16 N. H. Agricultural Experiment Station [Bulletin 279 



shorter and at higher latitudes is somewhat longer. Wealthy and Graven- 

 stein, which are the next most important varieties although planted in 

 considerably smaller numbers, are harvested somewhat before the Mcin- 

 tosh season. In actual practice the varying yields of different varieties 

 make the harvest labor requirement uneven, no matter how well the 

 orchard is planned. This is illustrated in Fig. 6, which shows the harvest 

 labor by ten-day periods for three seasons on the same farm. In 1926 

 with a good crop of Baldwins and a light crop of Mcintosh the distribu- 

 tion was bi-modal with the main peak occurring in October. A heavy 

 drop occurred that season and salvaging of the windfalls continued until 

 late in November. In 1927 with relative yields of these two varieties re- 

 versed, the curve is still bi-modal, but with the greater peak in September. 

 In 1928 all varieties yielded well, and the distribution of labor was very 

 ^satisfactory. The gradual increase in demand for labor that year was 

 •easily handled by the operator. 



In the case of another farm planted chiefly to Wealthy and Baldwin 

 with very few Mcintosh, the distribution of harvest labor cannot be very 

 satisfactory under any circumstances. The daily labor demand for har- 

 vesting apples on this farm is shown in Fig. 7, and, as might be expected, 

 there is a period of nearly four weeks when but little picking can be 

 done. If 30 or 40 per cent of the trees were Mcintosh, the harvest labor 

 requirement would be much more constant. 



A more intimate picture of the relation of varieties to the harvest 

 problem can be had by studying the daily distribution of harvest labor on 

 Farm 2 in 1926. (Fig. 8) Wealthy and Gravenstein competed for har- 

 vesting labor from late August until about Sept. 20. Peak harvest of 

 Gravenstein, however, preceded the peak for Wealthy. Mcintosh were 

 not ready for three or four days following completion of the Wealthies 

 and Gravensteins. The crop being light a reduced crew completed the 

 picking in about five days. Then practically a whole week intervened be- 

 fore Baldwins were ready. Wagners were picked after the bulk of the 

 best Baldwins, leaving some rather small Baldwins on old trees to the 

 last. In this instance Baldwin harvest extended from October 11 to 

 November 4 inclusive, a period of 25 days. Considerable loss occurred, 

 however, and a large number of drop apples were picked up later. 



Greatest efficiency is attained in picking and handling with a uniform 

 labor demand over a long season. The small crew may be limited to the 

 most skilled individuals available. The investment in ladders, picking 

 buckets, and equipment for hauling fruit is kept at the minimum. Yet if 

 one variety is considerably more profitable than others, it may pay to 

 plant more of these trees and incur the extra costs incident to using a 

 large crew for a short season. 



From the point of view of harvest management, which is one of the 

 most important in choosing varieties for the commercial orchard, one 

 might proceed by listing in order the varieties that seem to give the great- 

 est opportunity for profit. Then one could plan to have as many trees of 

 Number 1 as he could harvest satisfactorily under his conditions ; then as 

 many of Number 2 as could be harvested without conflict with Number 

 1 ; then as many of Number 3 as could be picked without conflict with 

 Numbers 1 or 2 up to the maximum planting of each that seems advisa- 

 ble under prevailing market conditions. 



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