MASSACHUSETTS APPLE INDUSTRY. 



2,1 



Table 3. Average size of trees at nine years old (feet). 



Spread 



Globular cut back. . . 

 Globular not cut back 



Unpruned 



Modified leader 



Leader cut back 



Leader not cut back. . 



Thi.7 table shows that the leader trees are only a little taller than the 

 jilobnlar trees. It is perhaps true that there will be more difference when 

 the trees come in bearing, for the scaifold limbs of the globular headed 

 trees may bend down witli loads of fruit. 



Cutting' back the globular iieaded trees has made them a little shorter 

 and botli these and tiie cut back leader trees have less spread than the 

 trees not cut back. It is now generally considered that pruning dwarfs 

 trees, but these figures indicate that the rather light pruning practiced here 

 has not dwarfed the trees much except where cutting back was practiced. 

 Thinning out the top leaves the remaining foliage better exposed to the 

 light and this may compensate for the reduction in leaf area from pruning. 



Tlie practice of cutting back new shoots annually on young trees was 

 formerly quite generally advocated for young trees. Ou.r experience witli 

 this orchard would lead us to avoid cutting back except where it is desired 

 to dwarf one or more branches so that they will not outgrow other parts 

 of the tree. 



Bl.OOiM AND YlELU 



This orchard has not produced much fruit. None has been borne by the 

 Northern Spy trees, and product of the Kings is negligible. The first 

 crop of the other varieties was in 1922 and there has been a light to 

 moelerate crop each year since. The Mcintosh trees have naturally borne 

 the most, averaging over 41/2 bushels per tree for the four years total crop. 

 The average percentage of bloom and the total yield per tree is shown in 

 Table 4. The most significant fact brought out is the effect of annual 

 cutting back. It has decreased bloom in every case and decreased yield 

 in all cases excejit the globular Mcintosh. Probably the differences be- 

 tween the dift'erent types of pruning, not involving cutting back, and in- 

 cluding the unpruned trees, are of no great signilicance. While the tops 

 of the unpruned trees are pretty thick, no marked inferiority of the 

 fruit in either si/,e, color or quality has yet appeared. 



The one-year whips set without cutting back made -a very poor growth 

 the first season. Most of them sent out two or three side branches not 

 over a foot long. The second year these trees sent out additional branches, 

 and, had it not been for the limitation imposed by the plan of the ex- 

 periment, might all have been developed into strong well formed trees. 

 Indeed, they are more satisfactory than are many commercial orchards. 



