OUR FRUIT ORCHARDS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 138, 12 June 1926, Page 26

OUR FRUIT ORCHARDS.

The extraordinary production from the commercial fruit orchards of Auckland and the rest-of New Zealand this season shows that the industry has grown faster than most people expected. Actual orchard areas have not gone ahead rapidly of recent years, hut the well-planted commercial areas are now coming ,into bearing, though it is quite evident from what has happened during the past month that even the most sanguine growers did not anticipate so heavy a yield of clean fruit. That this is a fact can be best gauged by the growers' demands for shipping space when the time came for fixing this for the export, season. Space allocations asked for totalled between 430,000 and 450,000 cases, excluding the Otago space, which the district arranged on its own account. The federation, to be quite safe, added something to this total, and everything seemed covered for the season. Nobody counted on such a bumper crop, for when the final export shipment of the eeason is got away on the Port Hobart, the total will be between 740,000 and 750,000 cases. Thus there was a shortage in prior space allocations more than equivalent to the whole of the previous season's shipments. Under stress of difficult conditions, in the midst of rush and worry, some critical things have been said about the failure to quickly cope with this avalanche of fruit, hut when the grower's estimates are compared with their actual production, the sting is taken out of the criticism, except for those who refuse to see anything hut one fact at a time. The Outlook. The low prices ruling on the English apple markets have caused a feeling of despondency amongst exporters. With a bumper crop and good prices, growers would have been placed on their feet, and it is an extreme disappointment that fruit in many instances is realising less than the cost of getting it to England. It is apparent that the arsenic scare is much more serious than Ye were led to believe, and, that being so, is there any likelihood of the position improving in future? Legislative action may minimise the effect of foreign competition, but it may be long before confidence is restored, as, judging by statements appearing in English publications, there will be- no lack of scaremongers. Something is wanted to replace arsenic, The aid of the scientist is required—and urgently.

- Sir Daniel Hall has lately told us that it is not until the third or fourth year after liming that we should expect to see much improvement on sour land, and that this amelioration may reasonably bo computed at" 10 per cent, if we put enough lime on.

The combination of basic slag and potash salts is productive of wonderfully good results on some soils, especially on light soils, which are naturally deficient in potash". In such a case potash manures must be used with the basic slag.

ij Phosphatic manures never have the effect upon the growth and colour of the crop which nitrogenous manures have, so that they can only be properly nudged by the weight and quality of the crop.