350 



FRUIT-GROWING 



FRUIT-GROWING 



lower color; this is indication of the effect of 

 tillage in maintaining vegetative activity by keep- 

 ing up the supply of food and moisture. The fruit- 

 grower should learn to regulate his tillage as 

 carefully as he does the application of manure, in 

 order to secure the maximum of benefit and the 

 minimum of disadvantage. 



The perfecting of many wide-sweep surface- 

 working tools has made the tilling of orchards 

 comparatively simple and easy. The purpose of 



Fig. 499. A modem commercial peacb orcliard. Qeorgia. 



these tools is to maintain the surface mulch. 

 When an orchard is well established, it is usually 

 not necessary to plow deep, at least not if the 

 original preparation has been good. Spring-plowing 

 in bearing orchards may be necessary in order to 

 break the soil and to make surface tillage possible, 

 or to turn under a cover-crop ; but if the soil is 

 naturally loose and there is no herbage to be cov- 

 ered, it may be unnecessary to invert the soil ; the 

 surface-working tools may be set at work before 

 the land becomes hard. Usually a spading-harrow 

 or cutaway of some kind will first be needed, 

 or, if the soil is crusted and weeds have got a 

 start, a shallow-working gang-plow may be used ; 

 thereafter, spring-tooth and spike-tooth harrows, 

 smoothing-harrows and weeders may be employed. 

 Fall-plowing is sometimes advisable, particularly on 

 hard lands, that the weathering may aid in the 

 breaking down of the soil ; in such case, the fur- 

 row-slice should better not be turned flat (at least 

 not unless there is much herbage or manure on the 

 land), but left more or less broken or on edge. The 

 surface-working tools may be applied to this open 

 land early in the spring before it hardens. 



In the old days, orchards were mostly in sod. 

 Fifteen years ago the importance of tillage began 

 to be very strongly emphasized. This gospel has 

 thrown into strong contrast the value of various 

 kinds of sod - treatment for special cases. Sod- 

 treatment of orchards is now often spoken of as 

 the "mulching system." There is no uniformity 

 and little system in these practices, however. In 

 some cases, the " system " is merely to leave the 

 orchard in sod and to sell the hay ; in other cases, 

 the sod is merely pastured ; in others, the grass is 

 mown and allowed to decay on the ground ; again, 

 not only is the grass allowed to lie but straw may 

 be added and commercial fertilizers and manure 

 applied. It is, therefore, impossible to discuss the 



mulch method without knowing just what the 

 practice is. It is apparent that these must be local 

 practices. Some of them often give excellent 

 results. 



Cover-crops. 



The present-time tillage practice in orchards 

 assumes also a cover-crop. This cover-crop is usu- 

 ally grown in late summer and fall, when tillage is 

 least needed. The chief value of the cover-crop is 

 to supply humus, in this regard taking the place of 

 stable manure, which usually cannot be had in 

 quantities for large orchard areas, since stock- 

 raising and fruit-growing are not often practiced 

 equally on one farm. In young orchards it is 

 possible to make cover-cropping a part of a rotation 

 plan. [See the article on Cover-crops, page 258.] 



Almost any quick-growing crop that produces 

 abundant herbage may be used to advantage as a 

 cover. A covering of weeds is often better than 

 bare ground. In general, tillage is given early in 

 the season. By midsummer or early fall, the cover- 

 crop is sown, the land then being in good tilth. 



Cover-crops are of two main groups, — those that 

 survive the winter and grow again in the spring ; 

 those that are killed by frost. The former are usu- 

 ally to be preferred, as they are likely to produce 

 more herbage, and more completely to occupy the 

 land with roots, and they may better prevent deep 

 freezing, washing, and waste of rainfall. The dis- 

 advantage is that they delay all the plowing till 

 spring, and there is a temptation to let them grow 

 too late in spring, thereby using too much soil 

 moisture, and reducing the chance of a satisfactory 

 preparation of the land. Pome of the frost-killed 

 crops may have greater effect on the land than is 

 to be expected from the mere bulk of the herbage 

 that they produce ; this is particularly true of 

 buckwheat. Following are some of the leading 

 cover-crops mentioned or recommended for fruit 

 plantations (the leguminous or nitrogen-gathering 

 species being starred) : 



Living over winter. 



*Glovers 



*Hairy or winter vetch ( Vida viUosa) 



*Sweet clover (little used) 



Winter rye 



Winter wheat 



Killed by freezing. 



*Cowpea 



*Soybean 



*Velvet bean 



*Pea 



*Bean 



*Beggarweed 



*Spring vetch (Vicia sativa) 



Rape 



Turnip 



Oats 



Barley (little used) 



Buckwheat 



Millet (little used) 



