ipi8 



material was used as where arsenate 

 of lead (an application of which was 

 found necessary in September at Hood 

 River this year) was used. The mottling 

 resulting was insignificant and by the 

 time the fruit was picked, sorted and 

 packed, little spray remained. It will 

 take time to determine whether this 

 spray will be effective — theoretically at 

 least it should be productive of the 

 desired results and it can be used with 

 perfect safety and without inconven- 

 ience. A spray applied at this season 

 of the year in many orchards is done 

 with much difTiculty. The many props 



BETTER FRUIT 



and heavily-laden branches practically 

 prevent the spraying without the loss 

 of some fruit. Heavy foliage at this 

 season of the year makes the coating of 

 the branches difiicult. If the disease, 

 however, is gaining headway its con- 

 trol certainly is worth the sacrificing of 

 a little fruit and the indulging in a little 

 hard work in working the spray ma- 

 chine through the orchard. 



Burgundy mixture as used during the 

 past season was made as follows: 

 Three pounds salsoda; three pounds 

 bluestone; 100 gallons of water. The 

 materials are dissolved separately, as is 



Page p 



done with the bordeaux mixture, and 

 placed unmixed in the spray tank when 

 it is well filled with water. Care should 

 be taken in mixing the materials; fruit 

 can easily be injured at this season of 

 the year by improperly mixed copper 

 solutions. 



As in spraying for other troubles, 

 timing of the application and thorough- 

 ness of execution are the two great 

 principles involved if the desired re- 

 sults are to be obtained. If these prin- 

 ciples are religiously kept in mind 

 anthracnose will never be a contender 

 in the apple orchard. 



Effect of Cross-Pollination on the Apple 



By W. H. Wicks, Formerly Horticulturist University of Arkansas 



THIS article reports the results of 

 investigation for three years of the 

 "Effect of cross-pollination on size, 

 color, shape and quality of the apple." 

 It. is the second publication of a series 

 on apple-pollination problems begun at 

 the Arkansas Experiment Station in 

 April, 1914. 



The necessity of cross-pollination of 

 the apple has been set forth by investi- 

 gators, both in this country and abroad. 

 Considerable literature on this subject 

 has accumulated. Data collected, also, 

 by this station since 1914 shows the 

 necessity of cross-pollination. Grow- 

 ers are now aware of the importance of 

 cross-pollination and are planting com- 

 mercial apple orchards in alternate 

 varieties. More bees are kept each 

 year by the more progressive orchard- 

 ists, as it has been demonstrated that 

 insects, especially the honey bee, are 

 most beneficial in promoting pollina- 

 tion. ^Vhere this occurs, the question 

 arises. What is the immediate influence 

 or eftect of the pollen of the male 

 parent on size, color, shape and quality 

 of the fruit of the female parent? This 

 study was conducted during 1915-16-17 

 in a typical commercial orchard at 

 Springdale, Arkansas. 



The immediate effect of cross-pollina- 

 tion is thought by some to be most 

 strikingly manifested by such phe- 

 nomena as a red band on an apple with 

 a yellow background, or in reverse 

 cases where a yellow band is distinct 

 on an apple witli a red background. In 

 order to choose varieties for this study 

 to make the results commercially prac- 

 tical it was necessary to choose varie- 

 ties which blossom at the same period 

 and planted for commercial purposes 

 in this region. The Ben Davis, Jon- 

 athan, Winesap and Grimes were there- 

 fore selected, which are the varieties 

 meeting the above requirements. The 

 commercial value of this study is based 

 upon the detriment or advantage of a 

 pollen of any certain variety increasing 

 or detracting from the size, color shape 

 or quality of the fruit of the female par- 

 ent. In case the influence of the ijollcn 

 is manifested in tlie present fruit crop, 

 orchardists may choose varieties and 

 I)lant in such a way that the greatest 

 Ijenefit of cross-pollination will be re- 

 ceived on factors under discussion. 



This problem was to ascertain the 

 efl'ect of the pollen of the male parent 



of the apple on size, color, shape and 

 quality of the fruit of the female. The 

 apple when grown under dilTerent con- 

 ditions varies in all of the above char- 

 acters. The influence of foreign pollen 

 has been studied to determine its power 

 in causing such variations. In North- 

 west Arkansas some varieties grow 

 long one season and another season 

 they will be practically round, with the 

 absence of characteristic irregular ribs 

 and prominent lobes on the calyx end. 

 In some seasons, the apple will be lack- 

 ing in color, size and flavor. Is this 

 due to the kind of pollen or other 

 factors? 



Plan of Investigation 

 The orchard chosen for this work at 

 Springdale, Arkansas, contains Ben 

 Davis, Winesap and Jonathan as the 

 major part of the planting. Other vari- 

 eties are Mammoth Black Twig, Gano, 

 Huntsman, Rome and Stayman Wine- 

 sap. It is 27 years old and is consid- 

 ered a typical commercial orchard of 

 this community. All varieties have 

 grown well. The pruning, spraying, 

 cultivation, fertilization and general 

 cultural methods have been practically 

 the same for the past ten years. It has 

 remained in the hands of the present 

 owner during this period. The soil is a 

 silt loam mapped as the "Fayetteville 

 Series" by the U. S. Bureau of Soils. 

 It is fairly well drained, but pro- 

 ductive, as indicated by the growth of 

 the trees and the general farm crops 

 that are produced in the vicinity on the 

 same type of soil. The health and 

 vigor of this orchard is good. Its crop 

 production is good, having a record 

 equal to any of the commercial or- 

 chards in this district. No change 

 during the experiment was made in any 

 of the cultural methods used in this 

 orchard. The Grimes trees used in this 

 experiment are planted in a block of 

 3,5 acres, two miles west of Springdale, 

 on similar soil and arc twelve years old. 

 To produce fruit with known parent- 

 age it is necessary to make hand- 

 pollinations. The greatest number of 

 the following crosses were made each 

 vear: 



Hen Davis .r Ron Uavis 

 Ben Davis .r .lonathan 

 lien Davis ,t Oiimcs 

 Bon Davis r Winesap 

 .lonallian ,r .Tonalhan 

 Jonallian .1' Ben Davis 

 .Tonallian .v Cirinies 

 Jonathan x Winesap 



("irimcs .r (ii-iines 

 Grimes .r Ben Davis 

 Grimes x .lonathan 

 Grimes ,i' Winesap 

 Winesap r Winesap 

 Winesap .r Ben Davis 

 Winesap x Grimes 

 Winesap .r .Jonathan 



In addition to these varieties being 

 of leading commercial importance they 

 possess intense color, quality and 

 characteristic shape as developed in 

 this environment. The Grimes, develop- 

 ing a uniform rich yellow color, it was 

 thought that the pollen from a red 

 variety like the Jonathan and Winesap 

 would manifest itself when placed on 

 this variety, if such a phenomena is 

 possible. The yellow of the Grimes 

 would likewise be dominant in the col- 

 oring of deeply-colored red apples 

 when the Grimes was used as a male 

 parent. By using these varieties the 

 size, form and quality would likewise 

 be readily apparent on the fruit of the 

 female parent in case the influence of 

 the male pollen is present concerning 

 these characters. 



The trees of each variety were num- 

 bered alphabetically. Each year self- 

 pollination was made on each tree in 

 order to secure self-pollination speci- 

 mens as a standard of comparison for 

 the specimens which were produced by 

 using another pollen. For example, a 

 number of blossoms of Jonathan tree 

 "A" were hand-pollinated with pollen 

 from this tree, and on the same tree 

 hand-pollinations were made by using 

 Ben Davis, Winesap and Grimes. This 

 method each year gave self-pollinated 

 specimens for each variety. Pollen 

 was also used from all of the trees 

 worked upon for that variety, placing 

 upon another variety, using the tree as 

 a unit. For example, pollen from 

 Grimes tree "B" was placed upon Ben 

 Davis tree "B." This gave a com- 

 parison of the entire crop of individual 

 trees which enabled to detect tree vari- 

 ation, if present, among the varieties 

 studied. 



Recognized practices of emasculation 

 and hand-pollination were maintained 

 each year. Before the blossoms opened 

 on the tree, twigs were gathered from 

 each tree for each variety and placed 

 in the greenhouse to hasten the de- 

 veloijment of pollen for use when the 

 stigams became receptive on the trees 

 in the orchard. The varieties were 

 kept separate in the greenhouse by 

 placing the twigs in glass jars contain- 

 ing water and placing them under a 

 cloth cage. Each day, as the pollen 

 matured, it was collected by jarring 

 into a small vial, by the use of a 

 camel's-hair brush. A label giving the 



