Page 8 



BETTER FRUIT 



May, 1920 



practice is to irrigate immediately after 

 eacli picking. Sometimes, when there 

 is danger that the water in the furrows 

 may not be absorbed before the fol- 

 lowing picking, the field may be cov- 

 ered by two applications, alternate fur- 

 rows being irrigated in turn. The 

 pickers can then use the unirrigated 

 furrows when at work. 



In California the plants produce fruit 

 for several months, from late in March 

 or early in April until September or 

 October; sometimes even until Decem- 



ber. In that state, therefore, water will 

 be needed for bearing plantations 

 through a nmch longer season than in 

 states where only an early summer 

 crop is produced. 



The Strawberry as An Intercrop — 

 The strawberry is grown quite largely 

 as an intercrop in orchards in most irri- 

 gated regions. In sections where the 

 water supply is under control of the 

 grower and a sufflcient quantity can be 

 used to supply both the trees which are 

 being grown for the permanent crop 



and the strawberries, this plan is 

 practicable. If properly managed, the 

 strawberries should pay a large part 

 of the expense for the care of the or- 

 chard until it comes into bearing. 



In a few locations strawberries are 

 used as an intercrop in cherry and pear 

 orchards, and to a slight extent in 

 orchards of other fruits. 



In non-irrigated regions the inter- 

 planting of orchards with strawberries 

 is inadvisable except under well-con- 

 sidered restrictions. 



Some Useful and Timely Hints on Peach Growing 



FOR various reasons it is sometimes 

 desirable to change the top of 

 a peach tree from one variety to 

 another. A grower may find after his 

 orchard begins to bear that he has a 

 larger number of trees of some variety 

 than he wants; a block of trees may 

 prove to be some other variety than 

 the one ordered; or, for some other rea- 

 son, a variety is not well adapted to the 

 needs of the owner. In such cases he 

 has recourse to top-working the tree 

 either by budding or grafting to a de- 

 sirable variety. 



The ordinary method of shield bud- 

 ding is the one more commonly used 

 for this purpose. If the tree to be top- 

 worked is not more than two or three 

 years old it is usually practicable to 

 insert the buds directly into the main 

 limbs well down toward the point 

 where they leave the trunk. 



If the tree to be top-budded has 

 reached the age when the bark on the 

 main limbs has become too thick and 

 firm to be manipulated readily for bud- 

 ding, it is necessary to head it back 

 somewhat, as when the top is to be re- 

 placed with new growth of the same 

 variety, and then insert the buds on 

 the new branches that develop after the 

 tree has been deheaded. When this 

 course is followed the buds should be 

 inserted in the new growth as near the 

 trunk as is practicable, in order to have 

 as large a portion of the top as possible 

 of the new variety. This is also desir- 

 able on account of the subsequent man- 

 agement of the tree. 



Top-working is sometimes done by 

 grafting instead of budding. The ordi- 

 nary cleft graft is generally used in such 

 cases. However, budding is to be pre- 

 ferred, especially as the wounds made 

 in grafting do not heal as readily in 

 the case of the peach, though when 

 properly done the union of stock and 

 scion is generally strong enough to 

 make a fairly serviceable tree. But 

 trouble incident to the difficulties in 

 the healing of the wounds is likely to 

 occur. 



Thinning the Fruit. 

 In the minds of some peach growers, 

 to teach the thinning of fruit is to 

 teach heresy. The thing most desired 

 by them is the biggest peach crop pos- 

 sible. Then the heavier the "set" of 

 fruit the better, and the last considera- 

 tion is to pick off any of it until it is 

 picked for market. This is their philos- 

 ophy. 



By H. P. Gould 



The matter of thinning the fruit on 

 heavily loaded peach trees should re- 

 quire no special argument to establish 

 the wisdom of the practice but the 

 reasons for thinning may be briefly set 

 forth in the present connection. 



The fact is widely recognized that 

 most varieties of peaches, as well as 

 other fruits, for that matter, under fa- 

 varable conditions, often set much 

 more fruit than the tree can possibly 

 develop to a good degree of perfection 

 for commercial purposes. The inherent 

 natural purpose of the tree is to perpet- 

 uate its kind. To this end, left to itself, 

 its tendency is to develop the largest 

 possible number of seeds, with each 

 seed possessing the potential possibility 

 of a new tree. 



The grower's aim is for the tree to 

 produce the largest possible amount of 

 fruit that can attain the highest com- 

 mercial standard. The inherent effort 

 of the tree and the object desired by 

 the growers impose, or at least tend to 

 impose, incompatible requirements. The 

 development of a great number of seeds 

 is a tree-exhausting process. This is 

 opposed to the development of large 

 fruits. To meet his ends in this respect 

 the grower has recourse to thinning 

 the fruit. 



There is perhaps no operation in the 

 production of peaches, which requires 

 keener judgment in order to reap its 

 full benefits than does thinning the 

 fruit. However, no fixed rules for it 

 can be given. It is commonly advised 

 to thin so that the fruits will not be 

 nearer together than four to six inches. 

 This direction is quite generally applic- 

 able yet it may have several important 

 modifications under different condi- 

 tions. The strength of the tree, the fer- 

 tility of the soil, and especially the soil 

 moisture are all co-ordinate factors gov- 

 erning this operation. These factors, 

 together with the size of the crop, or, in 

 other words, the number of fruits al- 

 lowed to develop on the tree, govern 

 very largely the size and perfection of 

 the individual fruits, except as fungous 

 diseases and insects may affect them. 



Obviously, a vigorous tree growing 

 under favorable conditions as to mois- 

 ture, plant food, etc., can develop a 

 larger number of fruits to good size 

 than can a weak tree, or even the same 

 tree when there is a marked deficiency 

 either in the supply of moisture or of 

 plant food. 



The skill of the grower is shown in 



his ability to adjust the size of the crop 

 on his trees to the varying seasonal 

 conditions. While he is powerless, of 

 course, to add more fruit, it is quite 

 within his power to reduce the number 

 of fruits on the trees if the season be- 

 comes very dry as it progresses. Thus 

 the grower should aim to control the 

 size of the individual fruits by thinning 

 and by tillage and pruning. 



It is sometimes argued that the ex- 

 pense of thinning makes it prohibitive. 

 But this is fallacious. While it may 

 cost a relatively large amount per tree, 

 it is the experience of the best growers 

 that, as a rule, actually more high grade 

 fruit is produced on a tree which bears 

 only a moderate crop than on one 

 which is heavily overloaded, and the 

 average fruit on the tree with a moder- 

 ate crop is of better grade than the best 

 fruit on an overloaded tree. 



Another factor is commonly over- 

 looked when the cost of thinning is 

 considered. The operation should be 

 done after the "June drop" — which oc- 

 curs usually from a month to six weeks 

 after the blossoming period when the 

 imperfectly fertilized and other weakly 

 developed embryo fruits drop off, and 

 before the pits begin to harden. After 

 the "June drop" is over there is but 

 very little dropping of peaches. Hence, 

 practically all of the fruit which re- 

 mains then will be on the trees at har- 

 vest time. It will have to be picked 

 then, anyway. It is a fair assumption 

 that it will cost no more and probably 

 considerably less to pick a portion of 

 the crop in June or July and drop the 

 fruit on the ground than it will to pick 

 it later and put it in a basket, where 

 much of it will have to be handled over 

 several times in grading and picking 

 and packing and then finally discarded 

 as culls because the fruits are so small. 

 Moreover, the fruit on an overloaded 

 tree will sometimes ripen less uni- 

 formly than on a tree that has a moder- 

 ate crop. 



It has already been stated that the 

 development of the pits is an exhaust- 

 ive process. Therefore, the limiting of 

 the number of fruits tends to conserve 

 the vitality of the tree. A large portion 

 of the flesh of the peach is water; 

 hence, if the soil is well supplied with 

 moisture the development of the edible 

 part of the fruit makes a relatively light 

 demand on the strength of the tree. 



