than fruit crops because the former have a shallovTer root system, on the average, 

 and are less capable of tapping the reservoir of moisture in the soil» To judge 

 the need for irrigation in an orchard it is vfell to iiratch the behavior of surface 

 TBgetation sirice firought symptons vdll appear there before the trees reach a cri- 

 tioal stage. If irrigation is needed, a total of tv^-o to three inches is recommended* 

 But where a large area is tc be covered, it is advisable to apply about 1-1/2 inches, 

 and f oHovT with a similar amount* 



— \T,H,Thies 



•«■•«•■«•■«■•«■•«■ ^ •«■ 4(- ^i- •«■ -;i- ^- 



SEEN AVD HEARD IN THE FIEID 



The li/hy of Poor Scab Control, In a particular hill tovm hclntosh block scab 

 control leaves much to' be desired » The foliage of a certain age is heavily infec- 

 ted and at least 10^ of the fruit shav;s scab spots. There is reason to 'jelieve that 

 the ne\T grovrth vras poorly protected at one or tvro critical periods. Perhaps the 

 protective covering was vrashed off by a heavy rain and was not replenished before 

 the next infection period^ The orchard ovmer is wondering if the fungicide m&s of 

 nonaal strength, and that is a legitimate question, 3ut the material itself is 

 very seldom at fault. In the majority of cases poor scab control is due to poor 

 coverage or poor timinc, or both. 



Late Blooia Provides Good Fruit Set» One grovrer reports cool_, rainy weather 

 during the first part of the blooming period, 2ut vfhen the later blossoms were 

 opening there vfas an improvenent in the vreather. He took advantage of the situation 

 by bringing several additional hives into tlie orchard. As a result there i.-as a 

 very satisfactory set of app]fis; mainly on the later blossons, I^rely in this or^ 

 chard did the middle, or first blossom on the spur develop into an apple. The lesson 

 to be learned from this observation is plain. It takes only a small percentage of 

 the blossoms on a tree to develop a full crop. If bees are unable to do their im- 

 portant work early in the blossoming period, vre should give them every opportunity 

 to visit the later blossoms. An abundant supply of nearby pollen of another variety 

 and plenty of bees are tvro important factors in the apple business, 



Ferbam Response j i_ In several orchards where Ferbam was applied the dark green 

 color of the leaves was noted. There seems to bo no question about the invigorating 

 effect of this particular fungicide \fhich is absorbed by the leaves. The influence 

 is as noticeable as that of a nitrogenous fertilizer applied to the soil. 



Color of Leaves in Relation to High v'ater Ta ble, Looking at tvro Hclntosh 

 blocks from a distance, the yelloTfish colored foliage was very apparent. In both 

 oases the ovmer said the soil \,'as so full of water during :iay tliat spraying was 

 difficult, j^xcess water during the gro\ring season means a lack of oxygen in the 

 soil air and a failure of the roots to function. There may be plenty of nitrogen 

 and other elements in the soil but the tree is unable to get then, "l/'et feet" means 

 a shallo-*r root system and a disappointing yield. If the vmtor table could be lower- 

 ed permanently in poorly drained blocks, spraying would to much easier and the yield 

 of good fruit would be increased. 



Color of Leaves on Bearing and Non-Uearing Trees ^ ixintosh trees bearing a 

 f"all crop at.ost invaria'bly y;avo darker colored Isave a than sinilar t rees vrithout 

 a crop. The reason may be thisj A developing crop of apples uses a considerable 

 quantity of the starch made in the leaves, Ifence there is less opportunity for 

 storage of carbohydrates in a bearing tree, A "high carbohydrate" tree or a tree 



