CIRCULAR No. 303 

 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF 

 WASHINGTON, D.C 



LIBRARY 



RECEIVED 



DECEM lE^lgBfc^. 



SOIL PROFILE AND ROOT PENETRATION AS INDICATORS 



OF APPLE PRODUCTION IN THE LAKE SHORE 



DISTRICT OF WESTERN NEW YORK 



By A. T. Sweet, associate soil scientist, Division of Soil Survey, Soil Investigations, 

 Bureau of Chemistry and Soils 



CONTENTS 



Introduction 



Climate 



Varieties of apple trees, 



Drainage 



Soil groups 



Page 

 . 1 



Page 



Group 1 , soils with open subsoils 12 



Group 2, soils with tight subsoils 13 



Group 3, dark-colored poorly drained soils. 16 



Soil profile and root penetration 18 



Conclusions 29 



INTRODUCTION 



The principal apple-growing district of western New York is a belt 

 6 to 10 miles wide extending along the lake shore from Buffalo, on 

 Lake Erie, to Oswego, on Lake Ontario, a distance of about 125 miles. 



Previous to 1919 this constituted the most important barreled- 

 apple district of the United States, but since that time there has been 

 a decline in its relative importance owing to heavy competition and 

 to decrease in production within the district. 1 



Decrease in production has been due to the age of many of the or- 

 chards, to periods of unfavorable weather, and to neglect during the 

 past few years because of low prices and adverse economic conditions. 

 As a result old orchards are dying out and are being cut down and few 

 new plantings are being made. 



During the summer of 1931 a study was made to determine, if possi- 

 ble, to what extent decline in production might be owing to soil con- 

 ditions. 1 ' This study was confined to an area of about 22.5 square 

 miles surrounding the village of Hilton, in Monroe County. 



During the summer of 1932, in connection with a detailed soil sur- 

 vey made by the Bureau of Chemistry and Soils cooperating with the 

 Department of Agronomy of Cornell University, this study w T as ex- 

 tended to cover the northern part of Monroe County from the ridge, 

 or old beach line, to Lake Ontario. It includes a considerable portion 

 of the best orchard soils, a large section in which the soils are of inter- 

 mediate grade, and extensive sections entirely unsuited for orchard 

 planting, thus offering opportunity for striking contrasts and com- 

 parisons. 



1 Folger, J. C, and Thomson, S. M. the commercial apple industry of north America, p. 29-30. 

 New York. 1921. 



2 Sweet, A. T., and Oskamp, J. soils in relation to fruit growing in new york. part i. a de- 

 tailed soil survey of the hilton area, monroe county. N.Y. (Cornell) Agr. Expt. Sta. Bui. 541, 

 16 p., illus. 1932. 



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