BETTER FRUIT 



Page 2/ 



No. 1 grade. All others were placed 

 with the No. 2 grade. This grading 

 made it necessary to class many apples 

 from the sprayed plats with the inferior 

 grade simply on account of their being 

 undersized, although the spraying had 

 protected them from insect blemishes or 

 fungus diseases. The No. 1 apples from 

 the unsprayed block were greatly inferior 

 in appearance to the first grade apples 

 from the spraj-ed block, on account of 

 their dingy, smoky surface, due to the 

 "sooty fungus" which covered them, and 

 which was entirely absent in the sprayed 

 plats. The ratio of No. 1 fruit for the 

 sprayed plats, as will be seen in Table 

 VII. varied from 58.3% to 77.9% of the 

 total yield, while for the unsprayed plat 

 only 20. s% of the picked fruit could be 

 classed as No. 1, and this was damaged 

 in appearance from the "sooty fungus." 



The first grade fruit from the experi- 

 mental blocks was packed in boxes hold- 

 ing a little less than a bushel. Most of 

 this brought the owner on an average 

 aliout $1.32 per bushel, while the second 

 grade fruit brought about one-half as 

 much. Using these prices as a basis for 

 computation and the yield and ratio of 

 first and second grade fruit secured from 

 the sprayed and unsprayed plats, it was 

 estimated, as shown in the table, that 

 the value of the crop was doubled by 

 virtue of three sprayings, as given- in 

 plat 2, and the increased values secured 

 m other plats treated with arsenate of 

 lead was almost as great. 



A careful record was kept of the exact 

 time required for each application in the 

 experiment, as well as the amount of 

 spray liquid used. This was done for 

 the purpose of balancing, after the fruit 

 had been sold, the financial returns 

 realized with the cost of the spraying. 

 The cost of spray materials was com- 

 puted upon a basis of arsenate of lead 

 at 12 cents per pound, blue vitriol for 

 bordeaux mixture at 65/ cents per pound, 

 and lime, also used in connection with 

 the bordeaux mixture, at ]/> cent per 

 pound. In computing cost of applying 

 the sprays, .1)5.75 per day was taken as 

 a liberal estimate for labor of team and 

 three men, and for gasoline and oil 

 required to operate the power outfit. 

 This placed the wages of each man at 

 $1.25 per day. For the sprays, where the 

 third man or driver was dispensed with, 

 $4.50 per day was taken as a reasonable 

 (To be continued in next issue) 



Showing lower calyx cup with the fleshy stamen 

 bars forming a roof above it, as they appear three 

 days after the blossoms fall. Figure la shows the 

 roof as it appears from above. Figures 2 and 2a 

 show the same for an apple ten days later. Note 

 the wrinkled condition of the stamen bars. Figures 

 3 and 3a show the same for a full grown apple. 

 By Professor E. D. Ball. 



Figure 18— CROSS SI-XTION SHOWING INJURY FROM EGG-LAYIXG OF TARNISHED 

 PLANT BUG, AS IT APPEARED AT HARVEST. ABOUT NATURAL SIZE 



TABLE I— SUMMARY OF SPRAYING DATA IN PRINCIPAL PLATS 



* Spray 

 Material Used 

 Arsenate of lead 

 Arsenate of lead 

 Arsenate of lead 

 Arsenate of lead 

 Paris green 



* Formulas used: Arsenate of lead, 2J4 pounds to .50 gallons of water; paris green, 6 ounces to 50 

 gallons of water. Plats 1 to 5, inclusive, received a weak bordeaux mixture in first spray only. 



Plat 



5' ire 



Bearing 



First 



Second 



Third 



Fourth 



No. 



of Plat 



Trees 



Spraying 



Spraying 



Spraying 



Spraying 



1 



2.5x8 rows 



128 



Apr. 25-May 2 



May 12 



May 22-23 



July 10 



2 



25x7 rows 



85 



Apr. 25-May 2 



May 12 



May 22-23 





3 



25x7 rows 



104 



Apr. 25-May 2 



May 26-27 



June 15 



July 10-11 



i 



25x7 rows 



117 



Apr. 25-May 2 

 Apr. 25-May 2 



May 26-27 



June 15 



5 



27x7 rows 



103 



May 27 



June 16 





6 



40x7 rows 



153 



Check; not sprayed 





TABLE IV— ARSENATE OF LEAD AGAINST CURCULIO 



Dates Sprayed: Plat 1 — Four sprayings: (1) Petals oflF; (2) About ten days later; (3) About ten days 

 after second; (4) About six weeks after third. Plat 2 — Three sprayings: (1) Petals off; (2) About ten 

 days later; (3) About ten days after second spraying. Plat 3 — Four sprayings: (1) Petals off; (2) About 

 three weeks later; (3) About two weeks after second; (4) About four weeks after third. Plat 4 — Three 

 sprayings: (1) Petals off; (2) About three weeks later; (3) About two weeks after second spraying. 



Counts of Picked Apples Plat i Plat 2 Plat 3 Plat 4 'Flat 6 



Total number picked 8969 3419 2189 4737 2469 



Number with curculio crescents 230 85 78 180 1125 



Per cent free from curculio crescents 97.5 97.6 96.5 96.2 54.5 



* Plat 6 — Check; not sprayed. 



TABLE V— ARSENATE OF LEAD AGAINST CODLING MOTH 

 Dates and number of times sprayed, same as given in Table IV. 

 Counts of Picked Apples Plat i Plat 2 Plat ? Plat 4 "Plat 6 



Total number picked 8969 3419 2189 4737 2469 



Number with codling moth worm holes 4 6 3 13 368 



Per cent free from codling moth worm holes 99.55 99.83 99.86 99.87 85.50 



* Plat 6 — Check; not sprayed. 



TABLE VI— ARSENATE OF LEAD AGAINST CURCULIO AND CODLING MOTH 



For dates and number of times sprayed, see Tables I and IV 



Apples Counted 



Plat I 



Plat 2 



Plat i 



Plat 4 



*Plat 6 



Totals 



10736 



4564 



3094 



6442 



4534 



Windfalls 



1767 



1145 



905 



1705 



2065 





8969 



3419 



2189 



4737 



2469 



Per cent apples free from 



curculio crescents and codling moth 



worm 



holes 









97.4 



97.6 



90.9 



96.2 



58.9 



Windfalls 



97.2 



98.3 



98.2 



96.7 



74.4 



Picked 



97.4 



97.4 



96.3 



96.1 



46.1 



* Plat 6 — Check; not sprayed. 



TABLE VII^RATIO OF WINDFALLS TO PICKED APPLES; PROPORTION OF GRADES AND 

 VALUE OF FRUIT FROM SPRAYED AND UNSPRAYED PLATS 

 For dates and number of times sprayed, see Tables I and IV 



Apples Counted Plat i Plat 2 Plat 3 Plat 4 *Plat 6 



Totals 10736 4564 3094 6442 4534 



Windfalls 1767 1145 905 1705 2065 



Per cent of windfalls of total. .. 16.5 25.1 29.3 26.5 45.5 



Per cent increase from spray in yield of picked fruit 64.0 45.0 36.0 40.0 .... 



Commercial grading of picked fruit 



Total bushels 25.4 12.2 12.2 16.5 7.2 



No. 2 grade, bushels 10.6 2.7 4.2 6.5 5.7 



No. 1 grade, bushels 14.8 9.5 8.0 10.0 1.5 



Per cent of No. 1 grade 58.3 77.9 65.6 60.6 20.8 



Curculio, codling moth injuries prevented, per cent.. 65.4 65.7 64.5 63.3 .... 



Values increased, times 1.8 2.0 1.9 1.8 .... 



* Plat 6 — Check; not sprayed. 



(To be continued in next issue) 



