Vdkk VJ&kXksi&t Vkjaeh 



Fancy berrios always return larger profits for the j;rower and are more (iiiickly and more 

 easily sold than small inferior fruits. The U. S. Department of AgrienUnre and several State 

 Experiment Stations have been condnctinj? experiments to determine the best methods of in- 

 creasing the size, quality, yield and keeping qualities of the fruit. We j?ive here, briefly, the 

 results of these experiments. 



SrACING PLANTS: The U. S. Dept. of Agri. eooporating with the North Carolina Agricultural Ex- 

 periment Station, in 1934 established conclusively the value of spacing the runner plants of Blakeniore 

 in North Carolina. These tests were as follows: 



Yield qts. No. I's per cent. Culls per cent, 



per acre aver, of (5 pickings Aver, of <5 pickings 



24 inch rows, C in., spacing 4760 80 20 



24 inch rows. 9 in., spacing 4998 84 KJ 



12 inch double hill 3500 90 10 



30 inch matted row 2331 57 43 



12 inch matted row 2098 68 32 



The keeping quality of the fruit was also much improved by the better ventilation afforded in the 

 spaced rows. 



In "Science" magazine of October 5, 1934, Dr. George M. Darrow, of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 

 states, in part "Careful observations during the current season of the ncAv varieties, Dorsett and Fairfax 

 and the older variety, Blakemore, all introductions of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture support the ex- 

 planation that spacing is the chief factor in the local adaptation of straAvberry varieties. Api)arently in 

 varieties such as Blakemore and Dorsett, where vigor of plant may be expressed by the production of 

 many runners, yields may be increased by restricting the number of runner plants to the optimum per 

 square foot. Runner restriction, conserving as it does the soil nutrients and moisture, tends toward 

 more crowns, more fruit buds and more fruit per plant." 



In an article for the American Pomological Society, Dr. Darrow states further: "Last June I saw 

 fields in matted rows both in Conn, and N. H., where decay would be equally as high as in the experi- 

 mental matted row. (North Carolina, 1934, decay was 26% one day after picking fruit from 30 inch mat- 

 ted rows). In one field with dense matted rows in this state (Conn.) a large part of all the green berries 

 on the plants were rotting. Spacing plants so that dew and rain can dry off much more quickly than in 

 matted rows is an effective way to reduce decay in the field." 



Encouraging the early runner plants to root and 

 removing the late runner plants, which only serve -r,*, ^ j^, j 



to retard the growth of the early plants, will make Tiii^^Rsr ' '-^ '^\*m^im 



the well si)aced plant very vigorous, enabling it to r^^^^te^^^**^ • ^ ■" > yvijk jt^ '^'^ ""^l^^lailat'^ 

 develoj) a large crown and many fruit buds. By an '^^^^^^^S^^^h^^m^^^^M^ .... "^ "'*'"****■'*■ 



experiment made in the fall of 1934 by Dr. Darrow. ■a^^^^HHI^Hitt^MHB^HHB ^^S* ' 

 Senior Pomologist of the U. S. Department of Agri- 

 culture, on the relation of the number of leaves in 

 the fall per plant to the number of berries pro- 

 duced established a direct relation between the leaf "-™i>---------?-"- --^m^i^^^mra^ 



area in the fall to the productiveness of the plant ~ ^^K^^^ ' ~ »"* . ^^a^^^^P^ i^ 

 the following spring. The results of these tests are ™__„...^^_™_„ 



as follows : ':, \«- ^90^^% ' '-' ' '^^R^ 



Variety Leaves Berries Flowers J^^^'^P* '^itT/'-Pm^* ' "^ m^^^.'K' \ 



in Fall in Spring in Spring Ml^^*' ■ v^" .^iif-'W '* *-i 



Blakemore 2 13.2 15.9 ^^^r**" ^* *, ' ■'^^'**""'- *^ - % v j^ 



10 64.7 75.1 ^ '» • - - .. — ^^ r .- .3J 



Dorsett 2 12.7 22.9 



10 41.3 92.8 Starting the spaced bed in July ; mother 



Fairfax 2 12.2 15.5 I>lant at right 



10 73.3 97.1 



By this time one can readily see just what results may be expected when a little time is spent in 

 keeping the plants spaced so that large well developed plants will be made, rather than having a dense 

 matted row with plants so crowded that only 2 or 3 leaves are developed. 



HANDLING THE FRUIT: The Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station in their Bulletin No. 

 318, March 1935: Perfect strawberries held to 44 degrees F. kept in marketable condition for 8 to 

 12 days. Damaged berries only 2 days, while perfect berries held at 75 degrees F. kent only IV' days 

 and damaged berries less than a day. Raspberries picked in the early morning and late evening kept 



better than when picked during the middle of the 

 day, with or without refrigeration. (We believe this 

 will also apply to strawberries). After six days 

 raspberries from six different pickers ranged from 

 10 to 95 per cent decay. This certainly shows the 

 necessity for great care in picking and handling 

 the fruit in relation to its keeping quality. 



SOIL ACIDITY AND HUMUS: Prof. J. B. Hes- 



•ii;--™-—" «-fflN^M" ■•■ »»— 5«cj[s: -'-Kjt*B- »w« ^ ^^''*' ^"orfolk, Va., Virginia Truck Experiment Sta- 



^^^'-''tfc'SBfei^ ■ s^^PMB^^'^feSE '" \'\yn\, has found the range of soil acidity at which 



■iMiii-**-^a ''* fciW p i ^ ■«^^«C*^I^^A^^^I^ strawberries grew vigorously was directly related 



jiP'S^F"^3ejS«PP»'^ ■ '-\ :f^y''^r^ir^-y'^r7F^ t(. the amounts of organic matter in the soil. Sol- 



f'V^^TPl^Wlii ^'•"^'wiS^^^^'' ' ?-* "^ife" liable aluminum, (which is considered the injurious 



'-^***^*^^^*«^- ^~ ■ 'C*^ ^*:'4e:ifiaJf^--^Lr' clemont in the soil when soils are very acid), dis- 



I ■iiiiBMiMi II V 1*^ ^^1^*11^%*' ♦- ai)i)eared Avhen large amounts of organic matter 



!fcJ!3giSl£MiP ^^^•^•^^ffF^-^' ■ J- **" " ^^^""^ added. In soil with 7.5 per cent organic mat- 



^^ ^ i%: ■^_^'^^^^W^ ^ "'^ plants grew at a ph. of 4.6 while with less 



J^^r»«t*' ' •^'^I'^V . -^ - than 1 i)er cent, organic matter, plants did not 



i^^wT-^mK^' ' V -■' MI^' ;;row avcII at a ph. of less than 5.8. With high hu- 



'^"f-^f^ijLn' HmV ■"- *-" f "»"^ content strawl)erries and other crops grow 



well over a wide range of soil acidity. We believe 

 „ , V- .3 . c X 1. X .11. • .1- ..1 1 ^^"^ finding to Ite one of great value to farmers in 



Spaced bed in September; note the individual all lines and should be given special attention when 



plant has many leaves planning the farm program and crop rotation. 



7 



