8 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 



The "June Drop." 



/ am sending four peaches which are falling off the trees. Can 

 you tell me how to prevent falling of the fruit next year and what 

 causes it? 



It is impossible to tell from the peaches which you send what 

 caused their falling. Where fruit passes the pollination stage success- 

 fully, as these fruits have, the dropping is generally attributed to some 

 conditions affecting the growth of the tree, which never have been fully 

 determined. It is of such frequent occurrence that it is called the 

 June drop, and it usually takes place in May in California. As the 

 cause is not understood no rational preventive has been reached. A 

 general treatment which consists in keeping the trees in good grow- 

 ing condition late enough during the previous season, that is, by 

 seeing to it that they do not suffer from lack of moisture which causes 

 them to close their growing season too soon before preparation for 

 the following year's crop is made, is probably the best way to 

 strengthen the tree for its burden. 



Trees Over a Gravel Streak. 



/ have an apricot orchard seven years old. Most of the land is 

 a fairly heavy clay with a strip of gravel in the middle running nearly north 

 and south. The trees on the clay bear good crops, but those on the 

 gravel are usually much lighter in bearing and this year had a very 

 light crop. Can you tell me of anything I can do to make them bear? 

 The trees are large and healthy looking, and grow big crops of brush. 



We should try some water in July on the gravel streak, hoping 

 to continue activity in the tree later to induce formation of strong 

 fruit for the following year. On the clay loam the soil does this 

 by its superior retentiveness. 



Fruit and Overflow. 



/ have i6 acres of rich bottom-land that overflows and is under 

 water from 24 to 48 hours. I zuould like to set the ground to fruit 

 trees, either prunes, pears, apricots, or peaches. Would it be safe to 

 set them on such land? 



Fruit trees will endure overflowing, providing the water does 

 not exclude the air too long and providing the soil is free enough 

 so that the soil does not remain full of water after the surface flow 

 disappears. If the soil does not naturally drain itself and the water 

 is forced to escape by surface evaporation, probably the situation 

 is not satisfactory for any kind of fruit trees. Overflow is more 

 likely to be dangerous to fruit trees during the growing season than 

 during the dormant season, and yet on well-drained soil even a small 

 overflow may not be injurious on a free soil, if not continued too 

 long. Prunes on plum root, and pears will endure wet soil better 

 than apricots or peaches. 



