3 - 



The air guns are operated from a compressor used for pneumatic pruners. One 

 inch crown staples of 21/32 inch length are suitable for tightening the bark. 



In 1963, one grower welded a handle on a mowing machine cutter bar section 

 (serrated) v;hich he used for scraping off the old shedding bark prior to 

 stapling. Another grower scraped off the loose bark with the claws of a 

 hammer. 



-- William J. Lord 



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



SHOULD WE CONTINUE TO PLANT T R EES ON E.M. V I I ROOTSTOCK S? 



The most popular size controlling rootstock in Massachusetts has been 

 E.M. VII. Now another series of rootstocks. Mailing Merton (M.M.), are being 

 tested at various experiment stations and in growers' orchards, some of which 

 may have distinct advantages over E.M. rootstocks. An excellent discussion 

 of the performance of trees on E.M. and M.M. rootstocks was given by Prof. Karl 

 Erase, New York Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, New York, at the Massa- 

 chusetts Fruit Growers' Annual Meeting held at Gardner in January. His report 

 will appear in the Report of the 70th Annual Meeting of the Massachusetts Fruit 

 Growers' Association. 



At present we have had more experience with the performance of trees on 



E.M. rootstocks than on M.M. Although trees on M.M. are worthy of trial, trees 



on E.M. VII are suggested for extensive plantings of Mcintosh, until more is 

 known about the performance of M.M. stocks. 



Under some circumstances, trees on seedling rootstocks may be more desir- 

 able than those on size-controlling rootstocks, for example on exposed, windy 

 sites. The need of size-controlling rootstocks for Red Delicious is doubtful. 

 In many of our orchards. Red Delicious aren't excessively large trees, since 

 they lack the inherent vigor of Mcintosh in this region. Some growers believe 

 they can control the size of seedling trees by pruning without too much diffi- 

 culty, Mcintosh on seedling roots has produced yields of 1000-1800 bushels per 

 acre in Massachusetts. 



We feel the final decision rests with the grower. Our obligation is to 

 supply the best possible information upon which the grower can make his decision. 



Recently, it has been suggested that growers plant trees on M.M. instead 

 of E.M. rootstocks to avoid virus problems. Prof. Karl Erase provides the 

 following thoughts on this subject, and he is quoted directly as follows. 



"Those who advise your growers to use the Mai ling -Merton 

 rootstock clones instead of certain East Mailing clones, because the 

 former do not carry a latent virus or latent virus complexes, better 

 first inform themselves about latent virus diseases in apple varieties 

 and rootstocks. 



