30 



N. H. Agricultural Experiment Station [Bulletin 257 



10 apply this spray sufficiently well for all practical commercial pur- 

 poses? From a long time point of view is the larger amount the bet- 

 ter plan, or is this another ease in wMch the orchardist is too inten- 

 sive? There is in this brief study not sufficient evidence to solve the 

 problems. 



Table 9 shows the distribution of labor used in spraying on the 

 various orchards in 1927 by 5-day periods and indicates the great 

 differences between farms. Farms 8, 10 and 11 confine all their spray- 

 nig to about a six weeks' period, while Farms 1, 7 and 12 put on spray 

 over a three months' period. For all the years (Table 10) 13.2 per 

 cent, of man labor in spraying was used in April, 40 per cent, in May, 

 34.3 per cent, in June, and 12.5 per cent, in other months. 



The operator of Farm 7 cut the time requirement in refilling spray tank 

 by building special outfit to insure quick loading. A comparison of the 

 picture on the left with that on the right indicates progress in method from 



1926 to 1927. 



On the average there is approximately the following time period for 

 the various sprays: dormant, 10 days; prepink, 5 days; pink, 5 days; 

 calyx, 5 days; 1st cover, 12 days. Since, however, there may be con- 

 siderable rainy or windy weather, the large orchardist should be 

 equipped with machinery and personnel to cover the orchard within 

 a three day period. To do this may necessitate additional equipment 

 to make water available and special lights for night spraying. On 

 account of the large investment in machinery, the urgent need in cer- 

 tain years to take advantage of every minute of favorable weather in 

 brief periods is obvious. Farm 2 has made provision in several con- 

 venient places in the orchard for a supply of water, and consequently 

 the crew can spend a large proportion of the time in actual spraying. 



Skilled men cannot ordinarily be had for short periods. The larger 

 the crew of skilled men required to put on a spray over all the trees, 

 the greater may be the management problem in providing productive 



