-9- 



WlbER SPAC ING MAY INCREASE PER ACI^ YIELD 



An Experinent Station orchard of the Winesc.p variety/ in 

 ¥«'ashington '■.'as divided intr> f.vo plats and ;)ne 'tilf of the trees v/c\s rcr.: ved 

 in one plot. By tho fourth yoar, romoval of treos to 27 p-^^r acra pro- 

 duced moro apples v.ith higher color and larger average size thcji before. 

 In the fourth yf?ar the closely spaced treses averaged 457 boxes per acre 

 compared v:ith 568 frou the widely spaced trees. Man hours were saved 

 in tho major orchard operations of pruning, brush removal and spraying. 

 Harvesting cuad irrigating took about the sair.e amount of tir.ie, r^;gardless 

 of the spacing of trees; however, thinning in the widely spaced orchard 

 was mure time consvming so that it took slightly more total man hours 

 to care f^ir the widoly spaced trees. 



From tho monetary st.:mdpoint, th^>- production costs wore less 

 on the vfideiy spaced tress ev---ry year, shewing a saving of 4'3l«00 per aero 

 the fourth year. There v;as a net dollar gain in favor of the closoly 

 spaced trees only the first two years. The extra profit fr'.im the widely 

 spacod trees the fourth year v/as large enough to more than cover the 

 losses the first two years. 



The results of tree reiioval may be sur-unarized as follov/s; 

 (1) Reducing the number of trtes per aero from 54 to 27 produced lax'ger 

 sized apples, (2) Pr-^duction per tree was increasingly greater each year 

 after half of the trees were removed, (3) l/Videly spaced trees produced 

 more boxes par acre than closely spaced trees by the fourth year, (4) 

 By the fourth year the widely spaced trees Tccre producing many more 

 extra fancy apples per acre, (5) The percentage of extra fancy apples 

 vms greater every year after half the trees were removed, (6) Having 

 fewer trees par acre proved to be time-saving on important operations 

 such as pruning, (7) Isith half of the trees removed, 30 man-hours per 

 acre were saved each year on spraying, (8) Th »ugh thinning time was 

 saved the first 3 years, heavier production (jffset this the fourth 

 year. 



SQiiiE Factors in fruit market ing 



At the ilarfcoting Conference in Caaibridge last February, Chairman 

 B. \h. Drew ir the Fruit Section opened the discussion w-ith the f ollov.'infc, 

 pertinent remarks: "The problem of marketing our 1-cal fruits is like 

 our Hew England woather. Everybody talks ub ^ut it but nobody seems to 

 do much about it, '».e are pr^Jducing apples and Jther fi-uits in the heart 

 of the country's best marketing area. This is at once our salvation 

 and our downfall. Our cranspirtati'/n costs are 1 )w our consui.i-jrs are 

 near .and they prefer 'ur Mclnt.'sh apples to other varieties, i;hen they 

 can get g .v^d )nes, llfhy is this situation our remesis? Yi^ith so many 

 factors in our faV'-r we have not boon f 'rood to merchandize ■>ur products. 



