54 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 417 



The winter of 1943-44 was unusually severe on perennial plants many of which 

 were killed in spite of a hay mulch. Severe damage occurred on Iris, particularly 

 the hybrids with California parentage, and on hybrid Chrysanthemums of which 

 more than 50 percent were killed outright. 



DEPARTMENT OF OLERICULTURE 

 G. B. Snyder in Charge 



Spraying Tomato Flowers witli a Growth Hormone in the Greenhouse. (W. 



H. Lachman and G. B. Snyder.) Tomato flowers of the Waltham Forcing variety 

 were sprayed during the winter months with a solution of orthochlorophenoxy- 

 propionic acid, 50 mg. per liter of water. The effect of this material was marked, 

 for the ovaries of the sprayed flowers were twice as large as those of the unsprayed 

 flowers at the end of three days. The fruits from the sprayed flowers were seed- 

 less for the most part, and the yield was markedly greater from these clusters 

 than from the clusters of unsprayed flowers. 



The Carotene Content of Carrots. (W. H. Lachman.) Seven varieties of 

 carrots were analyzed for carotene during various stages of maturity as well as 

 after they had been in cold storage at 32°F. for five months. Each of the varieties 

 increased in carotene content with each successive sampling up to the time of 

 harvest, which was November 1 , 1943. The remaining roots were placed in a 

 cold storage room where they were kept until April 1, 1944. The roots were 

 again analyzed for carotene and the varieties were all found to be appreciably 

 higher in carotene than before they were placed in cold storage. 



The Effect of Mulching Stalced and Pruned Tomatoes. (W. H. Lachman and 

 G. B. Snyder.) Mulches of straw, manure, and sugar cane fiber were applied 

 to the soil of plots in which staked and pruned tomatoes were grown. The mulches 

 entirely prevented weed growth so that cultivation of the plots was not neces- 

 sary. The mulches have increased the moisture-holding capacity as well as the 

 organic matter content of the soil over the plots without any treatment. The 

 yields and quality of fruit from these plots, however, do not show any significant 

 differences. Cracking of the fruit has been largely responsible for lowering its 

 quality, but it is evident that mulching has little effect on this factor. 



Asparagus Investigations. (Robert E. Young, Waltham.) The work with 

 asparagus consists of a breeding project in which individual production records 

 have been obtained from 450 plants. This group of plants is made up of five 

 selected strains from previous yield trials and one commercial variety. This is 

 the fifth year that these plants have been harvested. The two best strains con- 

 tinue to produce about twice as much weight as the commercial variety. 



There were some changes during the year and the yields were not as great as 

 last year, the decrease amounting to 18 percent. The reduction in yield was not 

 uniform for the six lots. For the highest producing strains the loss was 19.0 

 percent, and for the ne.xt highest 24.7 percent. The commercial variety, which 

 was one of the poorest producers, lost only 15 percent. 



The lower yields obtained for the year were due almost entirely to a smaller 

 spear size because the total number of spears produced was about the same as the 

 year before. 



There seemed to be considerable change in the behavior of individual plants. 

 Of the 50 best producing plants in 1942 about half remained in that category 



