ORCHARD FERTILISERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8655, 26 August 1891, Page 3

ORCHARD FERTILISERS.

On previous occasions our correspondent "Tiritiri" has forwarded his views as to the proper way of using artificial manures to crops of potatoes and pasture land, and now he does the same in respect to the manuring of orchard areas. A careful perusal of his notes will show the method upon which he calculates the quantities of the different ingredients required. His remarks are as follow :—•

Annual dressing for an acre of orchard yielding 5 (20001b) tons of fruit, and producing no other crop : — 2c\vb kainit, at Cs Gd, 13s; lcwt fine bone, at Bs, 8s ; $cwt sulphate of iron, at 6s 6d, 3s 3d ; levvt sulphate of ammonia, at 17s, 17s ; lcwt dried blood, at 9s, 93 : total, £2 10s 3d. Coral' Queen guano yields more phosphoric acid and lime, but 31b less nitrogen (per 1121b) than bonedust. This mixture contains, approximately, 431b nitrogen, 281b potash, 231b phosphoric acid, 281b soda, 281b magnesia, 271 d lime, 441b chlorine, 1021b sulphuric acid, 14lb iron oxide. The usual annual dressing of ficwt bone contains 151b nitrogen, llOlb phosphoric acid, 1351b lime, thus giving 28lb less nitrogen than the above mixture, an enormous excess of phosphoric acid and lime, no potash, soda, magnesia, sulphuric acid, iron oxide, or chlorine. Five tons of apples, pears, plums, and cherries remove, approximately :—Nitrogen, not ascertained ; potash, 201b; phosphoric acid, 7£lb ; soda, 51b; magnesia, 2J lb; lime, 2Mb ; silica, 2Alb; .chlorine, l^lb; sulphuric acid, 3£lb ; iron oxide, 7ilb ; sulphur, nob ascertained. Two thousand pounds of dry apple wood contain, approxi mately, 31b potash, $lb soda, Jib magnesia, 161b lime, lib phosphoric acid, gib sulphuric acid, silica, iron oxide, traces chlorine and sulphur. It requires a large tree to give 10001b dry wood, and allowing 10001b for the roots and prunings, the total mineral ingredients taken from the soil would be as above, thus showing thab until trees bear very little mineral manure is required, and that, when bearing, a slight excess over the constituents removed in the fruit will keep- the trees healthy. Pears require more potash and phosphoric acid, bub less lime than most fruit. ' Strawberries contain a good deal of potash, lime, phosphoric acid, silica, iron oxide, and an exceedingly large proportion of ' soda. Gooseberries are high in potash, soda, lime, phosphoric acid, and iron oxide. Suggestions: 1. Apply half the kainit and all the bone and dried blood in August or September. 2. Dissolve the sulphate of iron in twice its weight of water; mix it with dry earth or sand, and sow broadcast —half in September and half in November. 3. Mix 2Slb sulphate of ammonia with dry earth, and sow when the buds begin to swell. Apply the remaining three-quarters at one, two, and three months after the first dressing, mixing each lot with dry earth as used. The,sulphate of ammonia must' be kept' dry, as it loses its ammonia when , wet. 4.. Apply the balance of the kainifc in , November. 5. The manures named are sufficient to meet the require-, ments of 10,0001b of fruit and one acre of fruit trees. G. As the trees require very little mineral matter, leave out half the kainit and bone until they begin to bear. 7. If grass or other crops are not grown, prow lupines or other nitrogen-collecting plants, and plough the crop in during the summer. In this case the dried blood and sulphate of ammonia may be omitted, as they are only valuable on account of the nitrogen they contain, thus reducing the annual cash outlay per acre for a 10,0001b crop to 24?, and furnishing more than the fruit and trees remove of all the mineral substances found in the fruit and wood. 8. If more than 10,0001b of fruit is removed from an acre, or other crops are taken from the same land, increase the manure in proportion. 9. If the orchard is in grass, encourage the growth of clover by applying extra potash and lime, because clover is a nitrogen collector, and, if plentiful, the nitrogen may be left out of the manure. Nitrogen collectors is the name applied to plants which have the power of collecting nitrogen from the atmosphere. They are rich in nitrogen, and leave the land richer in that substance than before the crop was trrown ; hence wheat and other crops do better after clover. 10. If the land is rich and the trees grow freely, do nob manure until they bear. Being near the grafting time, allow me to suggest trying the puriri as a stock for the orange, lemon, and loquat. The puriri.is nob unlike the orange and lemon in growth. It bears two crops of berries, and thrives on the same land. These remarks apply also to the loquat, which is similar in appearance to the berries of the puriri. The cost or trouble of making these experiments is . scarcely worth consideration, and, if successful, the puriris of the North would soon be covered with oranges, lemons, and loquats, and the footrot, which destroys some oranges and nearly all lemons, would be a thing of the past. The oak is also said to be a goo 1 stock for the chestnut, and I am informed the loquat has been successfully used in Australia as a stock for apples. I have no means at present of experimenting myself, but hope others will do so, and make public the results.