Februar}^ 1930] agricultural experiments 1929 15 



The feed consumption of the meal-fed chicks was greater than for the 

 oil-fed ones; 78.14 ounces of feed per chick were consumed by the meal-fed 

 chicks during the period of the experiment, compared to 45.75 ounces for 

 the 1 per cent, 42.72 ounces for the 2 per cent, 45.42 ounces for the 

 3 per cent, and 52.07 ounces for the 4 per cent oil-fed. 



The hatc'habihty of eggs from 150 meal-fed breeding pullets was 10 

 per cent greater than those from a similar number from the oil-fed. The 

 percentages are 74.6 and 64.3, respectively. Of fertile eggs set the hatch- 

 ability percentages are 84.3 and 75.4. (State Fund.) 



FRUIT BUD FORMATION 



Effect of Fertilizer and Cultural Treatments 



A summary of yields for the second decade in the Woodman apple 

 orchards, by G. F. Potter, discloses that larger crops have been obtained 

 from the plot that has been cultivated, cover-cropped, and given 

 extra nitrogen in a complete fertilizer. The ten-year average yield per 

 tree in the plot given this treatment is 337.6 pounds of fruit. The second 

 highest yielding plot, which produced 270 pounds of fruit per tree, has 

 received a complete fertilizer and is cultivated and cover-cropped each 

 year. 



The other eight fertilizer and cultural treatments in order of their 

 effectiveness are: cultivation and cover-cropping plus a complete fertilizer 

 with extra phosphorus, 240.3 pounds per tree; cultivation and cover- 

 cropping plus a complete fertilizer, 232.7 pounds; clean cultivation plus 

 cover-cropping, 231.3 pounds; cultivation and cover-cropping plus a com- 

 plete fertilizer with extra potash, 229.1 pounds; clean cultivation without 

 a cover crop, 216.9 pounds; and two plots which were cultivated alternate 

 years and received no cover crop, 150.6 and 92.3 pounds; and sod treat- 

 ment, 74.6 pounds. 



Random counts indicate that fruit bud formation is not changed as ma- 

 terially as is yield by the different cultural and fertilizer treatments. 

 Only the plots which received no fertilizer and were inadequately tilled 

 showed a material reduction in the proportion of spurs producing blos- 

 soms. The increase in production is due, rather, to a greater production 

 of fruiting wood and a correspondingly larger number of spurs. It is 

 noticeable, however, that a larger proportion of spurs produced blossoms 

 at two years of age in the highest producing plot. 



Given the same amount of nitrogen as the tilled plot the plot in sod in 

 the renovated orchard of the university farm produced 127.8 pounds of 

 apples per tree less than the tilled trees. These figures are averages of the 

 seven-year period of 1923 to 1928. The cultivated plot produced 390.9 

 pounds; and the sod plot, 263.1 pounds. 



Effect of Time of Fertilizing 



Data from an experiment in its third year, to find the effect on fruit bud 

 formation of splitting the fertilizer application, indicate that the set of 

 blossoms has been increased slightly by means of the divided application 

 of nitrogen. Similarly, there seems on the whole to be a tendency for the 

 yield to be slightly greater for the trees receiving the mid-summer applica- 

 tion, although the difference is small and was not apparent in 1929 in the 

 Baldwin orchards. There has been no appreciable effect on the percent- 



