Table 12. Approximate bloom period of apple cultivars 

 producing viable pollen for cross-pollination.^ 



Early 



lidseason 



Late 



Empire 



Jerseymac 



Julyred 



Lodi 



Mcintosh 



Niagara 



Paulared 



Puritan 



Tydeman 



CortlandV Macoun 



Delicious'* IVIelrose'' 



Early Mclntoshy Northern Spy, Red Spy 



Golden Delicious Rome, Gallia 



I da red 



Spartan 



Spencer 



^ Bud sports or strains of an apple cultivar are not cross 

 fruitful with each other or the parent cultivar even though 

 they have viable pollen and functional ovules. Examples: 

 Delicious strains such as Richared, Starking, Red Prince 

 and Starkrimson will not pollinate Delicious or each other 

 and vice versa. 



VCortland and Early Mcintosh are cross-incompatible but 

 are suitable pollinizers for other cultivars. 



'^Melrose and Delicious are said to be cross-incompatible. 

 Both are suitable pollinizers for other cultivars. 



The cultivars listed below are triploids; they do not pro- 

 duce viable pollen and are ineffective in cross-pollination. 



Early 



Midseason 



Late 



Gravenstein 



Baldwin 



Mutsu 



Rhode Island Greening 



Spigold 



unwise to rely on early blooming cultivars to cross-pollinate 

 a late-blooming cultivar or vice-versa. 



One should not rely entirely on strongly biennial culti- 

 vars such as Early Mcintosh as cross-poliinizers for annual 

 cultivars such as Cortland, Delicious and Mcintosh. When a 

 strongly biennial cultivar fails to bloom, there is no suitable 

 pollen to cross-pollinate the usual annual flowering cultivar. 

 Hence, the annual cultivar will fail to set a commercial crop 

 in alternate years and tends to become biennial, also. 



In low density plantings, the pollinating cultivar may be 

 set either in solid rows or interplanted with the main cultivar. 

 The former is preferred because interplanting with the main 

 cultivar can create problems in spraying and be an incon- 

 venience in harvesting. When the pollinator cultivar is set in 

 solid rows, alternate 1 or 2 rows of the pollinator with 4 rows 

 of the main cultivar. Where interplanting is used, every third 

 tree in every third row should be a pollinator cultivar. 



Early Mcintosh and Golden Delicious are probably par- 

 tially self-fruitful and it is advisable to set them in solid rows 

 with fewer pollinating rows than with other varieties to 

 reduce the tendency of oversetting and for convenience of 



spraying. To the contrary, Cortland, Mcintosh and particu- 

 larly Delicious require a high proportion of pollinators, par- 

 ticularly on sites where poor pollinating weather is apt to 

 occur rather frequently. 



It is well documented that foraging bees tend to work up 

 and down rows rather than across rows. When trees are 

 planted at low densities and the trees are not crowded in 

 the row, the bees will move between trees somewhat indepen- 

 dently of the row. However, medium and high density plant- 

 ings may eventually have little space between trees in the 

 row, thus forming virtually a solid hedgerow. As a result, 

 the distribution of pollenizer pollen across one or more rows 

 may be seriously limited because of movement of the bees 

 along the hedgerows instead of between adjacent rows. 

 Thus, it may be advisable that every fourth tree in every 

 row be a pollinator cultivar. 



Orchardists almost invariably rely on honey bees for pol- 

 len dispersal, and they usually do this by renting colonies 

 from beekeepers. We suggest that one, but preferably two 

 colonies per acre be brought into the orchard at the time of 

 10% bloom. The hives may be arranged singly or in groups 

 of 4 in various locations. Grouping is superior because 

 colonies competing with each other increase bee activity. 

 Bees can "set a crop" in 2 good flying days (temperature 

 about 65° F and partial sun). After full bloom, bees should 

 be removed as soon as possible so that you can continue 

 your spray program. 



Soil Preparation 



Frequently, hay fields and pastures with reasonably good 

 fertility, can be planted to trees without extensive land 

 preparation. While it is generally true that newly-set fruit 

 trees do very poorly in a heavy grass sod, it is possible to 

 obtain growth equal to that obtained under cultivation by 

 the use of herbicides. 



Hay fields, and especially pastures, frequently have low 

 fertility. Fertility can be increased by applying 500 to 600 

 pounds of a complete fertilizer such as 10-10-10 and by 

 application of sufficient high magnesium lime or a high cal- 

 cium lime. A soil pH of 6.0 to 6.5 is desired for orchards. 

 Soils which have not had frequent applications of lime will 

 require 2 or more tons of lime per acre. (It is always advis- 

 able to have the soil tested to determine its pH and lime 

 requirements. Information on taking soil samples and where 

 to send them for analysis can be obtained from your County 

 Extension Office.) 



Paraquat (an herbicide) can be applied in 4 to 6 foot wide 

 strips along the tree rows the year prior to planting or after 

 planting to control grasses and broadleaf weeds. Residual 

 herbicides should not be used for preplanting weed control 

 because the trees planted in the treated soil may be killed. 

 When paraquat is used the year of planting, the spray must 

 not hit the v\/ood of the tree, otherwise injury may occur. 

 Information on herbicide usage can be obtained from your 

 County Extension Service. 



On newly cleared land and soils which are low in fertility 



13 



