POMOLOGICAL PARAGRAPH 



Spencer Apple - The few growers who have fruited Spencer report 

 good acceptance of this variety at roadside stands. The high quality 

 of Spencer apparently will bring repeat customers for the variety. 



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POISON IVY CONTROL IN BEARING APPLE ORCHARDS 



William J. Lord 

 Department of Plant and Soil Sciences 



Amizine and amitrole-T (commercial product Amitrol-T) are labeled 

 for use in bearing apple orchards but they may be used only prior to 

 fruit set or after harvest. With this timing, however, only partial 

 control of poison ivy can be obtained, because the herbicide must be 

 applied to leaves. 



At full bloom of apple trees, many poison ivy stems have not pro- 

 duced foliage; therefore, treatments applied at this time fail to give 

 satisfactory results. For example, in 1962 and 1963 only Hl% and 26%, 

 respectively, of the poison ivy was killed by sprays applied at full 

 bloom. Since the amount of foliage present on poison ivy stems at full 

 bloom of apple trees varies from orchard to orchard and from tree to tree, 

 the effectiveness of sprays for poison ivy control may be quite variable. 



However, applications of amizine or amitrole-T repeated yearly show 

 promise for the gradual elimination of poison ivy. Retreatment in 196^1 

 of the plots sprayed in 1963, increased the control of poison ivy from 

 26% to 86%. 



The timing problem may now be lessened slightly because "Prior to 

 Fruit Set" is now defined as meaning an application must be applied be- 

 fore 90% of the apple petals have fallen. This means that spray appli- 

 cations of amizine or amitrole-T may be made after the full bloom period 

 and that leaf development on poison ivy will be more advanced. 



Post-Harvest Treatments Under Bearing Trees 



The usefulness of amizine or amitrole-T as post-harvest sprays 

 appears dependent upon the presence of a full complement of leaves on 

 the poison ivy stems. Treatments applied on September 27, 1961, while 

 the foliage was still green, gave 99% control. Sprays applied on October 

 11, 1961, when foliage showed fall coloration, gave 90% poison ivy con- 

 trol. Treatments applied on October 11, 1962,. when the poison ivy stems 

 were partly defoliated, gave an average control of only 10%. 



Amizine or amitrole-T sprays applied soon after harvest of varieties 

 maturing prior to Mcintosh, would generally precede frosts and should 



