COUNTY ORCHARDS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXIII, Issue 8724, 25 November 1913, Page 2

COUNTY ORCHARDS.

FRUIT PROSPECTS

Mr A. Bailey Mansfield, Government Fruit Expert, when interviewed by a " Guardian " representative, stated that the fruit crops in the County were looking very well. The prospective indications were for a good crop of pears and plums, and some varieties of apples were carrying good crops, but, speaking generally, the apple crop could be estimated at about 62 per | cent. Mr Mansfield stated that the! first brood of the cocllin moth has made i its appearance, and growers should get busy spraying with arsenate of lead for. its control. He advocates using from one and a half to two pounds of the arsenate to 50 gallons of water. Mix one pound of wheat flour in a gallon of cold water —it is- best to sift the flour through a kitchen-dredger or a piece of fly-screening wire, which will prevent lumps going through—bring the mixture to the boil, stirring continuously, then ..strain through a sieve into the arsenate of lead solution. The advantages of using the flour paste were thaifc it would cause the arsenate of lead to adhere better, and to spread on the foliage and fruit that was sprayed; "besides, it prevented the mixture from precipitating on the bottom iof .the spray vat. The plums and pears should be sprayed with this mixture for the control of the • pear-slug, or I leech, as some people call it. Mr ' Mansfield said it would be unwise to | spray cherry trees before the fruit was gathered, but growers are advised to use hellebore powder, one ounce of the powder to two gallons of water being the proportions. One could use also air-slaked lime by throwing, it lightly over the trees. So soon as the fruit is picked the trees should be sprayed with arsenate of lead. Spraying, to be effective for the control of cqdlin moth, | should be done every fortnight; as the fruit grew and expanded the first application would be rejected, leaving an unpoisoned surface for the grub. By [concerted action on the part of farmers and fruit-growers in spraying their Jtre,ps, Mr Mansfield told our representative that the codlin moth could be 'wiped out.