A Fruit Survey or Mesa County 
i i 
A Peach Orchard at Palisade Showing- Methods of Furrow Irrigation. 
ber of growers early realized the necessity for a more rational sys¬ 
tem of culture and are seeding their orchards to some kind of crop 
that can be plowed under^ thus adding the necessary humus to the 
land. 
Alfalfa has been the favorite cov^r crop in the orchards, but 
this crop has several drawbacks, the main one being that it is diffi¬ 
cult to eradicate after it has been once established. A cover crop 
should not be kept in the orchard for more than two or three years, 
after which clean culture should be practiced for an equal period. 
In other words, a cover crop and clean culture should alternate if 
the best results are to be obtained. 
Medium red clover is used by a number of growers with very 
satisfactory results. The first crop can be cut and either used for 
hay or left as a mulch on the ground, the second crop being left 
uncut, which will help to hold the snow and moisture in the winter. 
The second year the same method may be pursued except that the 
second crop should be plowed under, leaving the orchard to be 
