Renovation of Old Orchards 289 



Soil management. 



Thorough cultivation is usually the first step in reno- 

 vation, although in come instances deep plowing may re- 

 sult in cutting off many of the feeding roots, especially 

 when an orchard has been in sod for some time and the 

 roots feed close to the surface. If the roots are too 

 greatly disturbed, the trees may be seriously weakened. 

 Thorough discing when possible is always safe and satis- 

 factory. Plowing is to be preferred if it can be done 

 without destroying too many of the roots. Early culti- 

 vation is best and should be performed as soon in the 

 spring as possible. After thoroughly working the soil, it 

 is very often advisable to sow a leguminous cover-crop 

 in order to supply humus and nitrogen when these two 

 essentials have become depleted. 



In many instances inter-crops have been continuously 

 grown in old orchards with the result that the soil is de- 

 cidedly lacking in one or more elements of plant-food. 

 When available, liberal applications of barnyard manure, 

 from 10 to 18 tons to the acre, will aid in restoring soil 

 fertility. When the soil seems generally weak and de- 

 ficient, an application of complete commercial fertilizer, 

 consisting of 6 pounds nitrate of soda, 8 pounds acid 

 phosphate and 3 pounds muriate of potash to a tree, may 

 be considered a very liberal treatment. Fertilizer ex- 

 periments emphasize the efficiency of nitrate of soda used 

 alone. A 5-pound application of nitrate of soda will be 

 generally profitable on weak trees. When commercial 

 fertilizer is applied in conjunction with manure, the above 

 amounts to a tree may be cut to about half. 



In summarizing, the three important steps in orchard 



