ORCHARD NOTES.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume VIII, Issue 312, 5 December 1918, Page 3

ORCHARD NOTES.

(By GORDON ESAM, Orchard Instructor.) SPRAYING. The most important seasonable spraying is for codlin moth, which attacks apples, pears, and quinces, and black spot of pears and apples. The latter is again troublesome, following the wet week-end and, where lime sulphur has not proved a complete control. Bordeaux mixture should, without hesitation, be substituted, follow up the advice given in previous notes and spray at regular intervals of about three weess for codlin moth control. One or two applications is uot sufficient, the fruit must be kept covered with spray up to the time it is picked. Keep woolly aphis under control, it is making rather more hea_dway than usual. The following sprays are recommended. Codlin Moth. —Arsenate of lead, 2oz paste or loz powder to 4 gallons water. Black Spot.—3lbs. bluestone, 41bs lime to 50 gallons water for apples, 40 gallons water for pears or lime sulphur, 1 to 100 for apples, 1 to 80 pears. Woolly Aphis.—Nicotine sulphate, known as Black Leaf 40. 1 part to 800 parts water Powdery’ Mildew of Apples.—Lime sulphur 1 part to 100 parts of water or atomic sulphur 8 to lOlbs to 100 gallons. LEECH. This insect is also Renown as pear slug and cherry slug. It feeds on the leaves, and, by the end of the season, upper surface of pear, plum, and cherry it will do very serious harm to the tree if allowed to proceed on its destructive work unchecked. Unfortunately, spraying for this pest is more often neglected than carried out, particularly when the trees are carrying no crop. If the evil results of this neglect were realised, tho control of leech would always be included in the regular spraying routine. .The insect, in time, will eat away all the upper surface of the leaf, leaving it like a skeleton. The leaf is the organ of the plant, in which the raw food, taken in through the roots, is manufactured in compounds, wfiich are used in the construction’of new wood growth and in the production, development, and maturing of fruit buds and spurs. Allow the surface of the leaf to be destroyed and this work is stopped. Growth then becomes stunted and the fruit buds and spurs aro only partly developed. The evil of this is seen the following year in fruit failing to set. Be wise and spray all trees, even if they have no crop—it is a good insurance. Use arsenate of lead, 11b to 50 gallons of water. Towards the ripening stages on cherries and plums use hellebore powder, 2ozs to 4 gallons water. Keep the surface of the leaf covered with spray; an interval of three to four weeks between sprayings should bo sufficient for this purpose. More frequent applications would be necessary with hellebore powder. BROWN ROT. 1 I CH 11 1 It possible for brown rot ningus to destroy a whole cron oi stone fruit m a low da vs. I run is most susceptioie to iniecuon when ripening, or about tho time it is ior transit and tuo trouble is always aggravated when the weather is wet anu showerv at this time, home oi the earlier peaches will be ripe during the next two weens and oveivtliing possible should be done that will reduce tho risk or infection, ir i 1 I ed J life i g least once, about ten uavs beiore plotting. Uso lime sulpnur. 1 to Izo. on peaches and nectarines and. 1 to luu. on plums and apricots. Space all liiiit .well wncn thttinin". especially peacties and nectarines, as nuection verv oiren starts at the point ot contact ot two 1 I 11 1 te 1 1 g ed up and destroteu : burvinir well i><>11 1 til lad d nl t t 1 1 a 11 intecwd Hint, avoid usimt second-hancl 11 P 1 b ol lUL d g fe t I [I 1 I 3Hl\\J\( Bills Jl g s q 11 i t t with apples as it is with stone fruits but peruaps, the necessity oi this work if 11 1 1 1 ity in stone fruits is largely governed by size—-the larger the fruit in the individual variety, the Higher the. price 1 011 11 111 di* 1 extent on large s-.ze, as colour, ireed t H 1 [1 j a prominent part. The grower then aako nli.v the necessity ot thinimisr. II j t 1 1 p e J i 1 take two apple trees, growing side Inside, each maturing live bushies or fruit, but the apples on the first tree average 2‘- inches in diameter, while 1 d „ 1 in diameter. there win »e. approximately. < apples on the first tree, as o t UU tl 1 It the actual net return from each tree would be about the same, each productl 1 H and discover anv advantage one tree 1 1 I Jl 1 t I od 11l | | I I mil ! i IUOO pips or. it they all tertilize. l,>uu. II I I 11 11 repruducus useii.. It contains plant food in a highly concentrated and more o le Id o O tl otl 1 nd the Uesh of the apple contains a verv pl j d ‘1 1 1 tl 1 dll d jl 1 1111 j 1 g ill I tl f d g 11 t 1 itself in a, verv marked manner, retil; I I 1 lopment. Keep normal growth in tho tree, and regular and consistant crops c to i 1 XI 1 overbear and it means stunted growth, with poorer and more irregular crops. Which is the better commercial nroposition.- Again the answer is thin 1 I. d I . 1 _ _o U to encourage normal growth and spur development. It is not intended to infer that thinning alone will bring about this result, but it is one factor that has a great influence. A reliable indication cannot be given on paper as to the maximum crop a tree can carry, consistant with normal growth ; this can be judged only by experience. Thin hard rather than lightly—a tree is in better heart producing five _ bushies of medium sized apples than it is five bushies of small. Short stemmed varieties, such as Gravenstein, are noted for falling, but this can be largely obviated by thinning to single fruits on a spur. To sum up aim at leaving sufficient on the tree to develop into the best commercial sizes. Thin out clusters and space the fruit as evenly as practicable. Commence the operation as early as possible. It is well to wait until the tree has cast off all the unfertile fruit. On the lighter lands, I would' abvise much more severe thinning than on the stronger lands. This is essential to maintain continued crops of good commercial sized fruit.