FOR FRUITGROWERS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22776, 11 January 1936, Page 5

FOR FRUITGROWERS

Even while the ripe berries are being gathered, there are many little matters in the raspberry plantation to claim attention. If a good crop of fruit is to bo secured next year, thinning must receive prompt and regular attention. There are many weak and spindly growths which will never make good canes, and these should, in the early stages, be cut out, thus affording more space to the vigorous young stems destined to carry next year’s crop of fruit. The canes to be retained should be loosely tied to the trellis or other supports. They are very liable to be damaged if allowed to sprawl over the alleys, and, in any case, they will grow the better for being kept up in the light and air. Suckers are usually numerous, and all those at any distance from the plants should be hoed or cut off as soon as they appear. To allow suckers to remain is merely to let nourishment and energy go to wqgte, and the evil effect is equal to that of, the suckers upon -x’ose bushes. The Dutch hoe must be constantly employed; it is very bad cultivation to allow a crop of weeds to develop when the crop of fruit is maturing. The harmful effect upon the plants is .very great, to say nothing of the subsequent foul state of the soil occasioned by the dissemination of seeds. Surface hoeing only must be the rule. If the hoe works too deeply, many of the very valuable small roots lying quite near the top of the ground will be injured. It is folly to use a fork in a raspberry plantation. In, very dry weather raspberries must be copiously watered, and in light, shallow soils the ground between the rows should be covered with short, littery manure. This mulch will conserve moisture, and the rains will wash into the soil the enriching salts. The decay of such substance is valuable to raspberries, as humus in some form or other is essential to this crop. Leaf mould and lawn mowings are valuable, though it is well to mix the mowings with either leaf soil or short manure, as they tend somewhat to sourness when used alone. A few thorough soakings of liquid manure will greatly benefit the swelling fruits, but they should be discontinued when the berries are ripening. Such help will be much relished by tbe autumn-fruiting varieties, and, in their case, should be continued for another two months to meet their special needs.

At least six or seven of the strongest suckers should be reserved to each stool, and, when destroying the unwanted suckers, they should be removed with the aid of a suckering iron, a chipel, or a strong knife. It is better to pull those that are farthest from the base of the plant. When the crop has been gathered the canes which have borne this season’s fruit must be entirely removed, and in their place the young ones may be retied to secure even distribution.

Do not overcrowd them, for there is nothing gained; rather is it better to allow each one ample space for its fullest development. any stakes or wires that require it, and thoroughly clean out the plantation. Late summer and autumn is an important period in the cultivation of the raspberry, and close attention at that time will materially affect next summer’s crop. Suckers will continue to appear, and weeds will flourish until the advent of frosts. These must receive regular attention. The canes will grow freely, and must be secured to their supports as it becomes necessary; they are easily broken by high winds. Very vigorous growths, where they exceed the trellis or stakes by a liberal margin, may have their growing points taken off. All netting will have been removed after the gathering of the fruit, or, if the plantation is permanently covered, there should be openings to permit the entry 'of birds. Autumn-bearing raspberries naturally require somewhat modified treatment. These are not permitted to bear, like the summer-fruiting kinds, on the previous year’s wood, but all the canes must bo cut down level with the ground when leafless, usually in August. Vigorous growths will push from the base in spring, and these must be thinned when quite small, reserving the strongest and bestplaced. These summer canes must not be topped, as the finest berries are borne on the ends of the shoots. All through summer and autumn give them the routine treatment, as already advised for the ordinary summer-fruiting kinds.

At this season it is well to look round and decide what varieties to plant, should the existing plantation need renewal, or if a new bed is in contemplation. That fine old kind, Superlative, can, unfortunately, no longer be safely recommended; it has succumbed to the virus disease. Lloyd George is a very popular raspberry; it is almost perpetual in habit and will produce a supply of good berries from the earliest season till late autumn; from it we have gathered fine fruits in May; in a propitious season. It is vigorous and productive. Park Lane is described by many people as the most delicious of all raspberries; it is fine for dessert, but a little too soft for preserving purposes. Red Cross is an early kind of fine quality, and a point in its favour is the stout and upright growth of its canes. The largest variety is probably Royal, with fruit of good quality, and producing canes of great vigour; it is a notable advance in size of fruit. Golden Drop and Yellow Antwerp arc fine yellow-fruited kinds; these may well become more popular, as they arc pleasant-flavoured, and lend variety to the dessert.