FRUIT PROSPECTS IN THE MOUNT BENGER DISTRICT.
The Mount Benger Mail of the 7th inst. writes : —
With the prospect of an early start being made with a canning factory, and the earnest solicitation ot several agents to handle the fruit, the gardens of this district have been the centre of much interest during the last few months. Reports from other parts of the colony show a scarcity of fruit, and growers are in anticipation of good prices being realised for their crops. Strawberries and cherries are already on the market, and producers of these two lines should be well pleased with the results. Apricots and peaches are coming on well, and both are plentiful. Many growers in this district were surprised to read in the Otago Daily Times of the 30fch lilt, a paragraph, taken from the Dunstan Times, to the effect "that in the Roxburgh district the peach trees are said to be in a particularly bad condition from blight, curl, and green fly." It is true many of our gardens are still troubled with pests of many kinds, but with systematio spraying these enemies have been lessened, and to say that our peach crop is in danger of being practically a failure is very misleading to the public and unfair to the district, and is very far from -being correct. Many of the growers ha/ye lately gone in for varieties specially suitable for canning, but Mr Blackmore, the Government pomologist, assured us that the majority of the varieties grown here_ now were quite equal to the best canning qualities grown in America or elsewhere. The green fly and blight are, W believe, scarce as yet this season, the chief trouble being tHe curl. Many theories are set forth as the cause, the one generally accepted being that the snap of cold weather experienced in the spring blaeted the young leaves, and thus hindered their growth. The Elberta and a few late midseason varieties are' practically the only kinds affected by the curl. We made an inspection of several gardens to satisfy ourselves as to the extent of the trouble. The first garden visited was one of the largest of the district, and we were told the curl was not nearly as bad as last season, and they had a bigger peach crop this year than last. Only about two dozen trees out of some 700 were affected, these all being the Elberta. The next garden was a small one of about 5C trees, and these all seemed more or less affected, being early varieties. The next man was busy thinning, but he quickly assured us he would have fully half as much again this year as last, and had A much bigger crop all round. In this garden most , of the ourl leaves were dropping off and -strong, healthy ones taking their places. Another garden, with 1400 to 1500, eases of peaches, was next visited. Here the owner was satisfied that if he had used more bluestone in spraying his trees would not have been affected at all, as it was only the tips of a few delicate varieties that" were troubled with the curl, which were eA^idently only slightly sprayed. The mixture was considered to have protected the young ehoot3 from the oold weather. This garden has also a larger peach crop than last year." The next man had more Elberta, trees in his garden, all of which were badly curled up, but he very -rarely gets any fruit off them, and so •does not take them into account. The rest of the crop was healthy and large. Several other growers were similarly situated, nearly all of thorn, reckoning on having a heavier crop of peaches this year than last, and were surprised at the information contained in the' par already quoted.
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Bibliographic details
Otago Witness, Volume 14, Issue 2648, 14 December 1904, Page 10
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635FRUIT PROSPECTS IN THE MOUNT BENGER DISTRICT. Otago Witness, Volume 14, Issue 2648, 14 December 1904, Page 10
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