INTERNAL CORK IN APPLES

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21809, 15 June 1936, Page 16

INTERNAL CORK IN APPLES

CAUSE AND CONTROL INVESTIGATED SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENTS CONDUCTED {THE PRESS Special Service.] NELSON, June 14. Co-operative investigations of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and the Cawthron Institute, under the auspices of the Fruit Research Committee have been completely successful in ascertaining the cause of internal cork in apples, and of securing a practical remedy lor its treatment. The investigations were begun two seasons ago, at a t.me when this particular ailment was occasioning severe losses to orchardists in certain parts of the Nelson district. In the first year of the experiments Mr J. D. Atkinson was able to show that an injection of certain boron compounds were remarkably beneficial in overcoming the ailment. Dr. O. Askew, on the chemical side, thowed definitely that the ailment was associated with the low boron content. In severe cases the boron content was only one-quarter of that found in healthy fruit. During the last season the work has proceeded both in the field and in the laboratory, and as a result confirmation has been obtained of the great vahle of boron compounds in overcoming this ailment in apples. Investigations show that the soil top-dressings with borax, at the rate of half a pound to two-thirds of a pound a tree were sufficient to control the incidence of the ailment, and no harmful effects on the tree have resulted from applications of this r mount.

Soil investigations have shown that borax penetrated rapidlv into the soil, and reached the root bone of the tree within a comparatively short time. A very interesting result has been obtained in the control of the ailment by the use of borax. Sprays at a concentration of .5 per cent, borax have given complete control of the ailment.