-o- 



SPMYIIJG CC'STS CC:,PAR5D 



The average cost cf spraying and dustinp apples for 100 fanns in ".liestern 

 Hew York and the Hudson River Valley in I9u9 vvas ^-2.79 per tree. Apple probers 

 usinp high pressure rigs I'or the control cf Insects and diseases had slightly 

 lower costs than farraers using speed sprayers.' The major differences v/ure that 

 growers with speed sprayers used more materials and had higher equipment costs 

 despite Inx.er labor requirements. 



Growers \{hn used a gun or broon in connection with a high pressure rig had hi. 

 average cost of $2.61 per tree or 18 cents belov, the average on all fan.is. The 

 labor cost for these farmers was hi.gh, but their investment in equipment was Ic;.. 

 Also they were, able to aii:i the spray more directly at the tree and consequently 

 used less materials. Fanaers using a mast or aechanical device ;ri.th a high 

 pressure rig reduced their labor considerably. However, their cost per tree v^as 

 >2.77 or just below the average of all fanns. This is because the equipment cost, 

 for those growers \rere higher and off-set the reduction in the cost of labor and 

 povfi^r. 



The cost of spray and dust materials made up 63/J or close to two-thirds of 

 the total costs of spraying. Each grower kept a detailed record including the 

 hours of labor and eq-jipmcnt used and the amounts of spray and dust materials put 

 on one block of apples. The cost of the spraj' equipment including depreciation, 

 interest, repairs, gasoline, oil and grease amounted to 19r> or one-fifth of the 

 total. Labor was 11"^ and tractor power T/*. 



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SC"^ G3SERVATI0HS GTI TREE FRUITS V.] GEK'.^'^.IiY 



As I traveled through -cstern Germany last summer, I vms impressed by tht 

 number of different fruits grovm in quantity. In one lai'ge fruit and vegetable 

 auction, red currants were the principal item. In another, it was plui.is, both 

 yellow and blue. And as suggested in Januaiy FRUIT IJGTES, gropes are grovm by 

 thousands of farraers for the making of wine. 



In the French Zone of Occupation, ;7ith which I am most familiar, there ar. 

 relatively few large, specialized apple farms although there is an imr.xmso nunL.r 

 of siaall orchards including trees along the roadside. V/lierever the climati is 

 suitable, and that does not include a highland area around Donaueschingen v.heri 

 there arei only 90 frost-free days during the year, most fam.s include a small 

 orcliard, frequently a row or two of trees. One large applv,' by-products plant in 

 Radolfzcll, near the Swiss border, receives apples from about 3000 farmers -v.ho an 

 ..lembcrs of the cooperative. This pl.-nt made 1,^00,000 liters of Apfclsaft (the 

 German equivalent of cur apple juice) last year. And in the basement of one of 

 the agricultural schools, facilities are available for pressing out apples for all 

 farikGrs in the community thus providing a drink for homi- use at a nominal charge. 



Few of the apple trees in this area get more than three sprays. Double 

 croppj.ng of the land frequently interferes with a good spray prograju. And since 

 rost of the apple crop goes into juice anyway, farmers are not much concerned about 

 post control. A distinct rotten apple taste in much of the Apfelsaft is 

 suggestive of the apples from -v-vhich it is made. One orchard I visited had receivt.c- 

 sprays and the o-vmer np.s very much interested in scab control, this fungus bting 



