ILISSACHUSETTS STATE COLLEGE 

 UNITED STATES DEPARTIvENT OF AGRICULTURE 

 AND COUNTY EXTENSION SERVICES IN AGRICULTURE AND 

 HOIJE ECONOMICS COOPER.'^TING 



FRUIT NOTES - November, 1937 



W. H. Thles 

 Extension Horticulturist 



Org:a.nlc Matter In Orchard Soils 



The question as to ^^hether or not an abundance of or- 

 ganic matter Is really necessary in apple orchard soils has led 

 to considerable research and more speculation on the part of 

 fruit men In every apple region in the country. Experiments 

 in Pennsylvania were Interpreted a^^ indicating a direct corre- 

 lation between soil organic matter and tree performance. In 

 California, citrus groves, and in Washington, apple orchard 

 trees declined in vigor and productivity following long periods 

 of clean cultivation that seriously reduced the organic content 

 of the soil. But in New York, heavy manuring which Increased 

 the soil organic matter failed to increane yields over a period 

 of ten years. 



To continue the studies in New York, Cummings analyzed 

 96 surface soils and 3I subsoils in orchards of known perfopra- 

 ance. He found wide variations in organic content but no corre- 

 lation with yield over a four-year period. He concluded that 

 the amount of organic matter in a soil gave little or no indica- 

 tion of the performance of apple trees on that soil. He recog- 

 nized, however, the fact that soil management methods that 

 maintain organic matter are also the ones that maintain high 

 yields, and suggested that it must be the turnover of organic 

 materials in the soil that bring many of the benefits that have 

 been attributed to a high organic content. (Cornell Bui. 67?). 



R. A. Van Meter 



Rats Are Our Mos t D estruertive Animals 



Fruit growers who have been bothered with rats in stor- 

 age plants may take consolation in the fact that these pests are 

 not sor-u-thing new. They appeared in Europe about t-he 12th con- 

 tury, having originated in the Orient. The first ships to touch 

 Americ."'. shores brought along ancestors of the rats which now 

 Infest overy state of the Union and which cause an annual lof>s 

 of 1^9 i.illllon dollars in this country nlone. Rats have lived 

 with hn aan beings so long that they probably know as much about 

 us as ""'^ know about them. It is na.tur'^l, therefore, that they 

 are difficult to control. The use of Red Squill, an onion-like 

 bulb of a Mediterranean plant, is the most coiunon fnrra of con- 

 trol. This substance has the advantage of being specific for 

 rats and relatively harmless to other animals. 



Individuals who have not had good re suit i3 with the Squill 

 are advised to prebait for the animals and use a different poison. 

 This Involves placement of several types of unpolsoned food such 



