-10- 



2. Nozzle wear, (nozzles should be checked three times during the spray season.) 

 Some types of nozzles such as the disc type vear more rapidly than the v/hirl-mist 

 nozzles. The discs i^ear and will increase the amount of material applied in 

 addition distortion of spray pattern and distribution will occur. Sprayer manu- 

 facturers have guages V7hich can be bought by the grower for checking the disc 

 orifices for wear. 



3. A varying speed of travel during spraying. 



4. Failure to have deflectors adjusted properly in order to get thorough 

 coverage (must adjust for wind, direction of wind, tree height, etc.) 



5. Voids in the spray patterns. (Gaps in the spray pattern so that one part 

 of the tree is receiving insufficient amount of spray.) 



---W. J. Lord 



I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 



CHANGES IN THE STRAWBERRY INDUSTRY 



A recent study on "Trends in the Ohio Strawberry Industry" (Ohio Agr. 

 Expu. dtation Research Bui. 787) contains information which may be of interest 

 and value to growers in Massachusetts. 



1. Strawberry acreage in the United States has declined from about 208,000 

 acres in 1928 to about 109,000 acres today, while total production has about 

 doubled in the same period. 



2. The national per capita consumption has decreased from 2,5 quarts in 

 1941 to 1.9 quarts in 1954. 



3. VJhereas only 10% of the national crop was processed in 1939 over 557o 

 of it was processed 1954. 



4. In ten years' time the production in California, Oregon and Washington 

 has risen from 20% to 60% of the national crop. Michigan, New York and New 

 Jersey produce about 9%, 3.4% and 2.5% respectively of the U. S. total. 



Where do we stand in Massachusetts? 



1. In 20 years our acreage has dropped from 1562 to 451 according to the 

 1954 census. During the same period our production has gone from somewhat over 

 3 million quarts to less than 800,000 quarts. 



2. Production has decreased considerably in most counties, but the big 

 drop has been chiefly in Barnstable County. Middlesex is now our leading straw- 

 berry county with somewhat higher production in 1954 than in 1949. 



3. Better growers report yields of 10,000 to 12,000 quarts per acre. We are 

 in a consuming area where people have better than average incomes. Quality local 

 berries properly handled bring satisfactory prices at retail. "Pick your own" 



is gaining favor as a method of profitably handling the crop with a minimum of 

 headaches on the part of the grower. 



---A. P. French 

 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 



