6 EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 



significant. In comparison, the operator with only 35 per cent normal 

 crop has to reason more carefully because the cost of extra sprays or 

 additional control that year would he high per box of apples. 



Large and small orchards 



The management problem in spraying varies with the size of the 

 enterprise. On large farms the orchardist has to press the utilization of 

 equipment and available men to the limit at certain periods to cover the 

 trees within the proper time. Often the spraying will continue to late 

 hours or all night to take advantage of favorable weather. On small 

 farms the equipment can cover the orchard in a short period but the op- 

 erator may have difficulty in getting extra help when he needs it. The 

 small operators who have learned to spray alone or with the assistance 

 of unskilled or family help have partially solved these spray manage- 

 ment problems. 



Control 



In order to appraise the results of spray applications, a control 

 rating was estimated for each farm. This rating was made by the fruit 

 specialist 2 and was based on records of inspection made each fall just 

 prior to harvest and on observations made as to degree of control of in- 

 sect and diseases during the five-year period. The ratings represent the 

 specialist's estimate of the relative control situation on each farm during 

 the period of study. Thus a 92 control rating in this study means that 

 approximately 92 per cent of the apples were free of such injury. 



NUMBER OF FARMS 



90 



100 



Figure 4. 



70 80 



CONTROL RATINGS 



-Distribution of 40 farms according to 

 control ratings 



These control ratings are thought to be good workable measures of 

 the control in each orchard. Four of the 40 farms were rated 90 or above 

 and classified as obtaining excellent control. Nine were rated between 

 80 and 90 and classified as having very good control. Thirteen were 



2 C. O. Rawlings, Extension Horticulturist. 



