SOIL TYPES FOR VARIETIES OF APPLES 

 H. J. WILDER 



State Relations Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 



Washington, J). (.'. 

 GEXEKAL SOIL SELECTION 



In choosing a soil for planting an apple 

 orchard there are certain general charac- 

 teristics that are of fundamental import- 

 ance for all varieties, and these should be 

 considered before trying more specifically 

 to select soils particularly well adapted to 

 the different varieties. 



The soil should be deep and well drained 

 for all tree fruits, and for apples, at least, 

 it should also be productive or capable of 

 being made productive economically. The 

 soil may be deep and well drained without 



being sandy. Good loams, for example, may be not only deep and 

 well drained, but also productive. 



The presence of unbroken rock, large ledges, or hardpan, within 

 three feet of the surface, should be considered prohibitive. A soil 

 depth of at least six feet is highly desirable, soils with the under- 

 lying rock too near the surface having been responsible not in- 

 frequently for the failure of commercial orchards in some sections 

 of the country. The injury from shallow subsoils is due primarily 

 to the incapacity of the subsoil, on account of its limited volume, 

 to store sufficient moisture for the needs of the trees when droughty 

 conditions prevail, or to get rid of excess moisture quickly enough. 

 Some subsoils devoid of stones are so clayey in texture or stiff in 

 structure that drainage is very inferior. If, on the other hand, 

 soils and subsoils of favorable texture and structure have been 

 selected, the presence of loose stones in the subsoil in distinction 

 from underlying rock does no harm unless sufficiently numerous 

 to interfere appreciably with the upward capillary movement of 

 the soil moisture. But when soils have been advantageously 

 selected with reference to their textural and structural adaption 



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