274 



BULLETIN 226. 



Fertilisation and yield. The records of the use of barnyard manure 

 and fertilizers do not cover a long enough period to be used in com- 

 paring crops before 1902. The average yields of fertilized orchards 

 for the years 1902 and 1903 were 55 bushels above that of those that 

 were unfertilized (see Table 14). 



TABLE 14. 



Yield in bushels for 1902 and 1903 for fertilized and unfertilised orchards. Trees 



set before 1880. 



Necessity for fertilization. The cultivated orchards demand much 

 less fertilization than the untilled ones, for the tillage makes food that 

 is in the soil available. There are, however, very few soils that do not 

 need some material added at least in the form of green manure. 



Many of the less progressive growers fail to recognize the orchard 

 as a crop that requires food as do other crops. A common reply to the 

 question of the kind of manure used was, " We don't raise anything 

 in the orchard so we do not use any manure or fertilizer," the growth 

 of wood, leaves, and apples not being recognized as a drain on the plant- 

 food in the soil. But the number of those who recognize the orchard as 

 a crop requiring food and care is rapidly increasing. The small, light- 

 colored leaves, the very little growth, the small apples, are requests 

 for food. The owner should answer the demand with manure or tillage, 

 usually with both. 



The amount of plant-food removed by the apple crop compared with 

 that removed by the wheat crop. The following tables, based on Bulletin 

 No. 103 of this Station, show something of the demands made by the 

 apple orchard. All the leaves were gathered from a medium-sized, 

 mature apple-tree and were analyzed. The trunk, branches and the roots 

 were also analyzed.* 



*Cornell Bulletin 103. October, 1895. This bulletin is now out of print. 



