284 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



REPORT OF THE SOUTH HAVEN STIB STATION. 



Professor C. P. Halliy;au : 



I submit this report of the South Haven Sub-Station for the year end- 

 ing June 30, 1916 : 



A considerable increase in experimental Avork has been planned and 

 is being carried on this year. Plant breeding and spraying experiments 

 constitute the bulk of our endeavor and it is hoped to continue along 

 this line of work for a series of years. 



H. J. Bock of the Experiment Station staff has spent considerable 

 time this spring cross pollinating fruits included in our collection. It 

 is always possible to improve those varieties now in favor and to attempt 

 to secure new sorts that may prove to be commercially important. His 

 work includes the crossing of peaches, cherries, plums, apples and 

 grapes. 



He has also conducted critical temperature experiments with fruits 

 in their various stages of growth. By subjecting these fruits to differ- 

 ent freezing temperatures in their various stages of growth, information 

 is gained upon their susceptibility to low temperatures. 



W. F. Wight of the Bureau of Plant Industry, recognizing the value 

 of our collection of pears, has made extensive crosses with them this 

 spring. Possessing the foresight from considerable experience in this 

 work, very interesting and valuable results are anticipated. He has 

 introduced pollen from pears that he has developed that possess, to a 

 remarkable degree, many desirable characteristics. 



Our spraying experiments started this year, include investigations on 

 controlling San Jose scale, diseases of plums, peaches and grapes and the 

 codling moth of apples and pears. In this work, some of the newer 

 commercial spray mixtures are being used in comparison with those 

 now generally accepted to be the most suited for average conditions. 



In general, fruit conditions and prospects are about normal, though 

 some re])orts have been received that cherries especially did not set 

 well, cutting down the crop promised at blooming time. To some ex- 

 tent, plums have suffered in like manner. This has been especially true 

 in our own orchards. Numerous cherry and plum trees that bloomed 

 l)rofusely did not set one-third of a crop and in some cases ev€n a lower 

 percent of a crop. 



Peach leaf curl seems very prevalent this spring on most all suscepti- 

 ble varieties and in some instances has developed very extensively. In- 

 vestigation indicates that the trouble has been due, in a great meas- 

 ure, either to a failure to spray at all or to apply the mixture at the 

 proper time. Growers that make a business of proper spraying state 

 that unfavorable weather conditions seriously hindered spraying at the 

 pro[;er time. On trees that were sprayed at the proper time, leaf curl 

 is less evident than those that received the application a little late. 

 It seems quite evident that the cold, wet spring has been very favorable 

 to the development of this fungus. 



The aphis situation is quite favorable at the present time. Growers 



