FRUIT CULTURE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 21604, 5 January 1945, Page 2

FRUIT CULTURE

ENGLAND AND DOMINION VISITOR'S OBSERVATIONS An Essex fruitgrower who has been spending some days in Nelson, Mr. Giles Tuker, remarked on some of the differences in fruitgrowing he had noticed in New Zealand compared with practice in England. Contrary to general belief, Essex, one of the Eastern counties near London, had a rainfall of about 20in a year .which was only half that of Nelson, said Mr. Tuker. The county bad 8000 acres in pip" orchards. Mechanisation was common and horse cultivation the : exception today. In the English orchards they had to spray more in the winter to keep down the aphis, but less in the summer than was .done in Nelsbn. During the war there was a keen demand for all the fruit winch Britain could grow and much more 1 beside, if it were available. It all 'came under the control of the Ministry of Food. There were ceiling m'-ices, that for the bulk of the apples being 8d a lb. retail. Mr. Tuker found interesting differences between the main varieties of apples grown in England and in Nelson. Cox’s Orange were firm favourites in England but there they were a late apple. Worcesters grew well, but he understood they were not much in favour here. Laxton’s Superb, a variety little known here, was one of the common ones in England. Stunner was evidently a winner here, yet they did not grow it at Home; nor was much heard of Jonathans and Delicious. Two relatively new arrivals in pear varieties. Laxlon’s Superb (early) and Conference (late) were becoming .very popular and he thought that' they would largely fill England’s needs in this fruit. Raspberry culture was different here from' what it was in England. Here tliev grew up and fruited in bushes. At Home the canes were encouraged to fan out along wires. A favourite variety in England was Lloyd George. There was also one, Pines Royal, which, besides being disease resistant, produced a high quality berry which was a very pleasant dessert raspberry. Among Nelson fruitgrowers lie had noted evidence of an excellent spirit of co-oncration. They had clearly been quick to assimilate the lessons of science which were readily available to them.