SPRAYING FLORIDA CITRUS FRUITS ; 13 
during the period. Oil emulsion has been combined with the Bor- 
deaux mixture and also has been used alone once or twice a year. 
The net profits to the grower from spraying for melanose control 
may be conservatively estimated at 15 to 25 cents a box of oranges, 
with the cost of additional oil-emulsion spraying counted in. The 
additional value in improved keeping quality is obtained at no 
increase in cost. It may not always be realized in direct returns, 
for the reason that a large bulk of Florida fruit is marketed and 
consumed within the rather long period before the appearance of 
the rots that spraying reduces. Such spraying is good insurance 
against the occasional occurrence of unusually severe outbreaks of 
stem-end rot that strongly depress sale prices or throw the burden 
of later rot loss on the unsuspecting buyer. The reputation of 
Florida fruit for keeping will be ultimately improved by a more 
general practice of spraying in groves that are heavily infested with 
melanose. Fruit from such groves, mostly of the old seedling-tree 
type, is most likely to give trouble from decay, and the reputation 
of other fruit from cleaner groves may suffer undeservedly. 
A prolongation of the keeping period of the fruit for a few days 
may mean the more successful supplying of the more distant markets, 
thus increasing the potential demand for the fruits. Proper spray- 
ing will tend to increase the effectiveness of other measures in bring- 
ing this about. 
From the practical standpoint, when costs of spraying operations 
and benefit in control of melanose are considered, the best proce- 
dure is to use a single well-timed application of 3-38-50 Bordeaux-oil. 
SUMMARY 
The results of six seasons’ tests show that citrus fruit from old 
seedling trees in Florida can be materially improved in keeping 
quality by spraying once between April 15 and May 5 with 3-38-50 
Bordeaux mixture plus 1 per cent of oil in the form of emulsion. 
This is the regular treatment for melanose control. 
By this means half or more of the Phomopsis type of stem-end 
rot was prevented over a prolonged holding period. The reduction 
of Diplodia stem-end rot was about one-fifth. Blue-mold rot and 
several miscellaneous minor rots were not materially affected. 
The combined effectiveness against all rots amounted to a reduc- 
tion of about one-third. 
