SPRAY MANAGEMENT 15 



lem of control. The age of the trees and the thoroughness of application 

 are thought to be the most important factors in obtaining excellent con- 

 trol in these orchards. 



VERY GOOD CONTROL 



The four spray schedules illustrated in Figure 10 indicate the spray 

 programs on individual farms that obtained very good control. The op- 

 erators applied the usual major sprays and, in addition, two applied de- 

 layed dormant and two an additional cover spray. 



On farm Bl a large 400-gallon tractor-drawn tank was used. The 

 usual practice was to operate with a two-man crew, but three men were 

 used on one spray. The 23,047 gallons were applied in 138% hours em- 

 ploying 305 % man hours. Almost 50 gallons of spray were applied per 

 mature tree equivalent or about four gallons per bushel of apples. 



This orchard of 1819 trees consisted largely of young, bearing apple 

 trees but 130 were over 30 years old. In this orchard a heavy applica- 

 tion of the major sprays was put on with considerable skill but, while 

 very good control was obtained, there was some loss from scab and 

 pests. 



Farm B2 consisted largely of young bearing trees but also had a 

 number of over 30- and 40-year-old trees. The 28,200 gallons were ap- 

 plied in 117 hours with the use of a 300-gallon, horse-drawn tank and 

 a two-man crew. However, a three-man crew was used occasionally. 

 Six very heavy applications, totalling 65.8 gallons of spray per mature 

 tree equivalent, were used. Two hundred and forty-one gallons were 

 applied per hour. Part of the orchard was on a side hill. The control 

 in the blocks of young trees was excellent and as good as the group il- 

 lustrated in Figure 9. However, in the case of the older trees, scab de- 

 veloped in the tops each year. The operator sprayed from the ground 

 and did not get sufficient spray into the tops of the big trees. 



Farm B3 consisted of 1954 trees or what was equivalent "to 556 ma- 

 ture trees. The expected yield for 1933 was 3569 bushels and the actual 

 yield 3,080 bushels. The original orchard consisting of trees approxima- 

 tely 25 years of age had been expanded by more recent plantings. A few 

 trees, mostly along the fence rows, were over 45 years old. The 10,350 

 gallons were applied in 133/4 hours by means of a one-man crew and a 

 100-gallon tank. Only 18.6 gallons were applied per mature tree equiva- 

 lent which is less than one-third the amount used on farm B2. 



Thus, this operator secures very good control with six light sprays 

 which he applies by means of a small machine alone. 



Farm B4 is a large orchard w T ith an expected yield of 10,410 bushels. 

 All but 20 of the trees were under 25 years of age. The sprays were ap- 

 plied in 163 hours, including 31 hours of dusting by a large machine. 



