784 THE FRUIT INDUSTRY ix XEW YORK STATE 



TILLAGE IX RENOVATING AX OLD ORCHARD 



The importance of early plowing in the spring is particularly 

 great in the case of an old orchard that has not been plowed during 

 previous years. If the trees have been making a very weak 

 growth, and are plowed late in the spring, there is danger of their 

 starting a late succulent growth that will result in injury around 

 the base of the tree. Then, if the soil is plowed very early, marked 

 invigorating effects may be observed the first year the orchard is 

 plowed, while this may not be true if the plowing is not done early. 

 In fact, if the soil is not so light that there is danger of root 

 freezing, it is perhaps wisest to plow in the fall the orchard that 

 has been in sod. In that case the maximum benefit from tillage 

 during the first year may be secured. In a very light gravelly 

 or sandy soil, if by any chance the conditions should be such that 

 the roots are not deep, it is sometimes unwise to have the ground 

 plowed in the fall. The fall-plowed soil will freeze deeper and 

 there may be danger of root killing. 



CONCLUSION 



The above suggestions are not intended to be rules that may 

 be followed in all cases in fact, it is impossible to make such 

 suggestions for fruit growing. There may be many cases when a 

 very different procedure will be wiser, but it is certainly true that 

 generally the tree will go into winter in a more hardy condition, 

 and the nature of its growth will be that best adapted to steady 

 fruiting, if its growth is vigorous during the early season and is 

 checked during the latter part of the season. Generally, in sec- 

 tions as far north as this, such conditions of growth can be brought 

 about more satisfactorily when a cover crop is plowed under very 

 early in the spring and another cover crop is sown between July 1 

 and August 10. Some growers sow their cover crops as early 

 as June 20. If there are no orchards in the section where very 

 early plowing is practiced, perhaps it would be wise to take 

 August 1 as a standard time for sowing and to experiment with 

 earlier sowing. 



