and scrub oak indicate gravelly soil which is 

 excessively drained and subject to drought. Red 

 maple, alder, and willow indicate a soil which is 

 poorly drained and excessively wet. Sugar 

 maple and white ash do best on deep, fertile, 

 well-drained soils of good water-holding capaci- 

 ties. 



The first step in matching roots tocks and soil 

 is to determine the soil types for the land to be 

 planted. Soil survey reports are available from 

 the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Soil Con- 

 servation Service. If no soil map is available for 

 the area in question, an on-site inspection by a 

 qualified soil scientist or extension fruit special- 

 ist will provide the necessary information. 



New England soils can be grouped into six 

 categories (Table 1). Keep in mind that these 



suitability groupings are based on internal soil 

 characteristics. External properties, such as 

 landscape position and drainage potential, are 

 not considered; therefore, Sites with soils listed 

 as favorable in Table 2 may not be suitable for 

 apple production because of their location. 



Once you have analyzed the soil, refer to the 

 tentative guide for rootstock/soil compatibility 

 in Figure 1 to determine which rootstocks are 

 most suitable for your soil conditions. This 

 figure combines older observations as presented 

 in the earlier Fruit Notes article with informa- 

 tion presented on rootstock interaction with 

 soils in the last issue of Fruit Notes [56(3):9-13] 

 and field observations on performance. These 

 suggested compatibilities are tentative and will 

 change as more information becomes available. 



Fruit Notes, Fall, 1991 



13 



