-3- 



The proportion of trees of pollinating varieties to Mcintosh trees is today- 

 smaller than it v/as even 25 years ago, because many of the' filler trees 

 of pollinizing varieties have been cut out. In some orchards vve see sizable 

 blocks of 1,'IcIntOEh or of a McIntosh-Baldv/in combination. In vory few 

 orchards can it be said that ev^ry Mcintosh tree is not more than one tree 

 distant from a good pollinizer. In spite of all that has been said about 

 the necessity of cross pollination, many Mcintosh growers have failed to 

 take seriously the need for an abundant and nearby source of the right 

 kind of pollen. They remember the occasional year when bees had tv-o v/arm, 

 sunny days during bloom, and nearby pollenizers seemed unnecessary. They 

 forgot the years v;hen bees venture only a few feet from the hive. 



Good V.'eathor D uring Bloom , It stands to reason that the mere 

 availability of the rigFt kind of pollen will accomplish nothing unlfess 

 v/eather conditions favor bee activity and thus bring about a transfer of this 

 pollen to the Mcintosh blossoms. If the temperature falls much belov,' 60 F., 

 honey bees are quite inactive, although they have been known to fly to some 

 extent from strong colonies with the temperature in the lower fifties. 

 Suitable v/eather for bee activity must be considered as an important factor 

 in the setting of Mcintosh, 



Bees, If plenty of pollen of the right kind is available and 

 if the vreat'her is suitable for bee activity, an abundance of bees of 

 one kind or another v;ill insure the pollination process. Bumble bees 

 have been relatively scarce this spring. This made it more necessary than 

 ev'.r to have honey bees in the orchard, A widely varying supply of honey 

 bees, under these conditions, helps to account for the uneven set of Mc- 

 intosh, 



As v.e atten^:t to place our finger on the factor or factors 

 responsible for a light set of Mcintosh, we cannot afford to overlook 

 any of those mentioned above. Special emphasis must be placed on pollenizers 

 and on scab control in 1946, ' My one of the above factors if unfavorable, 

 may have contributed to a light set. In many cases, two or more have 

 exerted a combined influence. And unless all wore reasonably favorable, 

 Mcintosh trees are probably showing something less than a normal crop at 

 the present time. 



Ecm Do They Do It ? - One heavily loaded Mcintosh orchard in Massa- 

 chusetts is so free from scab tliat one must hunt to find a single scab 

 spot. And yet the ovaier has done nothing out of the ordinary except to 

 cover the trees coriplctely and use a well tir.ied combination of sprays and 

 dusts as follows! May 1, 5, and 13 (Dust); May 16 (Spray); May 23 and 25 

 (Dust); May 29 and June 6 (Spray); Juno 10 (Dust); June 21 (Spray), And 



there you have the secret (except for the grower's technique) 4 Sprays 



end 6 Dusts up to Jime 25, 



