- 3 - 

 RESULTS OF A STOP^ROP TEST ON BALDV/IN 



This fall many orchards carried a good crop of Baldvirin apples to maturity even 

 in spite of the hurricanes o 1/hen trying to suggest the best hormone for drop con- 

 trol on jdaldvidn, we found no source of reliable information on ho\T well 2,Uj$-TA, 

 for example, v;ould control drop, vie thought it might work vrell but in the absence 

 of e vidence we suggested that growers use 2,U^5-TP on Baldwin and then \Tith excell- 

 ent cooperation from a large grower obtained soiae comparative experimental results 

 on Baldwin using WAA, 2,li,5-TP and 2,U,5-TA. The materials vrere applied September 

 21. 5Vfo frosts which injured the foliage badly occurred betvreen October 5 and lU. 

 Hurricane Hazel went by on October 16. The results are shown in tabular form below. 



Date No. Cumulative ^ drop of Baldv dn 



Treatment applied trees Sept. 29 Oct^5 • Oct. » Oct, lit Oct."T8 Oct. 22 Uct^'IF 



Check 



MA 



2',U',5-TP 9/21 7 0.3 Oo7 0.9 1.9 5.1 9.3 22.0 



All treatments vrere applied at a concentration of 20 ppm. 



On October 18 the checks had dropped 39.6^ of their crop exclusive of rrtiat fell 

 during the picking operation, whereas, trees sprayed with 2,I|.,5-TP dropped only 5»1?. 

 2,U,5-TA helped some but it vras definitely poorer than 2,U,5-TP on Baldvdn. Trees 

 sprayed with 2,U,5-TP were left unpicked until October 22 and even at this date drop- 

 ped less fruit than the checks had up to October l8. However, 2,1;,5-TP was losing 

 its effectiveness by October 22 about 30 days after application. In order to control 

 drop until November 1 with 2,U,5-TP the date of application would apparently have to 

 be delayed until about the first of October » 



2,U,5-TP hastened fruit ripening very little, if any, in this test. It seems 

 that 2,ii,5-TP is the best stop-drop material for Baldvdn available to growers in th-"i 

 section, 



F.lV.Southvdck 



■«■■«■*■«■ •y<- -X- -;;- -j;- -;s- % * -;;- ■«■ 

 ANNUAL FRUIT MEETINGS ffiOGRMt 



The 1955 Annual Meeting of the Massachusetts Fruit Growers' Association will be 

 held January i|.,5 and 6 in the Municipal Auditorium, llorcestero 



High points of the program are as follows: 



Tuesday forenoon - Disease Control program vdth Dr. Avery Rich, University 



of New Hanpshire as outside speaker. 

 Tuesday afternoon - Orchard Business and Marketing Program with Mr. './illiam 



Mill, Thomas Smith Company, Worcester as a headliner, 

 Tuesday evening - Aniiual Fruit Grovrers' Supper, Mr. Fred Burrovrs, Secre- 

 tary of International Apple Association, mil speak on 

 "Looking Ahead in Orcharding, 

 Wednesday forenoon - Insect Control Program with Dr. Siegfried Lienk, New 



York Agricultural Experiment Station talking on New 

 Systemics in Mite and Aphid Control, and Dr. Frank 

 Horsfall, Virginia Agriculturall Experiment Station 

 discussing the Pine Mouse Problem, 



