59 



PRUNES 



By THOMAS FRANCIS HUNT, Assistant Superintendent of 

 Farmers' Institutes 



' ' All prunes are plums, but all plums are not prunes. A prune is a plum 

 which can be dried without the removal of the, pit without fermenting." The 

 prune belongs to the genus Prunus, of which there are a great many cultivated 

 varieties. Some of the most common grown commercially are the Prune d'Agen, 

 Robe de Sargeant, German prune, Imperial, Sugar, Giant, and Silver. 



The culture of prunes constitutes a very large branch of California horti- 

 culture because the prune is a standard article of diet and is marketed as fresh 

 and dried fruit. More prunes are sold than any other dried fruit in California. 

 The range of soil and climatic conditions for the prune is very large. They are 

 grown successfully in the Valleys near the coast (not on the coast), as in the 

 Santa Clara Valley, Santa Rosa, Napa, and other of the smaller valleys. In 

 the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys, where conditions are quite different, 

 we find prune orchards doing well, as in the vicinity of Hanford, Visalia, 

 Vaca Valley, Yuba City, and Chico. Smaller areas are found in the foothills 

 near Auburn and Newcastle, where they do well. 



Soils The prune is grown generally in deep, fertile, well-drained soils, not 

 too sandy nor too heavy like the clays and adobes. Because the tree is quite 

 adaptable, a great many are planted on soils that are not suitable, such as the 

 light sands, clays and adobes, and under these conditions the trees grow with 

 varying degrees of success. In selecting a soil for prunes, there are certain 

 things one should observe very carefully before planting, and try to avoid. 

 The soil should be deep, not underlaid with hardpan, standing water, strata of 

 coarse gravel, or impervious clay near the surface. The physical condition of 

 the soil in regard to humus and plant food is also important. One may not 

 always be able to get a soil where all these conditions are ideal, but should 

 select as nearly this type as possible. The conditions to avoid named above 

 are quite often improved by deep plowing, the use of explosives, drainage, 

 barnyard manures, and green manure crops. These factors will have an import- 

 ant bearing on the value of the land. Unimproved land in sections of the state 

 where the industry is highly developed, as in the Santa Clara Valley, sells for 

 $150 to $350 an acre. Improved lands in these sections bring from $450 to 

 $650 per acre. In the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys, unimproved land 

 brings from $100 to $200 per acre and improved land brings from $250 to $400. 



Developing. There is quite a choice of locations and one should, take into 

 consideration climatic conditions in regard to one's personal comfort, price 

 of land in various sections, returns from crop, amount of money to be invested, 

 and income desired. The high priced land is found where the industry is highly 

 developed and where living conditions are particularly desirable, as in the 

 counties along the coast. Good prune land, not so high priced, can still be 

 obtained along the streams in the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys. Still 

 cheaper lands adapted to prunes, usually in small tracts, can be obtained in the 

 foothill sections of the state. In all of these three general sections, prune grow 

 ing is usually beyond the experimental stage, so that with a given type of soil 

 selected and the local experience in regard to varieties for that locality, one 

 can proceed. The trees can be propagated in several ways, but budded trees 



