54 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 305 



about the season of Yellow Transparent, some a little earlier and some a little 

 later. Several of them are very promising, and buds of the better one were set 

 to grow trees for a more extended trial. 



Fruit Bud Formation in the Strawberry. (R. A. Van Meter.) This project 

 is concerned with the effect, on fruit bud formation, of nitrogen applications at 

 various times during the latter part of the growing season. The project was 

 undertaken five years ago and changes have consisted chiefly in altering the 

 planting plan to vary the number of plants per square foot. 



No consistent eflfect on fruit bud formation has been found either when plants 

 w'ere grown in hills with ample room or in moderately filled matted rows; and no 

 eflfect has been found either on a good strawberry- soil or on a soil needing fertiliza- 

 tion to grow grain crops satisfactorily. 



A new bed was set in the spring of 1933 to note the effect on runner plants of 

 varying ages. All plots are duplicated five times and all receive phosphorus and 

 potassium. 



Bud Mutation. (J. K. Shaw and W. H. Thies.) The collection of trees top- 

 worked to various mutating strains of several varieties of apples was maintained 

 but none have borne fruit. The "flat limbed" strain of Gravenstein apple has 

 thus far produced only normal branches. 



Storage of Apples Under Various Conditions. (O. C. Roberts cooperating 

 with C. I. Gunness and W. R. Cole.) Two particular lines of investigation per- 

 taining to the storage of apples have been undertaken as follows: 



L A study of the eflfect of humidity on the keeping quality of Mcintosh and 

 Baldwin apples at 32° and 45° F. This is a repetition of similar studies which 

 have been carried on for two seasons previously. Indications suggest that a 

 humidit}' of 80 to 85 per cent is adequate for the keeping of apples in cold storage, 

 while 85 to 90 per cent is necessary in the air-cooled storage. 



2. The storage of Mcintosh apples above 32° F. It is a generally accepted 

 fact that apples which are to be preserved in the fresh state for the maximum 

 length of time should be placed in storage at 32° as soon as harvested and held 

 at that temperature continuously throughout the storage life of the apples. 

 At harvesting time the apples do not possess the quality and flavor which they 

 later acquire if held at a temperature of 45° to 50°. A temperature of 32° modifies 

 the ripening process to the extent that the apples fail to develop the most de- 

 sirable eating qualities and thus are still "green" in fllavor when removed from 

 storage and offered to the consumer. This is particularly true of the Mcintosh. 



For two seasons experiments have been conducted to determine whether 

 Mcintosh apples can be kept satisfactorily by holding at temperatures of 40° 

 to 50° for a period of two weeks and then decreasing the temperature until 32° is 

 finally reached about the middle of November. These experiments have not 

 been repeated a sufificient number of times to justify definite conclusions. How- 

 ever, present indications suggest that the following results may be expected: 



(1) The flavor of the apples is decidedly improved. 



(2) The apples can be held in good condition for the Christmas trade. 



(3) If apples are to be held for a longer period, the\- should be stored at 32° 

 continuously. 



Tests of Various Spray Materials. (O. C. Roberts, cooperating with A. I. 

 Bourne and O. C. Boyd.) \'arious spray materials, both insecticides and fungi- 

 cides, have been tested in the field to determine their eflficiency and safety to 



