would be
more contented if they had fruit for home use. From earliest times the apple
has been associated with the pioneer in his new home. No other fruit is so
universally grown and so universally liked as the apple. A monuraent to the
memory of Johnny Appleseed has been erected at his birthplace in Leominster
to cofniaemorate his contribution to the apple industry.

-7-

A STUDY OF APPLE SCAB IN NEW YORK STATE

During the past 27 yaars the incubation periods of appla scab in
western New York orchards, in the first important infection period of each
year, has been made by W. D. Mills. The following table shows the approxi-
mate length of the incubation period over the range of mean temperatures
encountered. These figures may be used as a rough guide in determining,
after scab spots appear, which rainy period was responsible.

Mean Temperatures During Approximate Length of
Incubation Period Incubation Period

48-49

degrees

50-51

52-53

54-55

56-57

53-59

61-62

63-64

65-66

17 days
16 "
15 "
14
13
12
11
10
9

As a result of the rainy period of j^ril 25-27 in Massachusetts,
unprotected trees of scab susceptible varieties may be expected to shov/ scab
spots around May 11-14, depending upon temperatures,

POULTRY IIANURE AND APPLE SCAB CONTROL

■ ■■■■■ ■ ■ I^IJ !■ ■ ^ — U MIM ■ ■! ■! ■ ■ ■ !■ - ■ ■■■■■.!■ ■■ ■ ■ ■ ■■ m ^ ■»■ ■!■! ■

Many Mcintosh growers are of the opinion that poultry manure has some
influence on the scab problem. They cite as evidence the scabbiness of the
average henyard tree. The situation seems to sum up about like this; A
liberal application of poultry manure results in more terminal grovirth, more
and larger leaves and possibly leaves into v/hich the scab fungus can more
easily gain entrance. The added leaf area requires more spray material if
the tree is to be completely covered. Then, too, a dense, leafy tree dries
off less readily after a rain. It may stay wet an hour longer than a thin
tree. The net result is a more favorable set-up for scab development on a
tree liberally fertilized with poultry manure.

Talking about scab control before a group of Nev/ York growers,
A. B. Burrell made this important point, - "Keeping the trees well pro-
tected is good, cheap insurance, which pays dividends. Let us not again
be caught as most growers were in 1945."

Most growers can apply 25 to 50% laore tankfuls per day witji present
equipment by studying the layout and noting where time is lost. If more
than 5 minutes are required to return to the filling station or to get
the vmter and materials into the tank, the system needs reorganizing.

May 31, 1946

Prepared by the Fruit Program Committee
of the Extension Service

W. H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

DDT in the Fruit Pest Control Program

Trained Dwarf Fruit Trees

Do You Know?

Magnesium in the Apple Orchard

DDT Itr THE FRUIT PEST CONTROL PROGRjai

Experiments in many parts of the-country have shovm that DDT has
proved more effective against many of th« serious pests *f agricultuml crops
than any other insecticide yet produced, T/l/hen used in proper formulations,
DDT has shown definite promise against such prominent pe^te «i« c«dli»g moth,
JapoRcae beetle, .Ori%ntal fruit moth,,gypey moth, ani wthers.

One of its great advaatages is the fact that it is eompatible with
most of our common insectioldes and fungicides, such as lead arsenate, fryo-
lite, nicotine compounds, dinitro compounds, wettable sulfurs, fermat*, etc.
Its use is not recommended with strongly alkaline materials a»d it should not
bPi used with lime.

Issued oy t^e Extension Service In furtherance of Acts of May S and June 30, igiU, '
Willard A. Munson, Director, Massachusetts State College. United States Department
of Agriculture and County Extension Services Cooperating. - ■ "

-2-

Recent reports by the Foder»l Government state that "DDT has shown
promise for the control of such important fruit-insect pests as the codling
moth, apple leaf hoppers. Oriental fruit moth, grape berry moth, grape leaf-
hoppers, rose chafer, Japanese beetle, little fire ant on citrus in Florida,
sucking bugs that cause distortion of peaches, and, in preliminary small-
scale tests, some others,"

DDT, however, is by no means a "cure all." It has not proved very
effective against plum curculio, European red mite, or pear psylla, and re-
sults against apple maggot have not been very favorable.

DDT - although a high-powered insecticide which some think will revo-
lutionize insect control - has a tricky habit of sometimes killing the wrong
insect. Consequently, its use in solving certain problems may bring on others.

The fact is DDT will not kill all species of our insect pests, while
it does kill some of those which destroy obnoxious insects and are therefore
in themselves beneficial to us. -— — —

The fear has sometimes arisen that indiscriminate use of DDT might
release consequences more harmful than the original threat. For example, DDT
is ineffective against European red mite while at the same time destroying
the natural enemies. Definite experiments have shown that some of the. species
of ladybeetles were killed when they came in contact with surfaces sprayed
with DDT. Yet it is the general experience that DDT is ineffective against
about the one species of this family which is a pest of the garden (Mexican
bean beetle), jiphids in laboratory tests were unaffected by DDT while lady-
beetles and syi^hid flies promptly died.

In brief, like any promising material, DDT should be used intelligent-
ly, in proper formulation, and only against the particular pests for the con-
trol of which it has shown promise. Furthermore,' until more definite informa-
tion is available, DDT should not be applied to fruits within a month or six
weeks of harvest.

Below are listed some of our more common fruit pests and their reaction
toward DDT.

Not as yet particularly
Promising for control of ; successful against;

Codling moth " Plmn curculio

Gypsy moth European red mite and other mites

Japanese beetle (beetles and grubs) Pear psylla
Rose chafer Apple maggot

Leafhoppers Many scale insects

Oriental' fruit moth Many species of aphids

Plant bugs (cause "o&t facing"
of peaches)

— A- I. Bourne

FARM AND HOME VffiEK FRUIT MEETING - Tuesday, July 23.

-o-

STRANGB FACTS ABOUT FRUIT DISEASES

Apple Scab. 1, This disease is not caused by a single organism,
but by a group of closely related strains or varieties of the species,
Venturia inequalis. The Mcintosh strain is only feebly parasitic on Baldv;in
and Yfealthy, while the Yfealthy strain is not injurious to Mcintosh, but
causes severe damage to Wealthy foliage and fruits in some of the mid-westem
states.

2. In order for the scab fungus to complete its life cycle, a typical
sexual process is necessary. While primary infections are taking place in the
spring, half of the ascospores coming from the old leaves are male and half
are female in character. All of the summer spores, including their progeny
throughout the period of secondary infections, resulting from a male asco-
spore are likewise male in character. The corresponding situation holds true
for the progeny of the female ascospores. Late in the season when a leaf in-
fected by both male and female forms of the fungus drops to the ground and
dies, the scab fungus threads which formerly were confined to the region
betv/een the cuticle and epidermis, grow into the interior of the dead leaf
where some of the cells of the male threads unite with cells of the female
threads, thus effecting fertilization. This union is the beginning of the
perithecium that bears the dreaded ascospores which start the scab trouble
anew for the grower in the spring,

3. It is possible to cross different strains of the apple scab fun-
gus. This has been done by initiating leaf infections from single ascospores
of opposite sex from different scab strains and then harvesting the perithecia
the following spring that develop in the infected leaf. The outcome is nevi
strains of the scab fungus that behave differently from the original parents
in degree of parasitism on the varieties concerned. Similar crossings occur
very commonly in nature with many kinds of plant disease fungi, giving rise

to new physiologic strains of the standard species and varieties. In fact,
it constitutes a terrible handicap to plant breeders and plant pathologists
who attempt to develop varieties of plants resistant to certain diseases.

Fire Blight. For many years it was supposed that the only vmys in
Vifhich the bacteria which ooze out from holdover canlcers may spread from one
place to another was by the splashing action of rain and by the flight of
insects which feed upon or walk through the milky drops of bacterial ooze,
A few years ago, it was discovered that the same sticky drops of ooze may be
and commonly are drawn out into fine threads many feet in length and blown
to distant points. This process provides another means of dissemination of
the fire blight organism.

Peach Leaf Curl , Th© seasonal behavior of the fungus causing this
disease is quite different from that for most other fruit disease organisms.
In fact, it is not thoroughly understood yet in spite of much research on
the subject. No one has ever been able to find evidences of twig and bark
infections where the fungus could exist in either active or dormant condition
during the long period of summer, fall and v.-inter when the disease is con-
sidered to be in an inactive stage. In only a very fev/ instances have there
come reports that the curl fungus is able to attack the peach fruit. Other-

-4-

wise, the disease appears to be limited to the leaves that are produced early
in the season, with no evidence of secondary spread.

However, it is known that thousands upon thousands of ascospores are
produced on the surface of curled leaves and that these are able to multiply
by budding in the same manner as yeast cells. These so-called bud cells or
spores are known to carry over on and between the bud scales where they have
ready access to the new shoot and leaves. It has also been learned that
either the ascospores or their bud-progeny may survive on the surface of
the limbs and tvdgs for an entire year and initiate the curl disease one
year from the time they were normally expected to infect the new shoots.

The fact that the leaf curl spores winter over on the surface of the
tree top makes it possible to obtain good control of the disease with a sin-
gle disinfecting fungicidal spray. Perhaps the reason v.fhy bearing orchards
well sprayed during the fruiting season are not so likely to be damaged from
leaf curl as young trees is the eradicative action against the leaf curl
spores of the sulfur dusts and sprays applied during the summer.

— 0. C. Boyd

TRAINED DYfARF FRUI T TRE ES

One of the most interesting poraological practices in France is the
training of dwarf fruit trees. Apples and pears are the most frequently used
for this purpose, but one also occasionally sees some of the stone fruits,
especially the peach, so treated. Sometimes they are trained as horizontal
cordons to form a low fence around the vegetable garden, but more frequently
they are trained in upright position as espaliers on a trellis or against the
garden wall. Much time and skill is required to properly develop and main-
tain the desired form, since they are usually pruned three times a year -
late winter, June and September - and fruit spurs are forced to develop in
abnormal positions instead of v/aiting for them to form in normal positions.

At one chateau we saw what might be called a commercial planting of
these dwarf trees, two and one half acres in extent. Three different t^^es
of training were used; an open pyramidal type, a lov^, broad, hedge type
and espalier. Every third row vf&s espaliered against a concrete wall 8 feet
high especially built for that purpose.

It must have cost plenty to "build" this orchard even in France where
labor is ordinarily cheap. On the two and one half acres there stood 3,600
of these dwarf trees which produced about 5 metric tons annually or roughly
250 bushels - a rather low production for that acreage judged by our standards,

— A. P. French

Fmi AI'ID HOME WEEK CUT TO TiiO DAYS - July 23 and 24, The Farm and
Home Vi'eek committee has reduced the 1946 program to two days instead
of three as originally scheduled. The dates are Tuesday , July 23 ,
and y;ednesday , Jul y 24 , Tuesday will be devoted to fruit growing,
dairying, homemal-cing (flov;ers and food preservation), and youth.
Wednesday's program v/ill include homemaking, poultry, beekeeping.
Valley crops, and goats.

That the 150th anniversary of the Mcintosh apple will be celebrated'
in Canada--this year? From an obscure beginning as a chance seedling on a
farm in Ontario, the Mcintosh has become one of the most popular apples in
jtoierica. It now ranks first in production in New England by a wide margin.

That a 12-year old apple tree in eastern U. S. may develop approx-
imately 60,000 leaves? In the Northwest the number may reach 75,000 or more.
If the average leaf area is 4 square inches, covering both sides of every
leaf of the former tree with spray materials is equivalent to covering a
wall 15 feet high and 222 feet long.

That the heat of respiration in oranges at 32° F. is reported to
vary betv\feen 427 and 979 British Thermal Units per ton per day, but at 100° F.
it increases to 22,660 B.T.U.'s per Lon per day? (A BTU is the amount of
heat required to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water 1° F.) Oranges
seem to get "all het up" about breathing.

That a fruit dessert capable of satisfying a soldier's appetite and
also of contribxiting Vitamin C to his diet has been developed by the ViTestern
Regional Research Laboratory? It contains 60^o fruit and 40^ fruit juice
jellied with pectin, is said to keep v;ell in all climates, is easy to carry,
and can be opened and eaten out of hand without dripping juice. The Army
used 10,000,000 cans in the first three months of 1945. Both the pineapple,
and one containing peaches, pears, cherries, apricots and white grapes are
popular.

That the use of calcium as a firming agent is quite effective in
preventing canned, fresh and frozen sliced Mcintosh apples from becoming
excessively soft or mushy when baked in a pie? The amo'ont of calcium used
and the length of treatment will vary depending upon the original fimmess
of the apples, the length of time they have been in storage, and the degree
of firmness desired. This problem is being investigated by J. J. Powers
and YI. B. Esselen of the Food Technology Department at M.S.C.

That a frozen fruit puree has been developed as a means of utiliz-
ing fully ripe fruit which cannot be handled in the fresh fruit market?
It can be made from any fully ripe, raw fixiit which has a decided flavor.
This product serves as a flavor base for ice cream, sherbet, frozen jellied
fruits and beverages.

That the original Mcintosh appl^ tree v;as injured by the burning of
a nearby dwelling in 1894. The tree bore its last apples in 1908, died short-
ly afteirwards and finally was removed in 1910 by a great grandson of John
Mcintosh, after whom the apple was named.

-6-

That, according to the U. S. Forest Service, there are 1,763,651,000,000
board feet of standing timber of saw log size in the nation? A fruit grower
is inclined to speculate on the number of fruit containers that would make.

That a new material (2-4-D), combined with a nitrogenous fertilizer
(urea) and a fungicide (fermate) is now being tested as a means of killing
weeds, stimulating a growth of grass and protecting it against fungi?
Tests are now under way at Beltsville, Md. under the supervision of P. C.
March and J. Vi". Mitchell.

That, in Colonial days, 19 out of every 20 people were engaged in
tilling the soil? The development of time-saving farm equipment and larger
per acre yields have changed that ratio. Today only 5 out of 20 are engaged
in producing our various agricultural crops.

That the 1946 acreage of straviberries in the U. S. (105,680) is con-
siderably higher than in 1945 when 87,480 acres were planted? The 10 year
average of 1935-44 v;as 149,430 acres.

That a light set of Delicious apples may in some cases be due to a
peculiarity in the blossom of that variety? R. H. Roberts of Wisconsin finds
that the structure of the Delicious blossom is such that honey bees do not
readily pollinate it. He found that in 80^ of their visits, honeybees ex-
tracted the nectar without bringing about pollination. Bumblebees apparently
are more efficient in bringing about pollination in the Delicious variety.

That the Brockton Fair, after a lapse of many years, is again staging
an adult Fruit and Vegetable Shovi this fall? The dates are September 8-14.

That damage' by the codling moth is estimated at |31,000,000 annually?
Other U.S.D.A. estimates are as follows- plum curculio, $10,000,000; Jap-
anese beetle, |3, 490, 000; and Mexican been beetle, $2,006,000.

That the value of New England farm products over a 5-year period
(1940-44) amounted to ;|1, 925, 000, 000? The total value of all products of
New England farms in 1944, over $500,000,000, was almost double the 1940
value.

That we have al^nost unlimited supplies of nitrogen (in an unavailable
form) in the United States? There are literally thousands of tons of nitro-
gen in the air over our farms. There are said to be enough Rock Phosphate
deposits in Florida alone to last over 1,000 years with the main deposits
in the Rockies just beginning to be tapped. KnoMi potash deposits will last
well over 100 years, v.dth large foreign deposits available to supplement our
domestic supplies, when and if necessary.

That young fruit 'trees set out in an old orchard can be given an
extra drink of water by using the sprayer or a tank mounted on a truck?
A supply of water, particularly during June and July, may be the one factor
v/hich determines whether these trees get off to a good start.

That fire losses on farms in the U. S. last year ($90,000,000) were
the highest since 1932? Have you examined your farm buildings recently
for fire hazards?

-7-

That large quantities of soil fertility go up in smoke when plant
residues are burned? Nitrogen, which entered the plant from the soil, goes
into the air as a gas while only such mineral elements as calcium and potas-
sium remain in the ash. We have yet to see a good orchard in which the owner
makes a regular practice of burning the grass instead of allowing it to remain
to enrich the soil.

That at least 5 grains of pollen must reach the stigma of each apple
blossom to bring about the development of a normal, well formed apple? The
pistil of an apple blossom is a 5-parted affair and unless one pollen grain
reaches each part of the divided tip a normal seed will not develop in each
of the five sections of the ovary or core. If a pollen grain is placed on
one of the stigma segments only, the resulting fruit, if it develops at all,
will be lopsided. More than likely it will drop from the tree in the so-
called June drop when the apples are competing with each other for water
and other things needed in their development.

A CORRECTION ^- In an April Fruit Notes article "DDT in
Oriental Fruit Moth Control," two errors should be noted,
as follows* Line 8 should read "...» about June 1, July 15,
and September 1," The last sentence in the next to the
last paragraph should read ".... and 3 applications of DDT
appear safe «...."

MAGNESIUM IN THE APPLE ORCHARD

(Following is part of a paper written by Lawrence Southwick, formerly
of the Pomology Department and now with a large chemical concern.)

Magnesium is one of the mineral elements essential to normal plant
nutrition. As early as 1840, Liebig considered magnesium to be an essential
element since it was found in considerable amounts in plant ash. Willstatter
in 1906 first showed that magnesium is one of the constituents of chlorophyll
and now it is recognized to be the key element in this substance which is so
essential to green plants. With the aid of chlorophyll, the energy from the
sun is utilized to build up plant tissue which, directly or indirectly, has
supplied man with most of the necessities and luxuries of life.

Green chlorophyll contains 2,7 per cent of magnesium in its chemical
makeup. However, since only about 10 per cent of the m.agnesium required for
normal plant growth is contained in the chlorophyll, this element probably
has other essential functions. Along with nitrogen, potassium, phosphorous,
calcium, and sulfur, magnesium is a major nutrient element and is utilized
in considerable quantity by orchard trees as well as other crop plants. When
the supply of this element is insufficient, deficiency in crop plauits such
as tobacco, corn, potatoes and some vegetables has been a problem for a num-
ber of years in Atlantic coastal areas. In Florida magnesium requirements of
citrus trees have not been satisfied by native soil supplies and fertilization

-8-

with magnesium compounds has become quite prevalent. Recently it was found
that tung trees responded markedly to magnesium applications.

Symptoms of magnesium deficiency on apple trees have been recognized
only very recently in this country although the trouble has been knowii in
England, Canada, and New Zealand for several years. It is true that the
symptoms have been observed for a number of years but the cause was usually
identified as drought injury, spray burn, etc. Typical magnesium deficiency
symptoms usually appear in late summer. In late July or August apparently
normal trees develop a leaf scorch which characteristically appears as irre-
gular areas on the leaf blades. This necrosis is often preceded by a fading
out of the green color and with some varieties there is considerable leaf
mottling and coloration. The first leaves to show deficiency scorch are
usually the older ones near the bases of the current year's shoot growths
and the scorch may progress upward as the season advances. Affected leaves
often drop early, leaving bare stretches of wood. In serious cases most of
the foliage may be affected and pre-harvest drop of fruit is hastened. Fur-
thermore, apple quality is inferior and t ree growth is reduced. Seriously
deficient trees are not productive nor profitable. The extent and severity
of magnesium deficiency in eastern apple orchards seems to be increasing.
Hence, effective control measures are eagerly sought by groovers.

Several approaches to the problem have proven more or less successful.
Adequate soil applications of magnesium oxide and magnesiijra salts (such as
Epsom salts) have given generally good results on young trees, but a much
more delayed response has been characteristic of older trees. In meiny tests
high magnesium or dolomitic limestone applications have been relatively in-
effective unless the lime was thoroughly dug into the soil around the roots
as was done by Boynton in New York.

The inclusion of Epsom salts in two or three post-blossom spray appli-
cations has been effective as vias also the use of high magnesium spray lime
in the cover sprays. Investigators have also shown that magnesium deficiency
may be worse under condxtions of high potassium nutrition, Boynton recently
reported that magnesium deficiency leaf blotch v/as induced in Mcintosh apple
trees following fertilization for three or more years with potash.

Give fools their gold

And Itnaves their power.
Let Fortune's bauble

Rise or fall.
Who sov;s a field

Or trains a tree
Or plants a flower

Is more than all.

— -Whittier

iis

i^iOtES

Jiine 28, 1946

Prepared by the Fruit Program Coinraittee
of the Extension Service

V/, h. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

— ^.M ll l» ■ Mill

Why the Annual Bloon?

Chan.ges in Fruit Disease Control

A Versatile Fruit Grov^er

Poison I'/y in the j^ple Orchard

Get Rid of the Ghokecherries

Seen in the Field

Ten Years of Fruit Kotes

Strawberry "Nubbins"

Nursery Inspection Trip

Schools for Harvest Labor Supervisors Planned

miY THE AgggaL BLOOM ?

?/ith the exception of a few varieties like Ben Davis which tend to develop

blossoiTis at the tip of the tenninal grov.-th, apples cominonly bloon on spurs

which are f oimd on wood at least tv/o years old. This season many apple trees

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of May 6 and June
30, 1914, T/Villard A. Munson, Director, Massachusetts State College,
United States Department of Agriculture and County Extension Services
Cooperating.

-2-

developed blossoms on both lateral and terminal buds of the 1945
growth. It was not at all unconunon to find practically every bud
on the terminal growth developing into a cluster of late blossoms
instead of showing the usual vegetative behavior. The weather in
1945 may have been responsible*

The initiation of fruit buds seems to be associated with hot,
dry weather and an accumulation of carbohydrates in the tree. Until
mid-summer of 1945 we had more than our share of wet weather. In
fact both June and July, when fruit buds are normally differentiated,
brought at least six inches of rainfall. Not until August did we
encounter anything like a dry spell and by that time the terminal
growth was completed, which meant many additional buds (on the
terminal growth) which might be influenced to beccane flower buds
instead of leaf buds. And that is apparently what happened, not in
mid-summer, but perhaps as late as September,

It is a well known fact that about 9 months may ©lapse between
the beginning of a fjruit bud suid the opening of the blossoms. Thus a
bud which starts to develop in late July might be expected to show
blossoms around the last of April, while a bud which got underway a
month later might be correspondingly later in blooming. If such is the
case, the delayed or secondary bloom on 1945 wood which was so apparent
this spring is merely a rraninder that fi^iit buds were forming over a
longer period in 1945. It will be remembered that growing condition*
v/ere quite ideal during early summer and that diverted into vegetative
groVi-th the carbohydrates needed for fruit bud formation.

CHANGES IN FRUIT DISEASE CONTROL DURING THE PAST TEN YEARS

The most outstanding change in the past ten years in control
praotio«J8 for fruit diseases involves the discovery, testing and
adoption of new fungicides. Ten years ago, we were emerging from
an intensive period of appraisal of the milder forms of sulfur,
the elemental wettable sulfurs. These had replaced the old-time
dry-mix sulfur-lime spray on orchard fruits. At that time, wettable
sulfurs were recomnended for apples in the cover sprays, but lime-
sulfur still was the standard material for the pre-blossom and calyx
applications. Little or nothing was known or said about sulfur
applications rn scab-susceptible varieties during blocan or as
emergency treatments during rainy periods.

Likewise, the dinitro material, knoa-m as Elgetol, ivas being
tested as an eradioant spray on the orchard floor for destroying the
overwintering stage of the apple Scab fungus. During the past ten
years, it has been given a definite place as an emergency spray in

FARM AND HOIvffi VTOEK FRUIT MEETING - Tuesday, July 23,

-3-

the apple spray progreun.

Ten years ago, lime-sulfur sind wettable sulfurs were still the
standard spray materials for cedar rust. Brooks' spot and bitter rot.
Then came the time v/hen gro-//ers substituted wettable sulfurs plus
emergency applications of sulfur dusts for the early season lime-sulfur
sprays, in order to avoid the har^iiful effects of lime-sulfur to foliage,
fruit and tree grov;-th.

Shortly before the last war began, the organic fungicide, Fermate,
was discovered. As a result of thorough trials in this state and
elsewhere, it is now appearing in tho printed spray chart for apples as
a standard spray material for control of scab, black rot. Brooks' spot
and bitter rot, and above all, for control of cedar-apple and quince
rusts. In addition, it is nov/ being recommended us the only effective
and safe summer spray for control of spur blight of raspberries,

Tho development of Puratized is still more recent than the use
of Fermate, This organic fungicide, likovdse unknov»n to the fruit
gro'wer ten years ago, has in recent years been tested thoroughly and
is now recommended to replace lime-sulfur as a protective and eradioant
spray for scab in apple orchards. However, the Puratized materials
may be considered still in the developmental or exploratory stage.
Additional nevr organic fungicides are being tested thoroughly on fruit
crops, and in a fev;- more years some of them no doubt v/ill find a
definite place in our pest control charts. Outstanding among them is
Phygon Vifhich at present looks very promising for control of scab on
applos,

Honce in the line of knowledge gained and practices adopted In
the control of fruit diseases alone, during the life of this Fruit
Notes publication, chcjiges have been relatively rapid and significant.
We are now in the very midst of an intensive investigation of organic
fungicides, and v/e may expect still further discoveries ?jid adoption
of nevif spray and dust materials that are economical to use, more
effective than standard old materials, and safer etS regards injury
to the plants,

»~ 0. C. Boyd

A VERSATILE FRUIT GRCTTCR

(a borrowed editorial from Farmer's Almanac of the Air, by YiTalter Piper)

"Down in Essex County they call Harry Seagrave^, of V/est Newbury,
the Dean of the County's apple industry. His fame, however, is not
confined to that section of the State, as he is equally well knovm
throughout Massachusetts, and in fact throughout New England, as the
very active operator of extensive Long Hill Orchards,

-u-

"Harry's achievements as a fruit producer axe too well recognized
to need any special comment here# The purpose of our current reference
to Dean Hairry is to tell of his skill in the art of handling tees.

"At the twilight meeting at Mrs. Osgood's orchard in Wenham last
week, Harry was the first to spot a swarm of Tjees in one of tho trees
during the course of the tour of the orchard. In his characteristicaliy
energetic manner, he immediately assumed charge of the situation. He
called for a hive and some hoxes on which to set it under the swarm*
Then, without use of anything resemtling "beekeepers' normal equipment,
he proceeded (with the aid of some of tho other twilighters) to shake
the swarming colony into the hive for safe keeping and for future use In
pollinating the orchard.

"All this was done to tho acconrpaniraent of excited squeals from
feminine menters of the party who marvelled at Harry's intrepidity and
his calmness in action while literally surrounded hy the "busy "buzzing
mem"bers of the colony which he was introducing to its now home.

"The fact that honey "bees are traditionally mild mannered, when
handled right at swarming tine, should not detract one whit from Harry's
display of versatility in "being a"ble to act imnediatcly to save this
swarm for the orchard owner. It is just one more feather in the cap of
a prominent Bay State orchard man, who might now well add the title of
Bee King to the honorary degree which he has acquired as Dean of Essex
County Jruit Growers,"

POISON I7Y IN THE APPLE ORCHASD

The time of year has arrived to get rid of poison ivy under apple
trees. This is "best done "by spraying the ivy with a solution of Ammate
made up at the rate of 1 pound per gallon of water. However, a 100^
kill may not result from tho first spraying. Weed killing sprays seem
to "be less effective in shade than in full sunlight. In dense sliado it
may take two or more retreatnents to get rid of all the ivy.

Very roughly, a gallon of spray will cover 100 square feet. The
afflount v;ill vary according to the stand of i-vy. The leaves should "be
thoroughly v/etted "but needn't drip. High pressure isn't necessary. A
small compressed air sprayer is as good a:- a high povrerod rig* A flat
fan-shaped spray such as that delivered "by a Bordeaux "^r Monarch nozzle
is "best. Spraying is most effective when the ivy is growing rapidly
"but any time after the first leaves have fully expanded to late Axxgust
will do.

Certain precautions should "be o"bserved when Ammate is used. Keep
the spray off the apple leaves, in fact, off the leaves of any desirable
plant. Wash tho spraying equipment thoroughly' after use "because Ammate
is corrosive on some metals. A little spray lime or soda added to the

.5.

wash water helps. Short exposure of the skin is harmless but long
exposure should be avoided. Keep Ammate out of the eyes. Don't use
it around blueberries or peaches. It is very toxic to these fruits.
In fact, its use around fruits other than apple is not recoinraended
until further information is available.

Tha use of any of the weed killers containing 2-4 D is recommended
only to those who wish to do some experimsnting. So far 2-4 D has given
variable results against poison ivy. Since it is one of the so-called
"hormone" sprays, it nay do surprising things to plants at very low
concentration. Follow carefully the manufacturer's direction for use of
the spray and cleaning of equipment after* :.rd«.

Even after the poison ivy has been killed the dead stems should not
be handled carelessly for poisoning may result. The poisonous material is
a resin which is in resin ducts in the bark of roots, stems, petioles and
leaves. This resin is not destroyed when the plrjits are killed. It is so
stable that it may remain active for a year or more. Hence, one should be
careful to keep out of the smoke v;h;n burning poison ivy* Sooty particles
of the rosin carried along with the smoke nay cause seri'ius poisoning if
they reach the skin of susceptible persons,

A word of caution to thoso who thinic themselves immune to ivy poison-
ing,' This Bo»called immunity may end rather suddenly following excessive
exposure to the toxin. The following is quoted from the bulletin, "Poisonivy
and Poisonsumac," Kev/ York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University,
Syracuse, N,Y,

"Most if not all persons v;ho have never had a case of poison, ivy
dermatitis react negatively when an extract of the poison is applied to a
very small area of their skiA» Eskimos v;ho live north of the natural
range of poison ivy, and newborn babies have been thus patch-tested and
shov/ed no positive reaction. However, once a person has become sensitized
he will react to the poison sometimes in dilutions as great as 1 to 1,000, 000.
Sensitization requires the application of a certain amount of the poison
to the skin. The amount varies with the individual, but that acquired by
pulling up the vines, or handling the bruised leaves is usually sufficient,
iiost people can be sensitized by placing upon their skiii a drop of the
liquid from the cut or broken end of a leaf-stem (petiole). The ensuing
reaction usually occurs within seven to tvfonty daj^s. It can be seen,
therefore, that it is extremely unv/ise to experiment with one's supposed
imjnunity, even though in rare cases, continued exposure fails to produce
dermatitis. Several instances are on record of individuals who throughout
a long life handled the plant frequently with impunity, but who finally
got the juice upon their skin once too often, and became severe hospital
cases # It is often stated that immunity can be secured by chewing poison
ivy leaves (especially in spring), but this practice may be exceedingly
dangerous,"

The bulletin mentioned abovj and Farmers* Eul, 1972, "Poison-ivy

.6-

Poison-oak and Poison-sumac," contain much interesting and valuable
information about poison ivy»

J. S, Dail^

GET RID OF THS CHOKSCHERRIES

For those v/ho have peaches or are thinking of planting peaches
the time of year has arrived to get rid of the chokecherries around the
orchard site. The chokecherry is the alternate host for the X-disease,
or yellovz-red virosis, a very serious virus disease of peaches. This
disease travels very s lovely from peach to peach but very rapidly from
chokecherry to peach. The only knc/m control is to get rid of the
chokecherries in the vicinity of the orchard. These should bo eliminated
for a distance of 400 or 500 feet from the orchard,

Chokecherries can be eliminated most effectively by a weed killing
spray. Cutting them off results in a forest of suckers and s]^ routs.
Digging then out is not effective because any pieces of root left will
send up sprouts. The most effective weed spray for this purpose is
ammonium sulfamate, or Animate, used at the I'ate of one pound per gallon
of water. It is most effective if applied when plants are growing
rapidly. It is less effective when applied after late August,

Since ainmonium sulfair.ate is not a selective spray and is corrosive
on certain metals, it must be used around desirable plants with care, and
spraying equipment should be cleaned out very thoroughly after its use.
It is known to be quite toxic to peach troos, Therf^foro, it may be used
around the orchard but should not be used in thy orchard,

J, S. Bailey

SEEN DT TliE FIELD

H umming Bi r d at "vTor k, This spring for the first time v/e saw a
humming bird visiTing blueberry blossoms. The speed with vrhich it flew
from one tiny blossom to another v/as nothing short of tu-iiazins, and in
doing so it probably supplemented the v;ork of the bumblebee as a
pollenizer.

An Ov ersized Crovm Gall , In digging some old raspberry plants, one
root, less than 1/4 inch in diaraeter carried a gall which Vv'as 1^ inches
in diametor and 4 inches long. Other galls the size of a pea or larger
were common,

F lower ing Cr ab Blossoms on Late Grov.'th , A y>ung flov^-ering crab
tree in Amherst with a snowball bloom has one sprout which grev/ 7g- feet
in 1945, It evidently continued to grow until late fall evidenced by
the killing back of 6 inches of th^j immature tip. And yet there were
blossoms on the sprout v;ithin 10 inches of the tip, v/hich vrare probably
initiated in late September or October because that particular wood
didn't exist before the first of September,

-T-

An Odd Blackcap » In the crotch of an elm tree on the M.S.C. campus,
about 8 feet from the ground, is a blackcap plant which thrived during the
1945 season and gives promise of bearing fruit this summer. The plant
probably started from a seed dropped by a bird. If it is able to fruit in
so hopeless a location, it is a reflection on a grower if he fails to get
results with plants growing in a good soil,

Ammate Affects Apple Leaves , Several orchards are showing a
peculiar yellowing of the leaves v/here nearby poison iv^"- was sprayed with
Animate last summer. On young trees, half of the leaves may be so affected.
The yellov-dng, unlike that in magnesium deficiency, is confined to the
veins and midrif of the leaf giving it a mottled appearance. If a spray
intended for poison ivy reaches many of the leaves of the tree, the
results may be disastrous.

Scab Eradication . Never before have we seen such widespread
infection of Mcintosh trees. Even in well sprayed orchards an occasional
scab spot can be found vfhile others are so hopelessly infected that further
fungicidal sprays are of doubtful value. Everybody is interested in using
Puratized or lime sulfur and many are applying one or the other. The
results seem to range from near failure to perfection. The former may be
explained on the basis of poor coverage or infections not evident v/hen
the spray was applied, Amateurs viho had someone spray their trees only
to find that the leaves dried up v.'ill no.turally bla me the spray instead
of the already ruined foliage.

TEN YEARS OF FRUIT NOTES

Our monthly publication had its beginnings about the time of the
1936 flood. The first issue in our file is dated March of that year. In
the intervening years we have touched on a fairly wide range of fruit topics
without attempting to give all of the details. If Fruit Notes has
accomplished anything more than serving to remind readers of new develop-
ments, it may be along the line of emphasizing such fundamental things as
better spraying, correcting magnesiu:n deficiency, pollination and orchard
management. Any reader with an idea v/hich nseds to be presented is invited
to send his suggestions in writing to the "iditor,

STRAFreERRY "IWBBINS "

Undersized strav;^berries with hard undeveloped tips are of co:nmon
occurrence particularly in beds tv/o or more years old. Many expl conations
are offered such as frost and poor pollination, which may have no relation
to the problem in a particular planting. Self fruitful varieties soldom
suffer from faulty pollination. In fact, a number of obscure little bees
are generally active while strav^^berries are in bloom. And if an insect
crav^ls over a blossom at all, it would be most likely to contact that
part which becomes the tip of the berry. Frost, too can be discounted
because "nubbins" come mainly from nidseason or later blossoms, not from

«8.

the first blossoms, YJe therefore offer this possible explanation. It
takes grod roots and good leives to produce good borries. The poorer
the root system, the more ha:idicr.pped the l3avos a"d the less of needed
materials will the beri-ies o.a taat plant reocivse The tip of the berry
is farcnest reii.jved fr<.Jri the source of supply. If thare is not enough
water, oarbohydrate?? . stCu-, ontex-ing the 'oer'-Yj thj bip "ells will fail
to deve]op:. So the problem may rest aJjr.n&t cr'tir-sly on the roots. If
they arc budly d8iiia>;;ed by BL^-ck Root (a fungus disease) that shortc 'iming
Vifill be felt in tho leaves and in the berrie", Largs, vigorous plants
with turgid, green leaves must have normal roots, and such plants tend
to produce large, well formed berries, poor roots, plus a droughty
soil, are like to produce "nubbins,"

MRSBRY IMSPECTION TR IP

For the past 25 years various members of the Pomology Department
have made annual trips to nurseries in the East, Midwest and South to
inspect fruit trees for Trueness to Name. This suiraner two such trips
are planned, the first of which got undon/ay June 23, As this is being
written the creY/ consisting of A, P» Frenc'h, 0. C. Roberts, VV, D, Weeks,
and 17, H, Tnios is at Princess Anne, Maryland for two days. Other stops
include Chcriton, Virginia and Berlin, Maryland and Selbyville, Delaware,
The inspection of nursery stock involves careful observations of the
vegetative characteristics of a large niunber of varieties. It makes
possible the purchase of trees which vd.ll bear fruit of the desirod
variety. It has practically eliminated the sale of misnamed trees in
the East, The list of nurseries v.rhich avail themselves of this service
may be obtained from the Pomologj^ Department on request.

SCHOOLS FOR IiAR\^ST LABOR SUP ERVISORS P LAMED

To facilitate the handling of inexperienced apple pickers, at least
two sessions with picking crov» foremen in V/'orcester and Middlesex Counties,
during the late summer are being planned. It is not the intent of these
schools to urge uniformity in picking methods, but to cover the many
items which contribute to a smoothly running harvest. The schools will be
limited to actual or prospective foremen of picking crows, ITatch for
announcement of dates and places of meeting.

nous

July 30, 1946

Proparod by tho Fruit Program Committee
of the Extension Service

W» H« Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

Some Nursery Observations

1946 Apple Crop

Premature Coloring of Early Mcintosh j^ples

Why Easterly V/'inds

Relation of 1946 Foliage to 1947 Crop

Distribution of Massachusetts j^plcs

Blossom Thinning Sprays

SOME NURSERY OBSERVATIONS ;

Heavy Increase in Nursery Stock * There is every indication that the
shortage of nursery stock virhich existed during the past few years will be
corrected in the near future, Everywliere we find nurseries increasing
their plantings within the limits of their available labor, including

Issued by the Eixtension Service in furtherance of Acts of May 8 and June
30, 1914, V/illard A» Munson, Director, Massachusetts State College,
United States Department of Agriculture and County Extension Services
Cooperating*

-2-

skllled budders, and of other essentials. Within three years we nay even
find an over supply of certain trees particularly peaches. One nursery
plans to bud a million peach trees this summer and enough of other fruits
to bring the total up to two million. Ve may even find, within five
years, gome sizable brush piles of unwanted stock.

Misnamed Trees Much Less Common, While an occasional mixup is almost
unavoidable in view of the inexperienced help, the need for getting budwood
from a number of sources, etc*, it is gratifying to know that most nurseries
are keeping a close check on their budding operations and have the rows well
labelled. Large scale mixtures, such as the Wolf River-Mclntosh deal of a
generation ago, are fortunately a thing of the past.

Plums on Peach Boots. It is a common practice among niirserymen to bud
some of their plums on peach seedlings instead of plum seedlings for
planting in light soils. Such trees are more likely to thrive since the
root system of a peach tree seems better adapted to a sandy soil than that
of a plum tree.

Japanese Beetles Show Preferences. In certain nurseries where the
Japanese Beetle is a menace, as for example in Maryland axxd Virginia, some
fruit trees are heavily attacked while others nearby are quite generally
avoided. Sweet cherries and plums are among the favorites and certain
varieties seem to be preferred. An occasional tree of apples or peaches
in the nursery row may show a large colony of beetles, vith 50 or more
on a single tree. DDT is being used quite effectively.

A ITursery Oddity. The 5-in-l tree, so highly praised in the
advertisements, is an easy means of getting the amateur's dollar (and then
some). But one nurseryman expressed his private opinion that it isn't
laioh of a tree.

Espalier Peach Trees. In one New York nursery, peach trees in
considerable numbers are trained by attaching part of the branches to a
fan shaped s\q)port, A group of Italian women were dexterously preparing
these trees for the would-be fruit grower vho wants to be different even
though he must pay five dollars for the privilege.

Trees Respond to Poultry Manure. In one nursery where trees are
making excellent growth it is a common practice to fit the soil by applying
a liberal coating of poultry manure sowing soy beans to be plowed under when
about knee high, A striking comparison was observed where the supply of
poultry manure gave out and one side of the block was left unfertilized.
The trees were about a foot shorter in that area*

OORHEOTIOIT ;

A mistake was made in the title of the first article in June rruit Notes.
It should have read "The Unusual Bloom" instead of the "The Annual Bloom,"
The writer's scribbling was at fault. His secretary was vinable to decipher
it, and the stencil didn't get checked before the issue was run off.

-3-

1946 Apple Crop 3 l/s Tines That of 1945

At the Fana and Hone Week Fruit Meeting on July 23, 7J, E. Piper
c :inductQcl a sujnrsy of apple crop pr:)spocts. Fifty-four orchards were
rop.irtoi as followsj

1945 1946

Mclntish 56,550 bu, 216,065 bu.

Baldwin 17,909 " 57,580 "

Delicious 3,812 " 10,497 "

Total Crop-All Varieties 104,858 bu. 347,035 bu.

The Mcintosh variety uakos up about 62^ of the total, Baldwin 6% and
Delicious 5fo»

PREMATURE COLORING OF EARLY MCINTOSH APPLES ,

In a block of early Mcintosh trees in Massachusetts there appeared an
alan.iing change of color of the fruit around July 8, The reddish colored
apples were so conspicuous and so nuraoruus as to sug^^est an aiLnent which
night endanger the entire crop. On closer exar.iination it v;as obvious that
there were both red apples and green apples on the saiae branch. And when
a few apples of each kind were cut to expose the seeds, the red apples v/ere
found to have, on the average, fewer seeds thai the green apples. This is
exactly what one would expect since each seed acts as a little punp in
bringing ivater into the apple. An apple vdth 8 seeds stands a nuch better
chance of getting its full quota of water than an apple with 4 seeds. And
v;hen s^)me of the apples feel the pinch of co;-.ipetition nature has a way of
shedding the unfit .

Until the rain of July 22, a severe drought had not only caused lawns
to turn brown; it had greatly retarded tiie gr'^vrth of apples on dry soils.
When the roots are unable to take in enough water to supply the needs of
every leaf and apple, thoy becmo strong c lunpotitors vsid, strangely enough,
the leaf exerts nore of a pull than the apple.

In the ab')ve mentioned orchard, if all of the reddening apples EUid at
least half of the green apples had been removed, the pr 'blon would have
been solved. It was siraply a case of a large number of apples clamoring
for water, and there v/asn't enough to go around.

To make natters still worse the trees in this orchard have more branches
than they need and the trees arc themselves crov/dod. So it sinu-iers down to a
matter of too nony apples, too r,uiny liiabc, and too laijiy trees to pemit the
development of normal apples in a excessively dry suraiaer. The result is
likely to be a large proportion of 2 to 2-|- inch apples instead of 2 3/4 to
3 inch.

Cherr^'' Picking Record . A -Tiigrfint worker in Hood River, Oregon is reported to
have picked 2168 pounds of cherries in a 12-hour day. It gave hii-i a record -
also ^75,84, Pickers generally average ;i;8 to ^1^14 a day.

*4«

YffiY EASTERLY VJINDS ?

(TfhGn the air over a large area in the United States becomes heated,
there is developed a low pressure urea which tends to move toward the east
due to the motion of the earth* This often brin{;s an east wind, and rain.
Director H. A. Bostrora of the Essex County Agricultural School gave this
further explanation of the occurrence of east winds, at a recent twilight
Eieeting,)

"Matters of lari^e economic importroice, or having very much bearing
upon our personal comfort, sometii.ies seen to rest upon comparatively
insignificont things. Take for example the light easterly winds which
seem to dominate the daily climate in the spring and early sumiaer months
along our shore. Often we v/ish there vrere not so much of itj other times
we are exceedingly glad for the light breeze that penetrates, sometimes a
mile or two, sometimes a t;ood many miles inland, to prevent what would
otherwise be an unbearably hot day,

"Yvhen one measures the amount of heat v;hich is required to raise the
temperature of the various kinds of materials, -me finds that it takes a
great deal more heat to warm a unit of water through one unit change of
temperature tluai it does any ■-•ther of the comi.ion substances, such as rock,
soil, wood, etc. Said in another way, this means that the temperature of
Icaid areas will rise more rapidly from a given wTiount of the sun's heat than
will the temperature over the ocean. Consequently, the air over the land
areas, war:.is, expands, and rises more rapidly than it does over large water
areas, which creates a nove:.iont of the cooler air from over the ocean imvard
over the land. The difference may be slight, creating -July a very light
breeze, felt only along the shore, or there nay be enough difference to
cause the air to move inland a considerable number of miles,

"In weather, no such siiaplc explanation is entirely correct. To quote
the Agricultural Yearbook for l94tl (Climate .vrid Man): 'It is more correct
to emphasize that the upper layers of the cean are nearly always in a
state of violent stirring, whereby heat losses or heat gains occurring at
the sea surfo.ce are distributed through the large volumes of water. This
mixing process sharply reduces the temperature contrasts between d ay and
night and between winter osid summer. In the ground there is no turbulent
redistribution of heat and the effect of molecular heat conduction is
very slight. Thus violent c.^ntrasts between day and night are created
(inlfoid) '•

"The vj-riter thus points out that sharper contrasts in temperature are
bound to occur over laaid areas than over the water. The ultimate effect is
a sharper, quicker rise in temperature over land area- thsoi over the v/ater,
resulting in the cooler air fr-'-m the water moving in towards the warmer
inland areas,

"Vt'hen we as students sat in a class in physics and studici the specific
heat of solids, liquids, and gases, most of us found it pretty dry material
and we didn't care whether water or iron or stone or some other substiuice had

-5-

the grccitost heat capacity. Most of us ri>_,ht new vrould be j^lad to feel tho
breeze that results from such a physical phenomenon. V/e need more
iria^ination in studying soiTie of the basic scientific principles in the
lit^ht of their relation to our everyday welfara and csivforti"

Strawberries Sell At 4/ A Quart . In a Hartford, Michi(_;an newspaper dated
June 13, 1906, there appeared this statement: "Strawberries sold at 60j^
a case (16-quart) Sunday ovenin,^ with prices cliubinc to ^1.10 a case on
the local narket last nijht." Forty years later strawberry i;rowers wore
payin^^ as nuch as 10/ a quart for pickinc. Incidentally, one Kev: Salon
woman picked 150 quarts of Catskills in an 8-hour day and thus earned
S15.00,

RELATIGII OF 1946 FOLIAGE TO 1947 CROP .

A few days ceo a grower raised the question "Shall I apply nitrate of
soda now to my Mcintosh trees which have practically lost their leaves
because of scab?" He had in nind growing; a new set of leaves to replace the
ones destroyed by scab. His plan v^ould probably fail for at least two
reasons. In the first place, the fev; nevj- leaves which he ini^ht induce the
tree to gr-ow in late suimnor would be likely to fare no better than the
early leaves as far as scab is concerned, because of the chance of infection
from the vast number of scabby leaves now on the tree. And secondly, late
suranier is no tine to stimulate a tree into vigorous, vogotative growth. But
the question indicates a growing conviction among fjruit growers that leaves
are important. And that in itself, means real progress in the fruit business,
Y/ithout healthy, green leaves until frusts occur in late fall, the tree is
not in condition to bear heavy c..;nual crops.

By the magic process knovm as photosynthesis a normal leaf takes in COg
through its stomates and welds together the carbon viith the hydrogen and
oxygen frxi water, to forn starch. This carbohydrate is essential for both
vegetative gr^ovrth and fruit development. In fact, none of the vital
processes in a tree can proceed unless there is an ample supply of starch
available.

Starch is required to grow new leaves in early spring and to develop
the blossoiAS as v/ell. And as might be expected these spring activities are
dependent on the starch manufactured the previous fall. If there v;ere few
leaves in September the tree v^ould start Jut in spring under a tremendous
handicap as regards its spring activities. But that isn't all. The fruit
buds responsible for the crop must of necessity have had access to growth
materials, including starch, from the time they wore initiated in mid-summer.
One needs only to remove all of the leaves from a tree in July to demonstrate
the dependence of the next season's bliss ^ims upon the vital material made in
the leaves. The mere diff erentiati'~in of fruit buds is n')t enough. They must
be nourished during the late summer and full and provided with st'ired aatorials
if they are to develop into blossoms the following spring,

TiThat is happening in a tree which is now heavily infected v;ith scab?
Its leaves may average less than lO^o efficient, and by September even less,
because many have dried up or dropped off. The chrjicos of such a trtjo

-6-

blocming next spring are very slim. And if it Joes bloora lightly there is
no assurance that the blossoms will have what it takes to set fruit. But
what of the tree in which scab has been partially c'lntrolled? It is our
guess that the set of fruit in 1947 nay be quite closely correlated with
the total manufacture of starch between now and late fall. If only a
quarter of the leaves are infected, the chances of a full crop in 1947 may
be reduced by SSJ^J, Nothing can take the place of large^ green leaves. If
their efficiency is lowered by any cause whatsoever, the current season's
crop and also the next season's crop will suffer.

Those Reddish Yellow Shrubs , Has your attention been recently attracted to
an occasional stirub 'along the roadside showing typical autumn foliage? Then
you were probably looking at a c'iOkecherry infected with X-disease, a serious
disease of peaches. Any such shrubs near a present or prospective peach
orchard should be destroyed by applying a v.eGd killer such as Animate*

DISTRIBUTION OF I.LASSACHUSETTS APPLES .

Any time a half-dozen, or two dozen, apple growers get together talking
shop certain quf-tions alvv'ays come up. One is "How many Mcintosh do v;e grow
in relation to other varieties?" Another is "Wl^ere do our apples goj chain
stores, commission outlets, jobber-hcjidlers?" Still another is "How many are
sold direct either to consigners or retailers?"

Just to get a little information on some of these points a postcard
survey v/as made by asking one hundred growers to cooperate. This group vms
selected as a representative crosssection of large ;aid small volume producers*
spotted all over the Stcte, including the so-called applo areas and the
isolated orchardist; those near l'.)cal markets and th')sc at a distance from
consumer areas; in brief, an attempt was made to have the one hundred
comprehensively representative of the industry.

Fifty-six returned the card. Not all ansv/sred all questions. This group
reported total average pr "auction of 700,000 bu,, so they are fairly
representative; that's roughly one-third to one-quar'fpir of the State total.

How does Mcintosh compare v/ith other varieties?

Here it isj 62% Mc's vs. 53% all others combinod.

No comment is made except to say that is a lot of Mcintosh,

The next most interesting point might be that 37 grov/ers said they sold
13% of their crops direct to consuiners, and 32 growers sold 16^ direct to
retailers, C'-'wiparing report cards cuad totaling these tv;o gives a result that
these producers dealt directly with consuiaer outlets on 25% of their volume.
Possibly this should be expected in a densely populated area such as
Massachusetts but the figure is interesting; perhaps surprising. As many
apples sold direct, one way or tho other, as were sold on consigiuient to
C'snmission houses. The other 7b% went to two outlets; 50^i to jobber-handlers
and SSjjJ to coi.oission houses.

-7-

A must question always in the talk when apple men get together is "How
many apples do the 'chains' handle?" Forty-two growers ventured an estimate
on this question. These producers were rep :'rting on a totul production of
570,000 bu. of which 65,000 went to "direct" sale outlets. Of the other
505,000 the estimate was &9% to chain outlets and 51^i to independent outlets,

To sumr.iarize:

1, Total production 6Z% Mcintosh, Zd% all other varieties*

2. Twenty-five per cent sold direct to consumer or retailer.

3, Fifty per cent sold through jobber-handler; twenty-five per cent
through coironissiun outlets.

4. Fifty-one per cent handled by independent stores; forty-nine per
cent by "chains,"

V;. R. cole

BLOSSOM THIimiNG SPRAYS . .

Some further experiments with blossom thinning sprays were made in 1946
and some suggestive results were obtained despite the frosts, YiTiile the
tiiinning by frost probably does nut invalidate :ur measure of the effect
of the sprays, the cool weather folliTwing bloom may malce the materials less
effective than they would be in a normal season.

Three materials were used, Dovifoc seemed to have little or no effect in
most cases. Two DN pov;ders were used at -g- and 1 lb. per 100 gallons. They
burned the leaves much less than Elge't-^d used two years ago cjid thirjied most
varieties quite effectively, Thoy were not effective on Mcintosh and s>.rae
similar varieties.

A napthalene acetic acid preparation thinned some varieties but caused
some distortion of the leaves. Whether this will be injurious remains to be
seen, A biennial bearing V/ealthy sprayed last year has a fair crop in this,
the normally non-bearing year.

These sprays are still in the experiiiiental stage. The effect differs
with variety, sorao requiring a stronger c one ont rati -n thfui vthors. It is a
promising method of helping out with the laborious job 3f thinning. Any
grov/er desiring to gain experience may write us rjid wo will be glad to make
suggestions and help him learn how to use these sprays effectively,

J. K. Shaw

■Ck3

August 30, 1946

Prepared by the Fruit Pr^gran Comnittce
of the Extension Service

W» H. Thies, Extension Horticulturist

Contents

Dooryard Dwarf Apple Trees

Do You Kn w?

Fruit Cracking

High Honor for Massachusetts Fruit Gr wer

Rjdont Control in Storage and Orchard

Cannery Grades

The "Drop" Question

DOORYARD BflARF APPLE TREES

Few coiT:aercial fruit gr.wers have planted dwarf apple trees but
there is a great deaand fron asiateurs. Nurscryaen are selling nsiny such
trees at what seens to the fruit grov/er to be very high prices, I;Dst ->f these
buyers expect a truly dwarf tree which will never be more than 6 or 8 feet
high. Many of then are going to be disappointed. Nurserymen are not suf-
ficiently discriminating in their use of dwarfing stocks. The only stock
now in use that v/ill produce a 6-8 foot tree is Mailing IX. There are either
Mailing stocks which have a dv/arfing effect but not to the sane degree as
Mailing IX, They are all right if one has r jOiw enough for then but they need
a spacing of 20-30 feet according to variety and stock. Other than Mailing
stocks have little or no dwarfing influence*

Fruit growers are often called on for advice by their town friends.
If these folks v/ont truly dwarf apple tross, they should insist on getting

Issued by the Extension Service in furtherance of Acts of May o and Jvxne 30 »
I91U, Willard A, Munsnn, Director, Massachusetts State College, United States
Department of Agriculture and County Extension Services cooperating.

-2-

trees on Mailing IX. Another possible disappointment with dwarf trees is
rooting from the scion. If earth surrounds the tree above the bud union,
rooting from the scion will surely occur and the dwarfing effect of the stock
will be lost. There is going to be a lot of disappointment with dv/arf trees
and a good deal of it will arise from the use of improper stocks. It is going
to be a big job to keep dwarf stocks true-to-naijie. They can be identified
before budding but after the tree gr'Jws it is impossible to be sure in all
cases. The Massachusetts Tnjeness-to-name Inspection Service is trying to
do what it can to keep the Mailing stocks correct, but it is a diffiotilt task,

J. K, Shaw

Unveiling a "Eftvarf Tree" , A bit of vmrehearsed comedy
was enacted in VJorcester last spring. Two business
men who live on adjacent properties decided to make a
joint purchase of a dwarf apple tree to be planted on
the line separating their gardens, y^th due ceremony
they dug a large hole, filled it v;ith loam and carried
their \vell wrapped bundle to the. scene of action while
their v/ives looked on with pride, Yihen the wrappings
were removed the prospective orchardists gazed with
dismay on — of all things, a Forsythia bushi To make
matters worse, one of the men had been trying for two
years to rid his property of a tangled growth of that
sane kind of plant.

Two Observations in a Granville Orchard , In the fall of 1944, 100
apple maggot pupae were placed in the soil beneath a screened cage
in the orchard of Ralph Roberts in Granville, Mr, Roberts kept watch
of the emergence of files during the sumiaer of 1945. y/hen we visited
the orchard a few days ago we decided to take a look at the cage
v/hich had remained undisturbed. No pupae had been planted there in
the fall of 1945, To our surprise v/e found one maggot fly, which
bears out the contention of investigators that an occasional pupa
remains in the ground two winters before emerging as a fly.

The effect of a good pollenizer on the set of Mcintosh
was strikingly illustrated in this same orchard. In one block there
are several rows of Mcintosh and a single tree of Delicious. The
Mcintosh troes iixaediately adjacent to the Delicious have a very heavy
set of apples. On the troes a little farther from the Delicious the
set is much lightor and becoracs increasingly so on tha mJre distant
trees. Here is an object lesson more convincing than anything we
night say about the imp jrtanco of i:iearby pollenizers.

-3-

That the U. S. normally buys about half of the world supply of
bananas? In 1937 v;o imported 63,000,000 bunches and in 1943 only 22,000,000
bunches. It will take some time to restore the banana plantations, shipping,
and upset conditions in the big bancjia producing countries. In normal
times, bananas are considered the most important fruit in v,forld trade.

That approximately one ton of mulberry leaves is consumed in the
production of one pound of silk? More than 25,000 cocoons are involved.

That fall sot strawberry pl^uits aro unlikely to thriva unless
well mulched? Fall planting has one big adv^uitage over late spring planting,
in that the roots become established in time to encourage early runner plants
the next spring. The principal disadvantage is that the bed must be mulched
twice for one crop of berries, and the first mulch must be raked off the
following spring to permit the development of runner plrjits.

That there has been a seven-fold increase in the canning of citrus
fruits in the past nine years? During this period there has been slightly
less than a three-fold increase in the t'-ztal citrus crop. Nine years ago
a little less than one-third of the grapefruit grown in Florida was processed
and nov; two-thirds of the crop goes to the canneries. During the scjne peri.xi,
processing of orai:ges has increased from about one-seventieth to one-fourth
of the total crop.

That about 14,000,000 pounds of load arsenate are used annually
to protect tha apple crop in the State of Yfashington? This is approximately
one-fifth of the 75,000,000 pounds estimated to be needed for the entire
United States,

That bagging of quincjs offers excellent possibilities as a means
of preventing pest bler.dshes? One Pennsylvania gr:Hver reports using 1000
2-pound grape bags to protect the fruit on tv;o trees. Last year his quinces
brought $70^00, One quince v/eighed 16 ounces.

That the Oriental fruit moth, is now quite generally distributed
over the United States? It is said that every state except North Dakota
either has the pest or is bordered by cjijther st^'.te v/hich is infested.

That fig trees v;cre first grown in the United States in 1882 when
14,000 cuttings of Smyrna figs v>rere imp-'-rted into California? However,
no figs developed and it was not until several years later that investigat .:)rs
revealed the secret. Wild figs and a tiny wasp were needed to bring about
the pollination of the cultivated fig bl.issoEi,

-4-

That it takes norc than five timos as nany 2-inch peaches to make
a ton as it d'es 3^ inch peaches? One hundred '^f the latter size weigh as
much as 535 of the f omor size.

That the value of all fruits gnvm in Massachusetts is about :ne~
third the tital fir New England? The percentages for the six states of
the approximately ^16,000,000 fruit valuation are as follovi'S: Mass,, 35.5^;
Conn., 26.4^; Maine, 2b,l%; Vt., 6.3^; N. H., b,b%; R, I,, Z,Z%* (Crrjaberries
are not included in these figures. The Mass, crop in 1945 was valued at
18,460,000.)

That the largest source of Nitrogen in the world is the atmos-
phere? It is estimated that over every square mile of the earth's surface
there are 22,000,000 tons of this element. Nitrogen is known as the growth
element in fertilizers. Without fertilizers containing nitrogen and other
essential elements, Anerican fanners would have to plant, cultivate, and
harvest 50,000,000 additional acres of land to obtain today's food crops.

That there was practically no change in the numbers of bearing
and non-bearing apple trees in New York State during the five year period,
1940-1945? During the same period there was a 10^^ decline in peach trees
and a lO^o increase in cherry trees.

That the August estimate of the apple crop in the U» S. is
111,728,000 bushels? This is 64^ more than last year's record low crop
and Q% boloiv the 1935 -44 average.

That spur blight and anthracnose are limiting factors in many
raspberry plantings in Massachusetts? Striking results have been obtained
this season in the control of these diseases from applications of fermato
after the nevi crjios attain a height of 10 or 12 inches.

That four tons per acre is not cm unreasonable yield of grapes in
a commercial vineyard? In the vineyards around LrJce Erie the average yield
is said to be approximately 1-g- tons, v;hilo individual growers who use
commercial fertilizers ajinuaJLy and mc-Jiure every four or five years, harvest
3-|- to 4 tons per acre. Similar yields are reported in other vineyards in the
Northeast,

That beehives in the orchard should be placed where the sun \vill
shine on them raid with entrances toward the east or south? The heat from
the sun and the additional sunlight induce the bees to fly and work on the
blossoms at times v/hen colonies in the shade will not be active.

An Echo of 1916 . Imagine a fruit grower ordering 500 Mcintosh apple trees
only to find vj-hen they cojuo into bearing that 494 of them v/ere ITolf RiverJ
That was the experience of a Massachusetts groover about 30 years ago. Fortu-
nately, such gross mixtures are a thing of the past in many nurseries, thanks
to the inspection service which has boon in operation since 1921,

-5-

FRUIT CRACKING

Numerous reports have beon received concerning the splitting or
cracking of npplos, particularly Early Mcintosh, this season. Other fruits,
and even certain kinds of squash show a similar tendency, "^ilfhy is cracking
m'lre prevalent this season thpji normally?" The conditi.'in sesras to be assoc-
iated vv'ith rainfall. We had plenty of rainfall during May and June, but the
first three weeks of July wero very dry. Frriits v/hich had been (-expanding
rapidly experienced a slower rate ;^f grovrth in July, until the vory heavy
rain which came in the Connecticut Valley on July 23, and was follov/ed by
additional rains during late July and August.

Yflien the grcvrth of an apple or other fruit is checked, there is a
tendency for the cells in the skin to become more or less fixed. They lose
their ability to subdivide and thus provide for further expansion. This lack
of flexibility means that something must give 7\ray when swelling is resumed
in response -tosja additional intaice of v:ater. It's a little like a balloon.
Everything is 0. K. so long as tho protective membrane can adjust itself to
pressure from within. Arid when the ..lerabraiie gives v/ay, something happens.
The splitting of an apple is less violent for obvious reasons, A mere rupture
here and there pennits an increase in diameter even though it is literally
"hidebound".

HIGH HONOR FOR MASSACHUSETTS FRUIT GROYJER

A fevY weeks ago John Chandler of Sterling Junction, received the
first of what is to be annual awards by the Nati .mal Apple Institute for
meritorious service to the industry. At a meeting of the Institute in
Washington, Mr, Chandler was presented with a gold watch and a scroll inscribed
as follows; "In esteem and appreciati on for distinctive service to the j^ple
Industry of America, and to the discharge of his responsibilities in v/artime,
John Chandler is presented the National Apple Institute av/ard for 1946,"
This selection of Mr. Chandler f jr such disti;iguishod honors in in recognition
of the fine work v,fhich he did during practically the entire period of v;ar
emergencies. During that tine he has been in close touch with affairs in the
Nation's Capitol and has travelled extensively thrjughout the country as a
representative of the commercial apple industry.

Dwarfs and Giants, The necessity for planting dwarf fruit trees in such a
way that tho graft or bud union is slightly above the ground level is well
illustrated in the garden of an observing grower in Amherst* The base of
the trunk on one of his trees was buried with soil dui-ing a.particular
season, from May until October, at which time the soil was removed. During
those five months a new root 18 inches in length had developed from a point
above the union. It is no v/onder that dwarf trees, if planted too deeply,
suddenly take on the characteristics of a standard tree.

-6-

RODENT CONTROL _IN STORAGE AND ORCHARD *

(F. B. Schuler of the Fish and Wildlife Service offers thosa timely-
suggestions on the prevention of rodent damage.)

Fruit growers should be aware of the possible doaage to stored fruit
by rats and mice. Every fall there are reports of excessive damage to fruit
hold in cormnon and cold storage. On many farms the reported loss is as high
as ton bushels for every thousand stored. This loss can be prevented,

Coinmon Storage. Conmon Storage is nore open to attack by rodents than fruit
held in cold storage, since the former is usually an open building used
temporarily for holding the surplus crop. The following recomHondations are
made for a rodent-free storage; 1, Remove all trash from the building sind
the vicinity of the proposed storage area, 2, Stack usable lumber at least
one foot above the ground level, 3, Bum the waste accumulated from this
operation. Since rats and mice are Vary animals, the lack of shelter or con-
cealment discourages their presence. Therefore, plug with concrete, or shield
with galvanized sheet metal or 4 x 4 hardware cloth all openings in foundation
walls, floor or embanlanents. Where a rat colony already exists, extermination
must take place before harvest. Write to your County Agricultural Agent
for information on control methods.

When the fruit is harvested it should be stacked at least six
inches from the walls, on wooden slate at least two inches above the floor.
This will allow for proper ventilation and is also of assistance in controlling
the rats and mice. The area along the walls and the free space under the
boxes can then be utilized for the distribution of strychnine-treated steam-
crushed oats. The oats should be scattered in tablespoonful amounts in theso
areas as the storage room is being filled. Bait stations made from mailing
tubes, hollow tile, rolled tarpaper or similar devices should be inserted
throughout the stacked boxes above ground level, A tablespoonful of the
treated grain in each station will be adequate.

Cold Storage. The rodent problem in cold storage usually results from the
mice being carried into the storage with the fruit. Whenever practicable
the fruit should bo moved into the storage the some day it is picked. If
allowed to stand in the orchard during the night, mice will use the boxes for
shelter and be carried into the storage. Occasionally a cold storage is
found that is not mouse proof. Check all drains and vents to be sure they
are screened. Hardware cloth with four wires to the inch should be used to
mouse proof these openings. In s ;me cases pipe inlets, electrical conduits,
offer an indirect mearxs of entrance to the storage. Where they are accessible
to the mice they should be checked to see that the exteri ^r of the building
is tight. The distribution and placement of strychnine-treated oats should
be followed as outlined above. The important thing is to expose the bait
while filling the storage. The strychnine-troated steam-crushed oats may
be procured through your County Agricultural Agent.

Orchard Practices . Fruit trees are girdled in all months of the year. The
practice of keeping tree bases free of yegetation is a v/orthwhile precaution-
ary measure. Removal of the s )d ar:Jund the tree bases reduces the mouse

-7-

cover, lessening the chances of girdling during the present grwing season,
and also, during the sno\v-free pcri->ds of winter and early spring. The use
of this method is highly recommended in young blocks of trees, .ir where
the trees are v/idely spaced, with the resulting heavy c iver crop.

CAIJNERY GRADES

For the first time in history, so far as we can discover,
cannery grades of apples are being bought by at least one Massachusetts
concern. This provides an outlet for fruit which is not quite good en mgh
to be offered on the fresh fruit market. The principal requiremp-nts for
these grades are as follows:

U» S. ^1 Conners Handpicked apples, 2-g-" and larger , reasonably
round, not overripe, froo from decay, wona holes, freezing injury, internal
breakdown, and frou any defect which cannot be removed during the usual
commercial preparation for use without causing a loss of over 5%, by v/eight,
of the apple in excess of that v;hich would occur if the apple were perfect.
Color not essential . Light surface scab not harmful,

U.S, ^2 Cannsrs Dropped apples and culls from handpicked apples,
any size , firm 'rTpo, not overripe, free from decay, freezing injury, excessive
internal breakdovm cjid from any defect v/hich comiot be removed during the
usual comiuercial preparation for use without causing a loss of over 25%,
by weight, of the apple in excess of that which would occur if the apple
were perfect.

One reason v/hy the first mentioned grade is worth about bO% more
than the latter is the larger size which makes it possible to peel, core,
and trim with less v/aste. In fact, the lattrr grade apples are used for
apple juice. The following table taken from a recent Apple Institute re-
lease brings out the relation between size and waste in preparation:

100 lbs, of apples by size

2 1/4"
2 1/2"
2 3/4"
3"

Net yield after pooling

coring and tri;

'.ramg

lbs.

THE "DROP "CiUEST ION

Not so many years ago it was a common practice to begin harvest-
ing Mcintosh apples around Sept, 12 to 15, Today we find the harvest in
full swing around September 8 to 10 and in some orchards a start is made
as early as September 5, The principal reasons for advancing the date of
harvest seem to be (1) a desire to get the apples picked before they drop,
on the theory that a green, unbruised apple is worth more than a red, bruised

one, and (2) a shortage of pickers which necessitates a lengthening the
picking season. Both of these points are debatable. In fact, they seem to
approach the problem from the wrong angle.

In the first place, an excessive premature drop is one of the
symptoms of magnesium deficiency. And a shortage of that element can never
be supplied by advancing the date of harvest. The Mcintosh variety appears
to be very sensitive to deficiencies of certain essential elements. If boron
is lacking, internal cork appears. If magnesium is lacking, the fruit drops
with alarming suddenness, and under such conditions no response to the hormone,
naphthalene acetic acid, may bo expected. Only as the magnesium balance is
restored can we produce high colored, high quality Mcintosh. And only then
will the hormone be effective in holding the apples on the tree beyond the
normal date of harvest*

Every observing grower knows that apples size up rapidly during
September unless the soil is unusually dry. An apple may gain a quarter of
an inch in diajneter during a two weeks period, and that means many extra
bushels in a ten acre orchard. Thus if the better colored apples are picked
first, the remaining apples will increase in size and become better colored.
And even if a few apples drop in the meantime, the drop apples v»ill sell
at a fair price while those which remain will gain in value more than enough
to offset the bruised condition of the drops, Thea too, if the tree is well
mulched, high colored drops will coimaand a better price than green, poor
quality apples picked from the tree.

The drop question should be considered on a percentage basis. It
isn't so much the number of drops under a tree as it is the p-i-rcentage of the
whole crop, A bushel of drops under a single tree might seem to be excessive.
But if the tree has a crop of 20 bushels, the drops make up only b%, and that's
very reasonable. And v;hile some apples have dropped, thjso on the tree have
been developing the kind of color oxid flavor upon which the Mcintosh repu-
tation is based. If the truth v;ore kn^w/n their added siza might easily off-
set the bushel which appears to be lost as drops.

Any Mcintosh grov/or interested in getting maximum color and quality
ght not to overlook the possibilities of using the hormone mat