protection from these voles and chew-happy rabbits 

 too. I like to use quarter-inch mesh hardware cloth. A 

 piece 18 inches by 18 inches will form a nice cylinder 

 of protection around the trunk. It needs to be securely 

 closed with wire ties and should be set into the soil 

 about an inch. Rabbits like to chew on low-hanging 

 branches too, so the use of taste repellents may be 

 needed, especially in the seacoast area where cotton- 

 tails are present. 



One tool most commercial growers use is natural 

 predation. Foxes and coyotes are welcome guests in a 

 commercial orchard. And many commercial growers 

 set up kestrel nest boxes and hawk sitting poles to en- 

 courage these important predators to set up house- 

 keeping. These could be valuable tools for the home 

 grower as well. 



Why don't my fruit trees bear fruit? is a question 

 I often hear. I usually run through a few quick 

 points to determine the cause. 



Are your fruit trees in full sun all day long? 



Sun is the key and no fruit tree bears much or bears 

 early in life when it is growing in the shade. 



How old are your trees? 



While peaches and nectarines, plums, and dwarf apples 

 often bear by the third year, there are no guarantees. 

 And pears and semi-dwarf apples often take five or six 

 years to settle into a fruiting mode. Apples on seed- 

 ling roots rarely fruit before year ten! 



How much fertilizer are you applying? 



Ideally, young trees will grow perhaps 16 to 18 inches 

 a year for the first three years or so. If trees five years 

 old or more are growing this much, fruiting will likely 

 be delayed. Back off on the fertilizer for a couple of 

 years to give the trees a chance to settle down. 



What about pollination? 



Apples, pears, Japanese plums, sweet cherries — all 

 these require cross-pollination to set fruit, so the 

 home gardener will need at least two different apple 

 varieties, two different pear varieties, etc. While just 

 two varieties of apple such as Cortland and Mcintosh 

 in theory could do the job, I always recommend at 

 least three to increase the odds. (For apples. Golden 

 Delicious is one variety that pollinates almost any 

 other apple, so making it part of the mix is a good 

 move). Not all varieties produce pollen that is fertile, 

 so if one of these happens to be in the mix, you will 

 need one more. Northern Spy, Jonagold, Baldwin, 

 Gravenstein, and Mutsu are popular varieties that do 

 not produce good pollen. With pears, bee activity 

 tends to be low, so I always recommend at least three 

 different varieties. 



What about bees? 



Bumble bees and other solitary bees are the ideal, but 

 populations of these wild pollinators are variable, so 

 honey bees are often used to insure a crop. Keeping a 

 bee hive or two is a great hobby, especially for kids. 

 Of course, some tree fruits are self-fruitful — just one 

 tree is all that is needed. Peaches (except the variety 

 J.H.Hale), nectarines, and sour or pie cherries like 

 Montmorency are self-fruitful types. Some prune 

 plums are, some aren't; so planting two varieties of 

 these is the best course of action. 



Bill Lord is Extension Fruit Specialist, UNH Coopera- 

 tive Extension. His phone number is 60^-862-^20^; his 

 e-mail address, <william.lord@unh.edu>. 



PIONEER POINTERS 



Protect Your Assets 



The 1996 Freedom to Farm Bill eliminated 

 disaster payments and other farm support 

 programs. In the event of a disaster, this 

 leaves you with two choices: the federally sub- 

 sidized crop insurance program or your wal- 

 let. With the tremendous investment that 

 growers have in inventory that can be ad- 

 versely affected by weather conditions beyond 

 the grower's control, we suggest that you re- 

 view the options available under the Federal 

 Crop Insurance Program. The loss of bor- 

 rowed and personal capital is a significant 

 reason for business failure today. 



The 1999 Nursery/Greenhouse Crop Insur- 

 ance Program was recently revised and now 

 provides coverage for both containerized 

 (three-inch pots and up) and in-ground stock. 

 Coverage starts at the 50% level and can go 

 up to 75%. The cost for the basic catastrophic 

 (CAT) coverage is $60, per county. This is a 

 minimal cost to protect a portion of your in- 

 vestment. Unit structure has also been modi- 

 fied and is the most important factor in the 

 risk management process. 



Growers need to be aware of the options 

 that are available for crop insurance in order 

 to be able to make the decisions that will 

 both protect their capital and the capital in- 

 vested through borrowing. Your local First 

 Pioneer Farm Credit office will be able to get 

 you in contact with a licensed crop insurance 

 agent. For more, call i-8oo-825-3X$2. (JF) 



