SPRAYING FOR CONTROL OF PEACH BROWN-ROT AND SCAB. 19 



ried on in cooperation with Mr. Quaintance. A block of 2,324 Elberta 

 peach trees, 7 years old, was selected for this test and nearly half 

 of it sprayed, the remainder being left unsprayed as a check. The 

 results of the treatment were exceedingly satisfactory, as will be seen 

 in the following notes. 



The treated portion, designated as plat 6, consisted of 1,100 trees, 

 not quite half of the block. These trees were sprayed as follows : 



(1) With arsenate of lead, 2 pounds to 50 gallons of water, on March 31, as the dried 

 calyces (or shucks) were shedding. This application was intended for the curculio 

 only, and as the date was too early for serious brown-rot and scab infection the lime- 

 sulphur was omitted. 



(2) With 8-8-50 self-boiled lime-sulphur and 2 pounds of arsenate of lead combined, 

 on April 22, three weeks after the first treatment. 



(3) With self-boiled lime-sulphur alone, on May 21. 



(4) With self-boiled lime-sulphur alone, on June 9, about one month before the fruit 

 ripened. 



The curculio treatment necessitated an extra application before 

 the time to begin using the fungicide, thus increasing the cost. How- 

 ever, the cost of materials, labor, and teams for these four sprayings 

 was only $62.38, or 5f cents for each tree. Moreover, the writers are 

 of the opinion that only three applications, as outlined below, will be 

 required to secure satisfactory results, thus reducing the cost. The 

 trees were watched closely throughout the season and no injury to 

 fruit or foliage was observed. 



When the mature fruit, including windfalls, from five average trees 

 in this plat was sorted and counted, it was found that only 4h per cent 

 was affected with brown-rot, about half of which apparently resulted 

 from curculio punctures. Only 6^ per cent of the fruit showed scab 

 infections, and these were mostly small, obscure specks. The cur- 

 culio infestation was 27J per cent of the crop. 



The check was composed of 1,224 unsprayed Elberta trees adjacent 

 to the sprayed block. The trees in the two blocks were of the same age 

 and were growingunder the same conditions of soil, cultivation, etc., the 

 only difference being that one block was sprayed and the other was 

 not. The fruit from five of the unsprayed trees when sorted proved to 

 be 63 per cent rotten, 99 per cent scabby, and 97| per cent wormy 

 from curculio. In other words, the crop was practically a total loss. 

 A comparison of these figures with those of plat 6 (the sprayed part) 

 shows that spraying saved 58 J per cent of the crop from brown-rot, 

 92 i per cent from scab, and 70 per cent from curculio. 



COMMERCIAL RESULTS. 



A record kept in the packing house showed that the sprayed block 

 of 1,100 trees yielded 327J crates of first-class fruit, while the un- 

 sprayed block of 1,224 trees yielded only 33f crates, all of which were 

 poor in quality. At the beginning of the season the set of fruit 



174 



