THE FRUIT CROPS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2665, 10 January 1916, Page 8

THE FRUIT CROPS

• . SEASON'S rROSPECTS. ' 1 Tho officers of tlie State Horticulture • v Division report as follows regarding tho condition of the fruit crop at tho end tl December:— \\ haugarei.—Apples: Midseasoii and lato, average crop. Earlier varieties medium to lieavy. Blight oil potatoes und tomatoes has greatly decreased. ;■ Speaking generally, stone fruits are a : etiort crop, and '"pip" varieties are below average. .Early peaches and plums ripened ott quite two weeks earlier than usual this season, and good prices ure .maintained up to the'''present. Auckland South.-—Apples: Good aver- : ago crop, early varieties marketed 111 fair .quantities. Apricots: Light to average, fair samples and prices. l|«acnes: Light to medium. l J ears: ■ l'air average crop. Plums: Light . (Japanese), fair to medium. Strawberries: Coming, forward large quanti- . ties, last three weeks dry hot weather ; vapidly exliausting crop, i Hamilton.—Apples: fair, some varieties fallen rather badly. Apricots: Good. •: Cherries:.. Fair, mostly gathered. Gooseberries: Fair, now finished. Peaches': . Light; early peaches very light, good ; sale. Pears: /air to medium, very bad . with scab in some parts'. Plums:! Patchy; Japanese, patchy. Tomatoos: -IVory.' few.' grown. '~... , ■ Palmerston North,—Apples: Crop | . patchy, buti looking well, fairly free ; from ,scab, -in-some districts slightly ■ marked with hailstones. Gliomas:'All i'.'f finished.' Crop in Wairarapa better than oxpected; Monawatu practically a failure. Gooseberries: Crop finished good. Pears: Locking well; scab not :v 6c troublesome This season so far. V' Raspberries: Crop good, • now being ' marketed. ■ Strawberries: . Practically ■ finished,' not been good. Tomatoes: ; Looking well, prospects good. Walnuts: •. Crop good.. .. W ollington.-—Apples: Slight improve- - nient.from last report. Apricots: Small crop, ripening .well. Cherries: Prac- : tically over. Gooseberries: Good crop, p -Lemons:. Small.-, Nectarines: . Small 1 crop. Poaches: Small crop. Pears: 7 Advancing as woll as ,can bo expectcd. : Plums: Kipening well, many falling through rough weather; Japanese, good. Raspberries: Fair. Strawberries: Small crop, good. Tomatoes:-Advancing splen- , vdidly considering adverse season; spraying hindered somewhat. North Canterbury.—Apples: Light crop. Apricots: I'air''crop;' Chorries: Good crop. Gooseberries: Good crop. Lemons: Not grown to any extent. Peaches: Good crop. Pears: Good crop. ... Plums: Fair;crop; Japanese, fair .crop. Raspberries:'; Light cj-o'p. ' Strawberries: Light crop. ,The weather still continues . to be' very dry' and' windy. A few. 6howers of rain hare fallen this last fortnight, but not enough to do much •• good. . Newly-planted trees are suffering in consequence, and unless wo have . good soaking rains shortly a lot of the ■ . fruit will be on the small sizo this sca- - ton. ■ ' : . Christ/church. —Apples: Early and midseason good crop; late apples ini clined to be sliort crop. Apricots : Good crop. Cherries: Crop about harvested, - turned out very welt. ■'Timaru. —Apples: Light. All varieties , - remarkably free from black spott Powdery mildew has been rather prevalent. Nelson.—Apples: Prospects of a good i . average crop are maintained. Apricots: Tho crop is short in quantity. Cherries: A very fair crop, now about gathered. ! Goosoberries: A jjcod crop, now about ; finished. Nectarines: Short crop, ma?' : turing satisfactorily. Peaches:' Short ■ crop, maturing satisfactorily. ' Pears: ; A fair crop, making satisfactory pro?; gress. Plums: A fair crop, making • satisfactory progress; Japanese; aver-,' age crop in fair condition', llaspber- . ries: A good average crop, now being .• .gathered. Strawberries: Good average crop. Tomatoes: The outsido crop is rather late, but average yield. Tho weather has been unusually variable, disadvantage to general orchard oiops.