Agricultural Research in New Hampshire 43 



also some indication that some of the red strains of Mcintosh apples are 

 not completely compatible with the Virginia Crab. Ring grafts of 

 purple-wooded apple trees were made on white-wooded apple trees, and 

 white-wooded rings were grafted onto the purple-wooded trees. At 

 intervals of 1, 2, and 3 years these grafts will be sectioned to determine 

 if the wood originating from these ring grafts is regenerated from the 

 stock or the scion. This information should give evidence as to whether 

 the influence of a ring graft is due to the characteristic of the wood graft- 

 ed onto the tree, or if it is due to the wound injury. (W. W. Smith) 



Fruit Bud Formation 



This project has been carried on since 1908, but will be discontinued 

 at the close of this year. Mainly as a result of its operation, the use of 

 nitrogen as an apple orchard fertilizer has become standard practice in 

 almost all orchards in this state. The desirability of early thinning of 

 apples has been demonstrated, and the beneficial results from use of 

 mild sulphur as compared to lime sulphur have been shown. Recom- 

 mendations based on these results have been generally accepted and ap- 

 plied by the fruit growers of the state. (A. F. Yeager) 



Premature Dropping of Fruits with 

 Special Reference to Mcintosh Apples 



The apple drop problem has apparently resolved itself into tests 

 with hormone sprays consisting for the most part of naphthalene acetic 

 acid. Although some early varieties may be induced to hang on the tree 

 almost indefinitely following sprays of hormones of this type, Mcintosh 

 does not seem to show such favorable response. Rows in the orchard 

 were sprayed just before the apples began to drop. There is some be- 

 lief that warm weather is a factor in causing the hormones to be effec- 

 tive. Since Mcintosh ripens during cool September and October weather, 

 one row w r as sprayed with a hot solution of this material. In no case 

 where trees were sprayed was the drop prevented in the orchard. As 

 a check on orchard operations, certain branches on two trees were se- 

 lected and sprayed carefully by hand. There was some variation with 

 individual branches. 



On branches sprayed September 10 there was little difference in 

 the per cent of drops from the controls. Branches sprayed for the first 

 time on September 22, after considerable dropping had occurred, showed 

 some decrease in the amount of dropping compared to the control. At 

 this time trees sprayed on September 10 were again sprayed, but dropping 

 was not so effectively controlled as with the single spray of September 

 22. As a whole, the result from spraying Mcintosh with hormones to 

 prevent drop was not promising. In some orchards in the state growers 

 have felt that they have received beneficial results from hormone sprays 

 in that they picked apples with higher color than from trees not sprayed. 

 (L. P. Latimer) 



Changes in Apples During Ripening and Storage 



The storage disorder brown core occurring in Mcintosh apples has 

 been given special emphasis the last few years in our storage studies. 



