ANNUAL REPORT, 1934 69 



Some progress has been made and another effort to grow a cherry variety nursery 

 is planned for next year. 



The Genetic Composition of Peaches. (J. S. Bailey and A. P. French.) During 

 the severe winter of 1933-34 all peach buds in the college orchard and a number 

 of the older trees were killed so that no crossing could be done in the spring 

 of 1934. Seedlings raised from pits obtained from crosses made in 1933 were set 

 in the nursery to the number of 1158. Because of limitation of space only 1122 

 of the 2415 seedlings ready for planting in the orchard in the spring of 1934 were 

 set. Although all of these seedlings had been injured more or less severely during 

 the winter of 1933-34, only fourteen died. The rest recovered and made a very 

 good growth. 



Effect of Pruning Bearing Trees. (J. K. Shaw and O. C. Roberts.) Work on 

 this project is drawing to a close and the results are nearly ready for publication. 

 The old orchard used in this work has been partially removed to make room for 

 building purposes and the remainder is of little value for the experiment and will 

 probably be soon cut down. Some work in other orchards ma}' be continued 

 for a time. 



Comparison of Cultivation and Sod in a Bearing Orchard. (J. K. Shaw.) This 

 experiment has now continued for fourteen years though with some changes in 

 soil treatment. The yields of the several plots over this period present a rather 

 interesting picture. Computed by two-year periods in average pounds per tree 

 they are as follows: 



BALDWIN 

 Plot Treatment 1921-22 1923-24 1925-26 1927-28 1929-30 1931-32 1933-34 



CULTIVATED: 



3 No fertilizer 39 76 8 126 484 179 450 



5 N 1927 179 66 54 600 923 692 466 



7 Complete 1930. . S2 382 674 345 725 359 928 



1 Complete 1930. . 11 170 434 841 765 272 1485 

 SOD: 



2 N 1921 380 510 668 694 950 345 974 



4 N 1921 331 553 662 292 887 183 932 



6 K 1927 354 4S3 567 471 73," 145 862 



McINTOSH 

 CULTIVATED: 



3 No fertilizer 427 242 117 283 415 545 545 



5 N 1927 473 27 279 462 568 938 717 



7 Complete 1930.. 263 413 547 532 648 537 1266 



1 Complete 1930.. 34 379 383 506 679 724 1171 

 SOD 



2 N 1921 477 634 242 393 796 630 714 



4 N 1921 461 575 327 314 656 473 533 



6 K 1927 .... 559 734 483 680 1003 1064 1019 



The odd-numbered plots have always been cultivated (except parts of plots 

 1 and 7 before 1921), and the even-numbered plots were cultivated before but 

 have been in sod since 1921. 



Plot 3 has had no fertilizer since 1921 and little, if any, before. Yields are 

 very low. 



Plot 5 was unfertilized until 1927 when annual applications of 300 pounds per 

 acre of nitrate of soda were begun. The trees quickly responded with increased 

 crops but this has not been maintained, at least with Baldwin. 



Parts of Plots 1 and 7 were in sod from about 1914 to 1921 when the whole 

 was put under cultivation. No fertilizer was applied until 1930 but since that 



