CHAPTER XXXVI 



COLOR 



Many factors seem to have some influence on the increase or 

 decrease in the amount of color in different varieties of apples. 

 Experimental work has been carried on to determine just how- 

 much influence some of these factors have. 



Influence of fertilizers. Many prominent fruit-growers and fer- 

 tilizer experts have maintained that potash is the element needed 

 by the trees to produce more color. In tests carried on for several 

 years by the Geneva Experiment Station an attempt was made to 

 find out the effect of potash in the form of wood ashes and also 

 whether phosphoric acid has a decidedly beneficial effect on the 

 color of apples. Since the experiments of the Station in this 

 matter are of some general interest, they are described below. 



Experiments with wood ashes. Wood ashes were applied to 

 the four treated plats at the rate of ioo pounds per tree annually, 

 with the exception of two years, 1901 and 1902, when ^ the appli- 

 cations were omitted. As there are 48 trees per acre, 4800 pounds 

 were applied per acre. The ashes were thoroughly mixed, weighed 

 separately for each tree, and applied broadcast to a line midway 

 between adjacent rows. Applications were made in the spring 

 and were well worked into the ground. No other fertilizer was 

 applied to any part of the orchard during the first five years of 

 the experiment. The following cover crops were plowed under : 



Acid phosphate was added to the treated plats during the last 

 seven years of the experiment. 



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