-4- 



What is a Weed? 



A. J. Peters of the U . S. D. A. defines a weed as "a 

 plant that does more harm than ^^ood, and that has the habit of in- 

 truding when not wanted". A recent hullotin from Cornell Univer- 

 sity j (hulletin No. 635 ) lists more than 400 so-called weeds 

 commonly found in New York State. But folks are inclined to dis- 

 agree except for a fev/ pestiferous plants, as to the exact meaning 

 of the term v/eed. A plant ^^o'^'^i'^S ^^ o^g place where it compotes 

 seriously v/ith a garden or field crop is certainly a weed. That 

 same plant growing in the orchard may easily do more good than 

 harm. From the standpoint of organic matter, any plant grov;n in 

 the orchard during that part of the season when it is not com- 

 peting directly with the tree for nitrogen, may be beneficial ,- 

 Perhaps If we were to keep our eye on the weeds in the orchard and 

 note the way they grow or do not grow, we would then be better 

 able to feed the tree. For when and only when the soil is in 

 such condition that it will support a good weed growth, is the 

 tree likely to be a. profitable one. Speaking of vrceds, the filler 

 tree is as much of a v/oed as the golden rod which grows beside it, 

 whenever that filler tree is encroaching upon soil and stmlight 

 to which the permanent tree is entitled. In the strawberry plant- 

 ing, surplus strav/berry plants are often more troublesome from the 

 weed standpoint than plants ordinarily classed as weeds. 



When Do We Eat ? 



We are thinking not of animal nutrition but of feeding 

 the orchard. Just when does an apple tree eat? Is it a daily or 

 an hourly process, or can it like the camel fill up for a day or 

 tv;o ahead? In the case of water, the intake is a constant pro- 

 cedure. As water is lost through evaporation there must be an 

 intake through the roots to replace the loss. In the case of 

 nitrogen the tree can apparently store up a supply for weeks or 

 months ahead. For example, if we feed a tree liberally with a 

 readily available nitrogen in early spring, it will have enough 

 on hand when it is urgently needed around blossoming time, and 

 later applications v;lll bo unnecessary. There is apparently 

 little need of a so-called "split application" of nitrogen. The 

 one fact of importance in nitrogen fertilization Is that the tree 

 demands a liberal nitrogen supply in May o.nd June and is then 

 better off if the nitrogen supply is somewhat restricted. In 

 other v;ords, early nitrogen favors early leaf growth, and early 

 leaf growth favors rapid maturity of the fruit and a set of fruit 

 buds for, next year. All signs therefore seem to point tov/ard the 

 importance of early loaves on the trees, particularly on the spurs. 



Ear ly Nitr o gen Supply I mportant 



"""The greo.test benefit to apple trees from nitrogen is 

 at the time of full bloom and shortly thereafter. Fruit trees 

 may be grovm v/ithout the use of fertilizers but in the long run carops 

 will not be satisfactory under such practices. The only excep- 

 tion to this rule is v/here the trees are young and vigorous and 

 the soil is unusually fertile and deep. Such soils are not common 

 in our fruit growing regions." These words are taken from 



