Page 4 



BETTER FRUIT 



July, ipiQ 



Photo by California Horticultural Commission. 



Fine type of apricot tree illustrating very heavy growth and good spread of branches. 



an abundance of new wood through 

 heavy cutting each season. 



There has been a tendency to prune 

 too heavily in some parts of California 

 and a flat, open type of head has been 

 developed at the expense of productiv- 

 ity. One-year-old trees are pruned back 

 to a height of 18 to 24 inches when set. 

 The second year the framework is de- 

 veloped, with from three to five main 

 branches, which are usually shortened 

 somewhat in the spring of the year. 

 Later pruning consists principally in 

 thinning out the interfering branches 

 and a slight heading in each season to 

 prevent too rank a growth. 



Production. 



The average production of this fruit 

 in California during 1918 was 3.32 tons 

 per acre. While this average is 'way 

 below the maximum production of the 

 heavier bearing orchards, it takes into 

 consideration those orchards which 

 have just come into bearing and also 

 other orchards which are more or less 

 non-productive. As is the case with all 

 other fruits, there are individuals in the 

 apricot orchards which produce far 

 above the average, indicating a possible 

 production much greater than we have 

 at the present time. Through the selec- 

 tion of buds from heavily bearing indi- 

 viduals and a process of weeding that 

 has not been generally practiced by 

 nurserymen and other propagators of 

 this and other fruits, it would be pos- 

 sible to grow much more per acre than 

 is being grown now. 



Insect Pests and Diseases. 

 There are a number of diseases and 

 insect pests which quite commonly at- 

 tack the apricot tree. The brown apri- 

 cot scale is one of the most common of 

 the insects in California. Apricot gum- 

 mosis, a disease somewhat resembling 

 pear blight, has been found in two dif- 

 ferent counties of the state, but has not 

 spread generally throughout apricot- 



growing areas nor become of any great 

 importance. A fungous disease known 

 locally as shothole fungus causes the 

 formation of red spots on the fruit, thus 

 interfering with its attractiveness and 

 consequently its market value. 



There are some more or less obscure 

 troubles of this tree that occur in the 

 main growing sections of California 

 which cause the collar rot, or the death 

 of certain branches. Fungi are probably 

 associated with most of theses diseases. 



The industry is gaining in popularity 

 in California and if present prices, 

 which are very high, prevail in the 

 future, the returns from this fruit will 

 be great enough to justify a consider- 

 able addition to our present acreage. 



Why Do Trees Fail to Fruit? 



By J. L. Stahl. Experiment Station, 

 Puyallup. Washington 



Why trees fail to fruit is a question 

 that comes more often from the grower 

 of a few trees of different types and 

 varieties of fruit than from growers of 

 large orchards. It is a question, too, 

 that is often hard to answer without 

 knowing the local conditions. 



Under normal conditions most fruit 

 trees will begin blooming and setting 

 their fruit at from four to seven years 

 of age. Some types and varieties will 

 often bear in the nursery row, while 

 others will not fruit until ten or more 

 years of age. The Duchess of Olden- 

 burg, Yellow Transparent, Jonathan, 

 Wealthy, Grimes and Wagener apples 

 will usually produce good crops when 

 the trees are young and quite small, 

 while the King, Gravenstein and espe- 

 cially the Northern Spy sometimes fail 

 to fruit or blossom until the trees are 

 quite large. 



All varieties of tree fruits are in- 

 fluenced by local conditions. Rich soil 

 is apt to induce an excessive growth of 

 wood and foliage at the expense of 

 fruit-bud formation. This tendency can 

 often be overcome to some extent by 

 summer pruning or by root pruning, 

 and it is sometimes well to try such 

 practices until the habit of fruiting is 

 formed. 



Some varieties have the alternate or 

 "off-year" habit of fruiting. A heavy 

 crop may be harvested one year, fol- 

 lowed by a light crop. Varieties which 

 would normally bear fruit each year 

 may acquire the alternate-year habit by 

 neglect in pruning, spraying. and culti- 

 vation. This neglect allows a starved 

 condition of plant growth and fruit- 

 bud development. To rejuvenate such 

 trees careful cultural methods must be 

 practiced. 



Some trees will be covered with blos- 

 soms, but no fruit is set. This may be 



Photo bij California Horticultural Commission. 



Apricot orchard Winter's section, Yolo County. California, showing the Ual open type of head 



developed by pruning. 



