13 - 



Estimating Vole Activity 



Vole activity can be estimated by placement of apples in runways, or 

 tunnel entrances. Place whole, firm apples, with a thin slice removed, at 

 regular intervals throughout the orchard where activity is suspected. After 

 2k hours, lool< for small teeth marl<s in the apples. if such a check indi- 

 cates voles are present 2-3 weeks following a baiting, a second treatment 

 may be needed. 



Re-Treatment with Baits 



Where some voles have survived a rodenticide treatment after being 

 sickened, acceptance of the same bait a second time within a few weeks will 

 be poor. This seems to be a problem more with zinc phosphide baits than 

 with anticoagulants. There are two ways of minimizing this problem: 1) Do 

 everything possible to favor nearly complete control with the first treat- 

 ment. 2) If a second treatment is needed, use a different bait. If zinc 

 phosphide was used in the earlier treatment, use an ant i -coagulant for the 

 fol low- up. 



Orchard Borders 



in the brushy areas immediately adjacent to a vole- infested orchard, 

 one can generally find a relatively high population of the same species that 

 is present in the orchard. If these border areas are not baited they will 

 be a source of rei nfestat ion to treated orchard. 



Caut ion 



Rodenticide baits may be attractive to domestic pets, birds, and other 

 nontarget wildlife. Exposed bait, and especially exposed piled bait, 

 increases the chances on nontarget injury. As with all pesticides, use good 

 judgment and take reasonable precautions to avoid problems. 



SAMPLING ORCHARD SOILS 



Wi 1 1 iam J. Lord 



Department of Plant and Soil Sciences 



University of Massachusetts 



Soil tests can be a useful tool to aid in the determination of lime 

 needs in orchards. Although it is felt that leaf analysis is a more effec- 

 tive guide for the determini nat ion of the nutritional status of orchards, 

 soil tests are still useful, particularly for the determination of lime 

 requ i rements. 



The value of soil tests will depend upon several factors but what we 

 are primarily concerned with in this article is how well the soil samples 

 represent the area being sampled. Without a standardized sampling procedure 

 and careful adherence to this procedure, the value of the soil sample may be 

 negl igible. 



