The Canadian Horticulturi^ 



Vol. XXXVII 



JULY, 1914 



No. 



Cover Crops for the Orchard 



By J. E. Smith, B. S. A. 



I 



A FEW years ago the idea of a 

 cover crop in the orchard was 

 comparatively new to most far- 

 mers. For a decade or more a 

 good tough blue grass sod was 

 considered about all that was ne- 

 cessary under the apple trees. One 

 would get apples anyhow, whether the 

 ground received any care or not. This 

 may have been quite true in the earlier 

 days when our soils were richer, and we 

 had a greater rainfall, and the country 

 was less windswept so that the orchard 

 always held a good coating of snow dur- 

 ing the winter. 



But the day is past when farmers are 

 persuaded that they can raise two good 

 crops on the same piece of ground at the 

 same time. The soil may be rich enough, 

 but the smaller amount of moisture avail- 

 able must result in both crops being 

 stunted. It is impossible to raise a good 

 crop of apples, and a hay or grain crop 

 on the same piece of ground except in 

 cases where we have a wet summer sea- 

 son or the subsoil is particularly moist. 

 Those who have kept close to the apple 

 growing business will readily note the 

 dry texture of the apple grown where the 

 orchard is in sod or grain, and the lus- 

 cious, juicy texture of the one grown 

 under proper cultivation. 



In the mixed farming districts of On- 

 tario where practically no care is yet 

 given to the orchard, the amount of 

 growth of the trees per season is, in 

 many cases, less than half of that in 



^ orchards that are well cultivated and 

 pVuned. This largely marks the differ- 

 ence between those stunted, thick, close- 

 headed trees that are so common every- 

 where over Ontario, and those vigorous, 

 tlean-barked, big-foliaged orchards that 

 are to be found in our apple districts. 

 The one is the product of neglect — the 

 other that of intelligent care. 

 The cover crop has a five-fold pur- 

 pose in the orchard. The clean cultiva- 

 tion of April, May and June allows the 

 tree to forge ahead at a rapid rate, but 

 the growth of the cover crop a little later 

 has the same effect as dry weather, for 

 by drawing the moisture from the soil, 

 and thus from the roots of the tree, it 

 rhrrks excessive or late growth, and in 

 this manner the wood is more fully rip- 

 ened. This is of supreme importance in 



view of the severe winter killing of apple 

 trees during the past few winters. This 

 reduction of soil moisture is of much 

 importance farther north in securing a 

 better color in the fruit. 



Again, the cover crop is one of the 

 cheapest means of adding humus, one of 

 the essentials both of our light and our 

 heavy soils. On the light soils, especi- 

 ally the sands of Southern Ontario, this 

 humus is absolutely necessary. On the 

 clay soils, the plowing under of a cover 

 crop is much the same as the application 

 of manure, making the soil much more 

 friable. At the same time the roots of 

 a cover crop hold much plant food, which 

 would otherwise leach away, while the 

 roots of the trees lie dormant. On roll- 

 ing land it prevents washing, and in 

 exposed districts and in districts of light 

 snowfall, it holds the covering much bet- 

 ter than a clean sod, or soil on which 

 there is no plant growth at all. 



COVER CEOPS PEOTECT 



Peach trees killed by root freezing dur- 

 ing the past few years have largely been 

 those with no cover crop or other pro- 

 tection to hold the snow about their 

 roots. Moreover, the cover crop forms 

 a clean mat in the orchard for the hand- 

 ling of the fruit in the fall. 



Cover crops are of two kinds — the 



leguminous and non-leguminous. The 

 former are those with the power of ga- 

 thering nitrogen from the air, and stor- 

 ing it in the little knots on the roots. 

 The leguminous crops used for this pur- 

 pose are clovers (such as mammoth, red 

 and crimson), cow peas, common field 

 peas and hairy vetch. As nitrogen is the 

 great energizer of plant life a legume 

 should be used where trees lack vigor 

 and vitality. Rye, buckwheat, rape, and 

 oats are the chief non-leguminous ones 

 used in the orchard. 



CROP SELECTED 



As to what cover crop one should sow 

 depends upon a great many different 

 conditions, such as the age of the trees, 

 the nature of the soil, and the location 

 in the province. Fruit growers who for 

 the first time have broken up the sod 

 under their old trees will find that one 

 of the legumes will give them the best 

 results in stimulating renewed youth in 

 the old trees. In a richer soil where a 

 heavy pruning has been given any of the 

 other cover crops can be used to good 

 advantage, the main point being that 

 whatever is used, it should make a fairly 

 rapid growth during the summer months 

 to take up the excess of moisture, leave 

 the orchard with a clean mat for handling 

 the fruit in the fall, and at the same 



If) 



