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FRUIT NOTES - JUNE, 1941 



•I. H. Thies 

 Extension Horticulturist 



Popularity of Cortland Increa sing 



In a r'ecent' evaluation of apple varieties in the Nortiieastern States, 

 Cortland stood second to Mcintosh. There are two principal reasons why Cort- 

 land has been rather slow in gaining popularity. One is a lack of demand in 

 the markets and the other is its tendency to scald. The former is being over- 

 come as the variety becomes better knovm. Recent experiments carried on at 

 Cornell give some suggestions for tlie control of scald. Scald is associated 

 with immaturity of tlie fruit; it is worse on the larger apples and decreases 

 with increasing age of the tree. Suggestions for decreasing scald are: Plent_ 

 of nitrogen to hold the leaves late in the fall, so that carbohydrate production 

 may be greater, wide spacing of the trees and judicious pruning to give the 

 leaves more sunlight, and spot picking. In years of light rainfall and ample 

 sunlight in the latter part of the season, Cortland may be stored longer than 

 in wet seasons with subnormal sunlight. Cortland sticks vrell to tlie tree and 

 may be allowed to hang until well matured. J. K. Shaw 



I/i^'t Baldwin Bloom and a Possi ble Reason 



" \Ve hea? reports' o'f a light bloom on Baldwin trees throughout the state 

 this year. According to our records, this variety also bloomed lightly in the 

 College Orchard in 1932 when it could not have been due to frost or cold injury, 

 but must have been caused by subnormal fruit bud formation in 1931. Vieather is 

 ail important x'actor in the production of fruit buds. The unusual v/eather fac- 

 tor in the spring of 1931 v.'hile the stage was being set for fruit bud formation 

 was excessive rainfall. Much the same condition prevailed in 1940. Rainfall 

 during the spring of 1931 and of 1940 was as follov/s: 



1931 Excess or Deficiency 

 1940 " " " 

 Normal Rainfall, inches 



7Jhether and why excessive rainfall previous to fruit bud differentia- 

 tion should be detrimental to fruit bud formation is problematical. It would 

 not only wash nitrates out of the soil but also would interfere with absorption 

 of nutrients, especially on poorly aerated soils. This would reduce leaf area 

 and check fruit bud formation. The excessive rainfall in these two springs may 

 be a cause of light bloom of Baldvdns or it may be only an interesting coinci- 

 dence. J. K. Shaw 



Clove rs and Hay Mulch in the Orchard 



Last summer vfe seeded one of our orchards to a mixture of red, alsike, 

 and Ladino clovers and obtained a good stand, Alsike and red clovers naturally 

 predominate, but there are many plants of Ladino clover aiid it may be expected 

 to increase. The trees in clover are growing well and the leaves show good 

 color, but trees in the same orchard where mulch was applied on a cultivated 



