Page Fourteen 



BETTER FRUIT 



February, 1 922 



Cherry Growing in Yakima Valley 



By Luke 



Consulting Hort'uultiiris 



THE GROWING of cherries in 

 the Yakima Valley is no longer an 

 experiment, but one of the most 

 profitable branches of the fruit industry. 

 But in all lines of fruit growing one has 

 to observe the essentials in orde_r to be suc- 

 cessful. And like the Ten Commandments, 

 each must be kept, as neglecting of one will 

 bring to naught all the time, labor and 

 money spent on the others. 



Essentials — (a) Proper rootstock (b) 

 soil and moisture; (c) pruning; (d) varie- 

 ties; (e) cross pollination; (f) protection. 



RooTSTocK — We have two rootstocks on 

 which cherries are budded and grown. The 

 Mazzard for the sweet cherry and the 

 Mahaleb for the sour cherry. The former 

 is a very rapid grower and so is the sweet 

 cherry; while the latter is a slow grower 

 as, likewise, is the sour chery. Thus, in 

 each case they are naturally adapted to 

 each other. If the sweet cherry is grown 

 on the Mahaleb, or sour cherry root, and 

 permitted to make a vigorous growth, this 

 will continue for three or four years and 

 then suddenly the tree will die, usually 

 in June or July. The top or tree has 

 simply grown too fast for the root. The 

 latter, not being able to supply the amount 

 of nourishment required by the tree, they 



Powell 



/, Yakima, [^'ashington 



both die and three or four years' work is 

 lost. 



Sweet cherries are subject to the disease 

 gumosis and, while not very prevalent in 

 this valley, it is wise to take all precautions 

 .igainst it. It is a known fact that the Maz- 

 zard seedling is immune to this disease. 

 Thus, in order to protect ourselves, we have 

 found it a wise precaution to grow a Maz- 

 zard tree until it is large enough to form 

 a frame work and then bud on it the 

 sweet cherry varieties wanted. This work 

 is usually done in July or August, follow- 

 ing the spring the seedlings were planted. 

 Usually the nurseries that sell the seedlings 

 attend to this budding for the grower, bud- 

 ding the varieties wanted at the proper 

 time. 



Soil and Moisture — Cherries do well 

 in most any good soil, but show a prefer- 

 ence for the lighter soils. They need 

 plenty of moisture up until some two or 

 three weeks before the crop is picked. 

 From then on until the fruit is harvested 

 they need an abundance of moisture in 

 order to produce a large, plump, juicy 

 cherry. From then on, contrary to the 

 belief of many, they should receive suffi- 

 cient moisture to keep them growing nicely, 



in order that they may set an abundance 

 of fruit buds for next season's crop. 



Pruning — The young trees should be 

 thinned out during the dormant season to 

 the main scaffold limbs desired, then these 

 should be headed slightly if the growth is 

 more than 1 5 inches. This heading is 

 done in order to get the stooling or whorl 

 of limbs about 12 to 15 inches apart. 

 Sometimes this can be done during the 

 growing season by pinching off the tips 

 when the branch has made from 12 to 15 

 Inches of growth. However, summer prun- 

 ing is a dangerous practice. The leaves 

 are the lungs and also the digestive organs 

 of the tree and their functitjning should be 

 interfered with very little during the grow- 

 ing season. 



As soon as the tree gets into bearing it 

 needs little or no pruning, except to keep 

 out the cross limbs and give sufficient thin- 

 ning to let the sunlight into the tree. Sun- 

 shine is a big factor in changing leaf buds 

 into fruit buds. 



Sweet Varieties — For shipping and a 

 strictly commercial cherry, the Bing is in 

 a class for itslef. In the earlier districts 

 the Black Tartarian being the first sweet 

 cherry on the market brings a very good 

 price. In the later districts the Black 

 Republican, being the last cherry on the 

 market, brings a fair price. But each 

 should be considered more as a pollenizer 

 than as a commercial product. 

 For canning, the Royal Anne is the 



POTASH PAYS 



YIELD, size, flavor, and shipping 

 quality of fruits are dependent on the 

 kind and amount of plant food available 

 to the crop. 



With the right kind of fertilization riper 

 fruits can be harvested and shipped, and 

 still reach the consumer in satisfactory 

 condition. 



The improved flavor, odor, and appear- 

 ance of such fruits help sales in whole- 

 sale and retail markets. 



The fertilizer for fruit should be well 

 balanced, and contain from 7 to 10 per 

 cent, of Potash. 



SOIL & CROP SERVICE, POTASH SYNDICATE 

 H. A. HUSTON, Manager 



42 Broadway New York 



