March, 1911 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



55 



Getting New Bearing Wood in Old Orchards 



A. McNeil, Ottawa, Chief of the Fruit Division 



IN renewing the wood of an old apple 

 tree, it is usual to cut away the top 

 more or less. The result is that nu- 

 merous suckers sprout upon the large 

 limbs and even upon the trunk. A few 

 of the most favorably situated suckers 

 are selected, and the rest are cut off, 

 and these growing suckers soon develop 

 the bearing wood. 



A common mistake with the average 

 orchardist is to allow these suckers to 

 grow the second year unpruned ; the re- 

 sult is that the main growth is made 

 from the top of the suckers which pro- 

 bably have grown the first year four or 

 five feet. At the end of the second year 

 there has been a vigorous growth of say, 

 three or four feet. Unfortunately, this 

 growth is above three or four feet of 

 naked wood, .^n example of this is seen 

 in figure one. The suckers should have 

 been cut back when they were one year 

 old, leaving not more than five or six 

 buds. This would have taken probably 

 three-quarters of the length from the 

 suckers. 



If all the suckers had been pruned in 

 this way, then the second year the same 

 growth would have been made as was 

 made without the pruning, but it would 

 have been located low upon the frame- 

 work of the tree. During the growing 

 season it might have been necessary to 

 have cut out some of the twigs not need- 

 ed to form the framework of the new- 

 head, leaving three, or perhaps four, 

 good branches growing in different di- 

 rections. 



THE SECOND PEUNING 



At the end of the second year the prun- 

 ing should not be quite so severe. Pro- 

 bably not more than half the growth 

 should be cut back, and during the fol- 

 lowing season some attention should lie 

 given to the branches to give those that 

 were growing in the right direction a 

 chance to fill the whole space about the 

 body of the tree. 



At the end of the third year the head 

 should be fairly well formed. In all pro- 

 babflity a few fruit spurs will have form- 

 ed upon the second year wood, and the 

 wood growth not be so great as to re- 

 quire much cutting back. Usually no 

 cutting back is required, simply a little 

 thinning of superfluous branches. After 

 the tMrd year the pruning should not be 

 different from that of the ordinary apple 

 tree and fruit might be expected upon all 

 the previous year's wood. 



THE CAEB OP GRAFTS 



The same ^treatment should be given 

 to grafts. Nine out of ten of the trees 

 that are renewed by top-grafting, have 

 been distorted in shape by not cutting 

 back .se\erely the strong growth usually 



made the first year. Of course, where 

 two grafts grow in one limb^ one should 

 be cut out after the first year's growth. 



Figure two shows an old orchard 

 which i.s exceedingly picturesque, but 

 sadly in need of bearing wood coming 

 out from the large limbs within a few 

 feet of the ground. There would be 

 little diHiculty in getting a new growth, 

 even in an old orchard such as this is, 

 if the tops were cut back, encouraging 

 the suckers to develop. 



The skilful orchardist is always on the 

 lookout for good new wood towards the 



so that in practice the older limbs are 

 constantly being deprived of the fruit 

 spurs which once grew upon them, and 

 the bearing wood is being pushed out 

 farther and farther from the trunk and 

 from the centre of the tree. The apple 

 grower noticing this, is constantly on the 

 lookout to renew these fruit spurs by 

 means of new wood growing near the 

 trunk and t >watds the centre of the tree. 



Experience in Spraying 



.^t the short course in fruit growing 

 held at the Ontario Agricultural College 

 at Guelph, Mr. Robert Thompson, of St. 

 Catharines, and Mr. L. Caesar, of the 

 .\gricultural College, Guelph, gave their 



An Example of the Neglect to Prone Dehorned Trees.— Fi(. 1. 



The suckers should have been cut back severely when one year old. Neglect to do this results 



in a tall, straggly top. 



orchards last sea- 



centre and lower part of his trees. Those 

 who are familiar with grape pruning 

 know that, in order to have a crop of 

 grapes, a growth of ten or twelve feet 

 must be cut off, leaving a spur of four 

 or five inches, with only two or three 

 buds. In this way the vine is kept with- 

 in reasonable bounds and large crops of 

 good fruit are produced. 



Exactly the same principle should be 

 applied to apple trees, with this differ- 

 ence : If the grape grower looks for fruit 

 upon the wood which he leaves of last 

 year's growth, the apple grower looks 

 only for the formation of fruit spurs on 

 one year old wood and blossoms and fruit 

 the year after. The orchardist has thus 

 to look three years ahead at least. But 

 once formed the fruit spur continues to 

 give blossoms and perhaps fruit for 

 three, four or perhaps five years. 



Fruil spurs, however, are exposed to 

 many accidents, the pruner and pick- 

 er break them ; wind and sleet have their 

 effects; and they deteriorate with age; 



experience in sprayini 

 son. 



The start in spraying, Mr. Thompson 

 said, should be made at the trunk, and 

 that it was better to waste some of the 

 spray material than not to use enough. 

 The majority of people put on too little 

 material. If the lime-sulphur is self boil- 

 ed or has sediment in it use a large noz- 

 zle ; if commercial lime-sulphur or clear 

 home-made is used, two smaller nozzles 

 would give better results. Give the first 

 spray early for foar that press of work 

 or an early spring would prevent the ap- 

 plication. He would commence spraying 

 any time from February twentieth with 

 the strong solution for San Jose and Oys- 

 ter Shell scale and blister mite. 



HOME BOILED OR COMMERCTAI. 



He would use the concentrated in all 

 cases as there is economy in manufacture, 

 fuel and labor. He advi.scd those heav- 

 ing orchards of under ten acres to buy 

 commercial lime-sulphur and those over 

 that quantity to make their own. At the 



