152 Increasing the Commercial Value of Apples. [May, 



Whilst sunshine greatly assists colouring, rain also helps 

 matters. Apples colour best when showers alternate with periods 

 of bright sunshine. Very dry, hot seasons, with continuous 

 sunshine, are not the most favourable to colour, although the 

 contrary is often assumed. In the writer's district, where the 

 drought of 1921 was very severe, and the amount of sunshine 

 was abnormal, apples did not colour so well as they have done 

 in normal summers. 



Skin Blemishes. — A very serious amount of waste and loss in 

 the packing of apples for market is caused by skin blemishes. 

 Fruit that is actually damaged, either mechanically or by pests 

 and diseases, so badly that its keeping quality is affected, is 

 quite unfit to market at all. But even minor skin blemishes, 

 which affect merely the appearance of the fruit, lower its value 

 enormously. Apples packed under the label of the Federation 

 of British Growers must not include more than 10 per cent, 

 showing such blemishes. Growers will find that a large propor- 

 tion of their crop falls short of this standard unless they give 

 the matter very serious attention. 



Blemishes arise in several ways. A few are caused by the 

 weather, and cannot be prevented. Many mechanical injuries 

 occur as a result of careless or improper handling during pick- 

 ing and can be guarded against only by training of the pickers 

 and constant supervision of the work, together with the provision 

 of proper appliances for carrying it out. But the majority of 

 skin blemishes arise through the attacks of various insect pests 

 and fungus diseases. Capsid bugs puncture and deform the 

 fruit, aphides stunt and disfigure it, codlin moth causes 

 " maggot-eaten " apples, and various caterpillars injure the 

 fruit as well as the foliage. Amongst fungus diseases brown rot 

 and apple scab are the most serious. Apples affected by the 

 former soon decay and are entirely wasted, whilst scab, even 

 in a mild attack, disfigures the fruit and greatly lowers the 

 value of the crop. 



The chief means of controlling these and other pests and dis- 

 eases is intelligent spraying ; and the grower who does not spray 

 might as well give up all idea of improved packing and enhanced 

 returns. It is not sufficient to wait until a particular trouble 

 appears, and then seek a remedy. Pests and diseases are much 

 more effectively controlled if the season's spraying campaign 

 is carefully planned in advance, and put into operation at the 

 right times. This is also the most economical plan, as it enables 



