SPRAY MANAGEMENT 31 



to raise the value of his crop a few cents per box. If he had other high 

 value uses for his available help and for a portion of his equipment, the 

 cost of the "marginal" spray would be higher. The returns expected 

 from the spray would have to be more substantial to make its application 

 economic. 



Some of the producers are omitting one or more of the generally 

 accepted sprays. Since the application of the one spray reduces the 

 actual cash out-of-pocket cost on specialized farms only about one and 

 one-half cents per box of apples, its elimination is not advisable if there 

 is a substantial risk in loss of quality. 



On the basis of assumed rates of wages and costs per hour of use of 

 spray outfits, the cost of an additional spray would be about five cents 

 per box of apples. This is estimated on the basis of a normal yield. Thus, 

 on farms where all these cost items should be included in the application 

 of an extra spray, the expected returns from it must average at least five 

 cents per box to justify it. Should the yield be higher the normal cost 

 would be less per bushel. But should the yield be lower than normal, 

 the costs per bushel would be greater. 



Should some other productive use of the man power be in great de- 

 mand at the specific spray period, it is possible that the operator would 

 need at least 10 cents return from the extra spray bushel of apples to in- 

 duce him to leave other tasks to apply it. However, the combination 

 of farm or other enterprises in which some essential practice competes 

 too seriously with normal spray period is questionable. Over the long 

 period, spray must be applied adequately and at the right times if the 

 orchadist is to succeed. 



Other Studies in Economics of Apple Orcharding include 



I. An Apple Enterprise Study — Costs and Man- 

 agement (Bulletin 257) 



II. A Study of Farm Organization on 12 Fruit 



Farms (Bulletin 279) 



III. A Study of Orchard Problems by the Budget 



Method of Analysis (Bulletin 323) 



