January, 1922 



BETTER FRUIT 



Tage Nineteen 



Improvement in Orchard 

 Management 



{Continued from, ffge 9) 



regularity to maintain uniform soil mois- 

 ture. Again, an insufficient head of water 

 permits waste near the flume and an insuf- 

 ficient supply to trees at the other end of 

 the row. 



Proper supervision of irrigation requires 

 very frequent inspection of the factors 

 mentioned. Group 1 (386 boxes), shows 

 an average of 2.79 man-days per acre per 

 season; Group 2 (257 boxes) 2.07 days; 

 and Group 3 (186 boxes) 1.57 days. In 

 other words. Group 1 spends 78 per cent 

 more time each season supervising approxi- 

 mately the same number of irrigations than 

 does Group 3. The same point of view 

 is well illustrated under "Value per acre" 

 classification. Group 1 spends 2.35 days 

 per acre; Group 2, 1.99 days; Group 3, 

 1.51 days. 



CPRAYING — Much progress has been 

 ^ made during the past few years in appli- 

 cation of sprays, combinations, dilutions, 

 and timeliness. This is reflected in higher 

 percentages of extra fancy fruit. The 

 most striking introduction has been the use 

 of the spray gun in place of the long, 

 cumbersome spray rod. Greater efficiency 

 in the use of labor and material has 

 resulted. During nearly the entire period 

 covered by this survey the three and one- 



^■riiiiiiiritiiiiiirdiiniiiiiitiiiriiKiiiniit riiiiiiit itiiiiiiit iiiii iiiiiiiini':: 



I KAYSO DEALERS | 



I OREGON I 



= PORTLAND i 



I Ariss Campbell & Gault. 12 Front St. | 



1 Hard{e Mfs. Co., 55 North Front St. = 



E Portland Seed Co. = 



= SALEM i 



I D. A. White & Son I 



= Oregon Growers' Co-operative Assn. I 



I DALLAS i 



= Guy Brothers Hardware Co. = 



I EUGENE I 



i Eugene Fruit Growers' Assn. i 



I SUTHERLIN | 



i McKay Brothers = 



i MEDFORD I 



I Monarch Seed & Feed Co. I 



= Farm Bureau Co-operative Exchange = 



I ASHLAND I 



= Ashland Fruit Growers' Assn. i 



I ROSEBURG I 



i Churchill Hardware Co. - 



I CORVALLIS I 



i Brownsville Canning Co. i 



I COTTAGE GROVE I 



i Knowlcs & Graber = 



I ALBANY I 



1 Murphy Seed Co. = 



I HOOD RIVER I 



I Dan Wuille & Company = 



I WASHINGTON I 



i SEATTLE I 

 = Farrell, Boswell & Co.. Hoge Building i 



= J. W. Dunn & Co. I 



= Woodruff- Boyce Seed Co. = 



i VANCOUVER i 



i Red Ash Seed Co. E 



I WALLA WALLA I 

 I California Spray Co.. Keylor Grande = 



S Theatre Building = 



I WENATCHEE i 



I Wells & Wade = 



I ZILLAH I 



I Harlan Fruit Co. i 



I IDAHO I 



i TWIN FALLS I 



I Darrow Bros. & Co. | 



'^ '" ""' < llimimiiiiiiMliiiliic I iilliiiiiiiiMlllMiii 11^ 



half horse-power sprayer with two spray 

 rods was used. The same machine has now 

 been supplanted by the spr.iy gun, or 

 replaced by a larger machine, usually ten 

 to fifteen horse-power, capable of furnish- 

 ing two or three guns with a capacity of 

 approximately fifteen gallons a minute. 



Striking differences in the amount of 

 spray material used by the different groups 

 is brought out. Group 1 (yields) shows an 

 average of 2015 diluted gallons to the acre 

 annually; Group 2 1923 gallons; and 

 Group 3 1381 gallons. On a tree basis 

 this is 27.45, 27.21, and 20.26 gallons for 

 each group, respectively. Under extra 

 fancy, Group 1 shows 2181 gallons an acre, 

 or 29.34 a tree; Group 2, 165 3 an acre, 

 or 23.56 gallons a tree; and Group 3, 

 1592 gallons an acre, or 24.0 a tree. 



Thinning — Thinning is another funda- 

 mental orchard practice requiring thorough- 

 ness, timeliness, and good judgment. There 

 are several aims which the grower usually 

 has in mind when doing this work. One 

 is, that such a practice tends to pro- 

 mote annual bearing. In other words, that 

 removing fruit entirely on some spurs will 

 tend to cause such spurs to fruit during 

 the following year rather than to overbear 

 one year, with little or no fruit the fol- 

 lowing year. 



Data compiled at different experiment 

 stations throws serious doubt upon this con- 

 clusion. On the other hand, some growers 

 go to the other extreme in failing to prune 

 enough. No set rule can be laid down 

 which will cover all cases. Generally 

 speaking, one may safely avoid heavy prun- 

 ing while the trees are young and vigor- 

 ous, especially thinning out. This would 

 be true with yellow or green apples. Red 

 apples would need at least a light thinning 

 out. 



One grower of Newtowns, fifteen years 

 old, who had very large yields on a six 

 year average, practically did no pruning on 

 his trees between the ages of six and twelve 

 years, with the exception of removing a 

 few of the large lower limbs which inter- 

 fered with cultivation. With a maximum 

 fruit-spur system, and vigorous trees, very 

 large yields have been secured. Such a 

 plan has not, however, been without it's 

 disadvantages. Fruit spurs in the lower 

 portion of the trees have become weakened 

 through excessive shading and do not 

 today function vigorously. Thus the ten- 

 dency is for fruit wood to extend further 

 and further out on the main limbs where 

 it is less easily thinned, sprayed or propped. 



This is a condition into which many of the 

 older orchards have fallen — that of having 

 long barren areas in the lower portion of 

 the tree devoid of fruit spurs. 



It is difficult, if not actually impossible, 

 to restore such fruiting wood in the area 

 mentioned, chiefly because any rational 

 plan of pruning is too far removed from 

 the area to be influenced. Usually heavy 

 pruning removes practically all new, 

 thrifty bearing wood and promotes an 

 excess of suckers which, in turn, do not 

 come into fruiting, or may produce a few 

 weak spurs after possibly several years of 

 waiting. 



The more nearly the grower approaches 

 annual pruning the more satisfactory and 

 uniform are the results. Group 1 (yields) 

 averages 78 per cent of the orchard 

 annually pruned; whereas. Group 3, 

 averages only 48.7 per cent. 



From the foregoing data the possibilities 

 in the apple business are established. 

 Marked differences in the performance 

 records of one orchard as compared with 

 another are brought out. These differences 

 are associated with different methods of 

 management. Chief among these is the 

 matter of variety, age of trees, acerage, 

 irrigation, pruning and spraying. 



TASTES LIKE A DATE 



Fiuit Grows Uniformlj] 

 tent 50 Per CeDt When 

 Confection; Prolific; 

 OaCHAilDS BEING 

 A SPECIAL PLAN, 

 and Literature. 



E D E K 



Y o u 

 Trees 



Large. Sugar Con- 

 Dried. A Delicious 

 Profitable. 

 DEVELOPED ON 

 Write for Details 



PRUNE 



Address 



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 to Dept. 



agat- 

 i n g 



Send 15 oen*s „ Riffbts 

 * t^ I B» Controlled. 



for aainplo tfux 



OREGON NURSERY COMPANY 



O K E N C 



E E G N 



RHODES DOUBLE CUT 

 . PHUNING SHI 



RHODES MFG. < 



320 S. DIVISION AVE., GRAND RAPIDS. MICH. 



'THE only 

 pruner 

 made that cuts 

 from both sides of 

 the limb and does not 

 bruise the bark. Made in 

 all styles and sizes. All 

 shears delivered free 

 to your door. 



Write for 

 circular and 

 prices. 



