FRUIT NOTES - Au-ust, 193^ 



W. H. Thies 

 Extension Horticulturist 



Fall Dormant S-pray Best f,or Leaf Curl Co ntrol 



Thic does not inefn that the fipray apiolled in the fall 

 would be more toxic against the pea.ch leaf curl fungus than the 

 name mixture applied in the spring. Nevertheless, the fall 

 spray is likely to yield better control of the disease for 

 the following reasons: (l) Because of the generally uncertain 

 vreather and soil conditions in the spring, the sprry is likely 

 to be omitted entirely or so delayed that it is not effective. 

 (2) In addition, weather conditions, particularly regarding the 

 v/ind, are generally more conducive to the operator's doing a 

 better job of covering the trees thoroughly in the fall than 

 in the spring. And every inch of surface of the branches must 

 be covered becruse the leaf curl spores winter over on all such 

 pa.rts of the tree top. Even in the case of small treen and a 

 large spray outfit each tree should be sprayed from both sides 

 to insure complete coverage. 



The kind of material to use is "cut and dried" for 

 our conditions (see printed spray chart): Bordeaux S-S-100 

 (plus ^^'inter strength of oil if scale or red mite is present), 

 or liquid line-sulfur 7 gflc., or 15 lbs. of the dry form to 

 100 ga.ls. water. The fall dormant spray may be ap'olied any 

 time after the leaves have drop-oed. 



0. C. Boyd 



Some Harvest Seaso n Puzzles 



The Llclntosh harvest season has brought to light 

 several questions w>^.ich seem to be; in the mind of the average 

 grovrer. (l) Shall I nici: the tree clean or shall I pick for 

 color (spot picking)? (2) Does it pay to leave the apples 

 stand under the trees for a day or two in order to get better 

 color? (3) How good should yn apple be to justify storage? 

 The writer is not going to attempt definite answers to these 

 questions. The a.nswers will vary ^^'ith the individual and his 

 market. In general, spot picking results in much better aver- 

 age color because the gr..enis?i-colored fruit left on the tree 

 for a second or third picking is certain to take on added color. 

 Such fruits also have a tendency to hang to the tree somewhat 

 better after a portion of the crop has be-en harvested.. The 

 answer to the second question is definitely No if one is in- 

 terested in storing the crop until late printer or early spring. 

 The third question may be answered like this: A poor apple 

 generally gets worse in storage. 



Mcintosh Drop 



The writer would appreciate grovrers ' reactions to the 

 problem of Mcintosh drop. If any grower has an orchard in which 



Issued by the Extension Service, Willard A. Munson 

 director, in furtherance of Acts of May S and June 30, IQli, 

 Massachusetts State Collt\ge, United States Department of Agri- 

 culture, rnd County Extension Services cooperating. 



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