summer prunes twice annually and supports the leaders of trees on 

 M26 vv'ith a wire to which the leader is attached by string to 

 prevent tree swaying. This same grower has double rows with 

 densities of 950 to 1900 trees per acre. The trees have responded 

 well to his system of heavy fertilization, pruning and training. 

 Whether these double rows of Granny Smiths can be maintained at 

 such high density remains to be seen. Currently, they are pro- 

 ducing exceptionally heavy yields, which was the goal of the 

 grower when the planting was established. If tree removal becomes 

 necessary, I expect that the extra trees will have made money 

 for the grower because of the high prices for Granny Smith apples. 



It is commonly stated that Granny Smith requires 180 days 

 to mature but soil, slope and climate are factors that influence 

 this requirement. In one orchard, a grower stated that his 

 Granny Smiths would mature in 165 days. 



Immature Granny Smiths are highly susceptible to scald but 

 on the other hand, the market wants dark green skin color. Un- 

 fortunately, a red blush may develop on mature fruit or those 

 exposed to bright sunlight. Perhaps a cheek with a tinge of red 

 could be the trademark for Granny Smiths from some orchards. 



Granny Smith fruit are highly susceptible to bitter pit, and 

 calcium sprays may be required in some instances to reduce the 

 severity of this disorder. Also, it was of interest to note 

 that fruiting spurs develop no abscission layer, thus the har- 

 vested fruit has a sheared stem or it is stemless. 



The Granny Smith apple is partially self sterile, thus cross 

 pollination is necessary. Pollenizers being used for Granny Smith 

 are Delicious, Rome Beauty, Golden Delicious and Winter Banana. 



There is interest in spur type trees of Granny Smith, namely 

 Greenspur and Granspur, but questions remain concerning productivity, 

 in comparison to trees with standard growth habit, and fruit quality. 

 Mutations in fruit color also have been found. 



The production potential of Granny Smith based on present 

 acreage, is a guess however, one guess is 10,000,000 bushels. It 

 also is believed that the full market potential for Granny Smith 

 has not been reached and that demand can be increased by advertis- 

 ing. 



Specific Comments on British Columbia 



The Industry 



Orchards in this beautiful province of Canada were visited 

 with J.E. (Ted) Swales, Horticulturist for the Okanagan Similkameen 

 Cooperative. The cooperative has 600 grower members who on 5,000 

 acres produce apples, pears, cherries, peaches, apricots and prunes. 



