- 2 



living things, they require air. The roots are not able to stand 

 too much drying. They need a moist environment and also need some 

 available water in the soil to take up and transport to the upper 

 part of the plant. The stem has its own bark to keep it from dry- 

 ing out and does not need water next to it. 



Case No. 2 



in good well- 

 to accomodate 

 dead . 



One year whips on MM-106 rootstock were planted 

 drained loamy soil about May 1st in holes large enough 

 the root system. By mid-July over 360 trees were 



When the trees were dug up and examined, it was found that on 

 many, the bark on the stem below ground was dead from the soil line 

 down to the end of the stem. On many, even the roots were dead, 

 but on others the roots, except for the 1/2 to 1 in. next tn thp 

 stem, were alive and healthy . Still other trees had one or more 

 dead patches of bark below ground girdling the stem but the stem 

 and roots below the girdle were alive and healthy. 



What happened was this. The grower, in an effort to "push" 

 the trees to get maximum growth the first season sent his hired 

 "help" out two weeks after planting, with instructions to apply 

 2 handfuls (about 1/2 lb.) of ammonium nitrate to each tree. The 

 help were instructed to scatter it around each tree. Some of the 

 "help" threw the fertilizer at the base of the trees and some of 

 the fertilizer landed against the stem or close enough to it so 

 that rains washed it into the soil against the stem. Two weeks 

 later, one more handful of ammonium nitrate was thrown around each 

 tree . 



Two handfuls (1/2 lb.) of fertilizer applied within one foot 

 of the stem is 7260 lbs/A. One handful is 3640 lbs/A. The total 

 is 10,900 lbs., or over 5 tons per acre . No wonder the trees died! 



The United States Department of Agriculture fertilizer recom- 

 mendation for newly planted trees is 1/4 to 1/2 lb. per tree but 

 scattered in an ama within 3 feet of the trunk. Over that much area 

 the application is 807 to 1613 lbs/A, which is quite different from 

 10,900 lbs/A. 



Growers can avoid killing trees with fertilizer if they do not 

 use too much and apply it right. If the trees are to be fertilized 

 after planting, do not apply it closer than one foot to the stem - 

 the stem does not need it and cannot use it and may be damaged. 

 Scatter it over the area where the edge of the planting hole is. 

 As the new roots grow near the edge of the planting hole and into 

 the soil surrounding the planting hole, the fertilizer will wash 

 down to the roots over a period of time in amounts that will not 

 harm the roots . 



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