WINTER INJURY IN RELATION TO SPECIFIC FRUITS 



319 



Injuries Associated ivith Immaiuritij. — Difficulties due to prolongation 

 of the growing season are far more common in the apple. Indeed, disre- 

 garding the winter drought conditions in the north prairie states, which 

 are not apple growing states in a commercial sense, it is, in one form or 

 another, the prevailing type of injury. A large proportion of recorded 

 cases of winter injury may be traced to immatuiity. This probably 

 accounts for the many cases observed in which the wood is killed while 

 the buds are not. The various forms of injury associated with imma- 

 turity have been discussed and require no elaboration here. 



There remain for consideration, however, some interesting differences 

 between varieties in hardiness. Most European varieties were early 

 found lacking in this respect along the Atlantic coast and the apples 

 developed in the eastern states in turn proved tender when transplanted 

 to the northern prairie states. From available data it is not yet possible 

 to reduce varietal differences from an indefinite empirical status to a 

 basis capable of quantitative expression. Macoun's statement, quoted 

 above under Immaturity, that hardiness is merely an expression of 

 complete maturity, is undoubtedly true in a large measure. The winter 

 apples of southern latitudes are tender at the north though there are 

 exceptions, as Ben Davis which is probably hardier than Baldwin, and 

 the winter apples of the north, hardy there, are summer or fall apples in 

 the south. The summer apple in the north, finishing its active season 

 early, has time to develop maturity such that it withstands the winters; 

 the winter apple must grow longer to complete its cycle and has less oppor- 

 tunity to acquire the condition that makes it hardy. As an index of 

 comparative maturity Beach and Allen^^ report observations on the date 

 of terminal bud formation in several varieties, which are reproduced here, 

 with some change of arrangement, as Table 49. Despite some incon- 



Table 49. — Date of Forming Terminal Buds'^ 



Variety 



Nursery 

 trees 



Orchard 

 trees 



Variety 



Nursery 

 trees 



Orchard 

 trees 



Hibernal 



Oldenburg. . . . , 



Salome 



Soulard 



Virginia 



Wealthy 



Mcintosh 



Silken Leaf . . . 



Winesap 



Anisim 



Black Annette. 



Ben Davis. . . 



Gano 



Jonathan .... 



Patten 



Grimes 



Delicious 



Ingram 



Iowa Blush. . 

 Lansingburg . 



M inkier 



Roman Stem. 



Sept. 27 

 Sept. 27 

 Sept. 27 



July 1 

 July 10 

 July 22 

 July 1 

 July 15 

 July 22 



'Terminals not formed at time of first frost, about Oct. 1. 



