6 UNIV. or N. H. AGR, EXPERIMENT STATION [Bulletin 232 



CULTIVATING AND FERTILIZING THE APPLE ORCHARD 



For 18 years the Station has been securing records from the Woodman 

 orchard on trees growing under various cultural conditions: trees in sod 

 with no fertilizer, unfertilized trees cultivated in alternate years, trees 

 cultivated but not fertilized, trees cultivated which receive in addition 

 2 pounds nitrate of soda, 4 pounds sulphate of potash, and 83/2 pounds 

 acid phosphate or its equivalent in basic slag per tree, and trees which 

 receive in addition to the cultivation and complete fertilizer hsted, an 

 additional amount of acid phosphate in the one case, nitrate of soda in 

 another, and sulphate of potash in the third. 



Previous publications have indicated during the first ten years of the 

 experiment some increased growth on the plots receiving fertihzer but 

 no significant increase in the average annual yield. During the last 

 eight years, however, the yield of the trees has been very materially 

 influenced by the fertilizer treatments. There are apparently four 

 general classes in order of yield as follows beginning with the lowest: (1) 

 trees growing in sod without fertilizer; (2) trees cultivated without 

 fertilizer; (3) trees cultivated and receiving either the complete fertilizer 

 alone or with extra phosphorus and potash; (4) trees cultivated with 

 complete fertilizer and 4 pounds of extra nitrate of soda per tree. The 

 yields for the season of 1927 show a general relation to the average for 

 the past eight years although, as may be expected, the crop in any one 

 season is likely to show some fluctuations. The crop in 1927 was not 

 large. The high yield usually harvested from the high nitrogen plot 

 was reduced to about 60 per cent of that ordinarily harvested. The 

 size of fruits was large in all except the sod plot on account of abundant 

 rainfall during the latter part of the season. 



Twig measurements do not show the striking differences which were 

 evident during the early history of the experiment. This may be due 

 to the fact that those plots which grew most rapidly are now suffering 

 from lack of light in the lower branches. In girth of trunk the different 

 plots remain in about the same relation as in previous years. 



Time of Application 



The work on the effect of time of application of nitrogenous fertihzers 

 on size of apple fruits, set of blossoms, and fruit bud formation, has been 

 continued by G. F. Potter in the orchard at the Horticultural Farm and 

 upon a co-operative basis in the orchard of A. F. Rockwood of Temple, 

 N. H. These results indicate at the present time that midsummer 

 applications of nitrogen made during the period of active growth of 

 the fruits do not influence the ultimate size of the individual apples. 

 There is some evidence that they have a marked effect upon the set of 

 blossoms the folloMang spring. 



Observations on the fruit habits of the Mcintosh under various treat- 

 ments have also been made in two orchards. During 1926 different 

 fertilizers were applied as follows to several plots of 18- to 20-year-old 

 Mcintosh trees in an orchard belonging to C. E. Hardy of Hollis, N. H.: 

 nitrate of soda about two weeks prior to the bloom period at the rate 

 of 5 pounds to a tree; ammonium sulphate at a similar rate; and a 

 complete fertilizer consisting of approximately 5 pounds of nitrate of 

 soda, 3 pounds of acid phosphate, and 3 pounds of muriate of potash 



