210 



FUNDAMENTALS OF FRUIT PRODUCTION 



and leaf development will likewise lead to increased size of fruit. This 

 expectation is justified by the results of many field trials with orchard 

 fertilizers. Representative of many data that might be introduced 

 are those presented in Table 70 for apples. In terms of percentages, 

 the increase in size there reported amounts to 25 or over. 



Table 70. 



-Size of Apples as Influenced by Nitrate Applications 



(After Lewis and Allen^-^) 



Pears from nitrate fertilized trees in the Rogue River valley have 

 been reported to average about 178 to the box, while those from unfertil- 



Fig. 25. — Response of apple trees to fertilizer treatments, showing increases or decreases 

 in yield, fruit setting and fruit coloration accompanying increased shoot growth. (Plotted 

 from data given by Stewart. ^''^) 



ized plots averaged 225.^^"* The graphs in Figs. 25 and 26 indicate in a 

 general way the observations of Stewart in Pennsylvania and Alderman in 



