ORCHARD SPRAYING— ORCHARD PROTECTION WORK. 



By Franklin Sherman, Jr., Entomologist. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The fruit-growing industry in North Carolina is steadily and safely 

 increasing, without any "booni" or unhealthy growth. The great major- 

 ity of our orchards are owned and managed by native North Carolinians, 

 who should he careful to guard them from injury by insects or disease, 

 and whose profits will be increased by giving their orchards intelligent, 

 painstaking care. 



It has been rightly said that at least four operations are essential to 

 success in fruit-growing, namely: (1) Cultivation, (2) Fertilization, 

 (3) Pruning, and (4) Spraying. The fruit grower, however, should 

 begin his careful study of the business even before the orchard is planted 

 in order to make the best possible selection of varieties, soil, exposures, 

 etc. And even after a crop is secured attention must be given to the 

 picking, grading, packing and marketing. All of which shows that fruit 

 growing, if rightly practiced, is one of the highest types of agriculture, 

 and the man who knows and practices, the proper methods may_ make 

 a good profit in years when his less intelligent and less careful neighbor 

 will lose money. 



Insect pests and fungus diseases of various kinds have become so wide- 

 spread that the question of Spraying is now as important as any other 

 part of orchard management, and many of our growers assert that it is 

 the most important single operation. This Bulletin is therefore largely 

 devoted to the question of Spraying, devoting especial attention to the 

 Bordeaux Mixture (poisoned), and to the Lime-sulphur Wash, which are 

 the two mixtures most used in the State. We also discuss some field 

 demonstrations which we conducted during 1908, showing the great bene- 

 fit secured by spraying apple trees in the orchards of actual growers. 

 An account is also given of the orchard inspection work which is being 

 conducted by this office. We give certain important suggestions to those 

 who intend to plant orchards or expect to purchase fruit trees of any 

 kind, and, finally, we give an excellent list of the larger fruit growers of 

 the State, in the hope that it may stimulate more interest and friendship 

 among growers in all sections by giving them opportunity to communi- 

 cate with one another. 



SPRAYING FRUIT TREES. 



Insect pests and diseases of various kinds make it necessary to spray 

 our trees in order to keep them in health and to get satisfactory crops of 

 fruit of good quality. In proof of this we need only examine our apples 

 at harvest and see how many have fallen prematurely and how many of 

 those remaining are knotted, one-sided and wormy, to be convinced. 



