PICKING 



3 



Most published figures on production are of limited value 

 to the individual orchardist because they are usually based on 

 all orchards in a certain section. Among these are often or- 

 chards receiving poor care, those just coming into bearing, and 

 those well past their prime. 



A yield of 200 to 250 bushels per acre of packed fruit is 

 probably an average figure for good commercial orchards in 

 full bearing in New York, the oldest fruit section in the 

 country. To this must be added a proportion of the crop, 

 varying with the season and the care, which may be mer- 

 chantable in the form of by-products, but which does not 

 justify incurring package and packing costs for it. The good 

 grower in every region constantly seeks to reduce this propor- 

 tion of low-grade fruit and to increase the quantity of quality 

 stock. 



The average yield in commercial orchards of the Middle 

 West is perhaps 175 bushels per acre, the yields showing con- 

 siderable variation from year to year in some sections, as Mis- 

 souri. Yields in Ohio, Michigan, and adjacent territory, as 

 well as in the New England fruit sections, are similar to those 

 of New York. Yields in the Atlantic Coast States, especially 

 those of the Shenandoah-Cumberland section, in full crop 

 years compare favorably with those of New York, but yields 

 are more variable, largely owing to frost damage in the spring 

 when the trees are in bloom. 



In the Pacific Northwest yields per acre run higher with a 

 lower percentage of cull stock than in other orchard sections. 

 This is due in part to younger trees, a larger number of trees 

 per acre, and more intensive methods of management. The 

 Wenatchee Valley of Washington has been producing from 500 

 to 600 boxes of 40-45 pounds per acre as an average from or- 

 chards in commercial bearing. The Yakima Valley in the same 

 state has produced from 400 to 500 boxes and the Hood River 

 Valley of Oregon 250 to 400 boxes per acre. The trees in these 

 sections have commonly been set about 20 by 20 feet, account- 

 ing in part for the higher yields. In many orchards part of the 



