ipi6 



BETTER FRUIT 



Page 9 



Correcting Unsanitary Orchard Soils 



Unsanitary soil conditions are serious handi- i 

 caps to the growth of orchard trees. J 



They are the direct cause of certain root dis- JJ 

 eases. a 



They Hmit the amount of plant food that is 5 

 available, and cause mal-nutrition. 



Root diseases and lack of food stunt the 

 growth of trees and reduce the amount of fruit 

 produced. 



Slow growth, mishapen branches, small leaves 

 and pale color of leaves are some of the signs of 

 bad soil sanitation. When these are noticed, the 

 faulty conditions should be corrected at once. 



The trouble may be caused by shallow soil, 

 hardpan, tight clay, or bad drainage. Rational 

 blasting gets directly at the seat of trouble and 

 relieves some of the most pronounced cases by 

 shattering the hardpan and deepening the soil, 



or by opening seepage channels into the hard soil through which the stagnant surface 



water can sink into the subsoil. 



Relief from excessive surface water, which causes bad soil sanitation, is obtained by 

 blasting ditches. This is a quick and economical method. 



Orchard blasting is fully described in "Developing Logged-Off Lands." Land owmers 

 and orchardists can obtain a copy of this valuable book by addressing 



Agricultural Division 



E. i. DU PONT DE NEMOURS & COMPANY 



Wilmington, Delaware 



Dra:i<n from actual photo — Note markeddiffrence 

 in growth betzvecn tree planted in blasted hole and 

 tree planted in jpade-dug hole. 



Oreslon Nursery Company 



ORENCO, OREGON 



Extensive g:rowers of all lines of Fruit, Nut and Shade Trees, Evergreens, 

 Flowering Shrubs, Vines, Roses, etc. Introducers of the VROOMAN 

 FRANQUETTE walnut, recognized as the best walnut. Our large 

 complete stock consists of varieties suitable for every kind of climate. 

 Write us about your wants before buying. 



Economical Use of Irrigation Water 



[Office of Information, U. S. Department of Agriculture] 



UNDER conditions such as prevail 

 in Idaho on a normal project with 

 medium clay loam, irrigated land should 

 be supplied with sudicient water during 

 the season to enable each irrigated acre 

 to retain two feet, according to a recent 

 investigation of the United States De- 

 partment of Agriculture. This applies, 

 it is said, to at least 7.5 per cent of the 

 irrigation projects in Idaho and prob- 

 ably to as large a per cent of the 

 projects in other states. In order that 

 the land may retain the needed 2 feet 

 of water per acre, the former should 

 receive about 2Vi feet on medium clay 

 and sandy loam soils. Wheie the soil 

 is porous or has a porous subsoil lying 

 closer to the surface than C feet, more 

 than this cpiantity of water should be 

 delivered to the consumer, the exact 

 quantity depending, of course, upon the 

 porosity of the soil. Where an Idaho 

 project is devoted one-half lo grain 

 and the other half to alfalfa or other 

 crops, the total volume of water should 

 be distributed something as follows: 

 18.7 per cent during May, 28 per cent 

 during June, .32.8 per cent during .Inly, 

 17.2 per cent during August and 2 per 

 cent during the first half of September. 



After this time the only demand for 

 water is for live stock and domestic 

 purposes. 



These conclusions, which are based 

 upon co-operative experiments con- 

 ducted by the United States Department 

 of Agriculture and the State Land Board 

 of Idaho, are reported in a new Pro- 

 fessional Paper, No. 339, of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, en- 

 tilled "Exijeriments on the Economic 

 Use of Irrigation Water in Idaho," by 

 Don H. Bark. During the course of 

 this investigation the water was meas- 

 ured upon .52fl individual tracts cover- 

 ing a total area of slightly over 3,600 

 acres. The land was used for staple 

 crops, alfalfa, clover pasture, spring 

 and winter grains, potatoes and or- 

 chards. 



Experiments show that the yield of 

 grain on the heavier soils such as clay, 

 clay loam, sandy loam and fine sand, 

 will normally increase with the supply 

 of water until an amoimt varying be- 

 tween 1.4 and 1.8-acre feet has been 

 api)lied. After this the api)lication of 

 more water will decrease the yield of 

 grain and in many cases the yield of 

 straw as well. Alfalfa re(iuires larger 



quantities of water and the experi- 

 ments did not reach a point at which 

 an increased supply began to lessen the 

 yield. If the yield alone is considered 

 it is difficult, it is said, to apply too 

 much water to alfalfa, provided no 

 more is applied at one time than the 

 soil will promptly absorb. With both 

 grain and alfalfa, however, the amount 

 of water that it is profitable, from a 

 business point of view, to use depends 

 upon the relative cost of land and of 

 water and other local economic con- 

 ditions. 



With potatoes, it is found that there 

 is a strong tendency for the yield to in- 

 crease with the supply of water. The 

 rate of increase, however, grew smaller 

 as the quantity of water was increased, 

 and on clay-loam soils it probably will 

 not be advisable to apply more than 

 2 or 2% feet per acre to the crop. 



The report also deals with the ques- 

 tion of the proper quantity of water to 

 apply at each irrigation. An unavoid- 

 able loss from evaporation invariably 

 occurs during and immediately after 

 iri'igation and it is, therefore, desirable 

 to have no more applications during the 

 season than are required to maintain 

 the needed moisture content in the soil. 

 Investigators found that from 3 to 6 

 acre inches at one application is the 

 correct quantity. ■ Impervious soils 

 should be so manipulated that they will 

 absorb the smaller amount at least, 

 while on the porous soils large irriga- 

 tion heads should be used. On these 

 porous soils very little can be accom- 

 plished with small heads of water be- 

 cause the water is absorbed so rapidly 

 that it cannot be forced over the field. 

 The average size of the irrigation head 

 over the greater part of Idaho seldom 

 exceeds 1 to 2 second feet. On the 

 porous soils, the use of heads three or 

 four times this size, it is said, will give 

 a much higher efficiency. 



In conclusion, the report points out 

 that the determination of the proper 

 supply of water for an irrigation 

 project is a very serious problem. If 

 too little water is allotted, the yields 

 will be small and the lands never will 

 reach their highest possible value. On 

 the other hand, if too much is alloted, 

 the excess supply is almost invariably 

 used and the irrigated lands may dete- 

 riorate rapidly through waterlogging. 

 Moreover, the water is diverted from 

 use elsewhere and the ultimate area of 

 irrigated land thus reduced. In deter- 

 mining the amoimt of water to be used, 

 other factors than the maximum yield 

 must also be taken into consideration. 

 The cost of the land, the cost of the 

 water, and the value of the erojis pro- 

 duced are all important considerations. 

 There are but few cases in which the 

 increase in yield is ])roi)orlionate to the 

 cpiantify of water used. 



The Hood River Apple Growers' 

 Association, through their sales man- 

 ager, Mr. Wilmer Sieg, reports the en- 

 tire cherry crop of 1!)1() has been sold. 



The North Carolina friut crops were 

 damaged b>' sold weather and frost 

 during the nionth of April. 



