166 POMOLOGY 



by some to explain the cause of trees doing poorly in sod 

 and, conversely, why they thrive when the soil is cultivated. 

 The work of Bedford and Pickering along Lhis line is dis- 

 cussed later in the chapter. 



140. Effect of cultural systems on the growth of the trees. 

 — (For convenience of study and to avoid complications, 

 the data are given from unfertilized orchards only.) The 

 results of an experiment to determine the effects of tillage 

 and sod mulch in a Baldwin apple orchard have been re- 

 ported by Hedrick.^ The experiment was continued for 

 ten years and the trees were twenty-six years old at the be- 

 ginning. While the type of mulching given these trees would 

 not agree with our definition, yet more than two tons of 

 grass to the acre were allowed to remain, thus giving more 

 mulching material than is ordinarily used when placed be- 

 neath the trees. The results are very striking, as they show 

 that the tilled trees made much greater diameter growth 

 than those not tilled. 



Table XLIV 



It is further recorded that the sodded trees showed infe- 

 riority in all respects when compared with the tilled ones. 



Such results as these are very common in orchards grow- 

 ing in sod alone and the sparse yellowish foliage is familiar 

 to all observers. However, when mulching material is added 

 in sufficient amounts (about 50 to 100 pounds diy matter 

 1 N. Y. (Geneva). Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 314 and 383. 



