SOIL FOR APPLE ORCHARDS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 698, 6 May 1916, Page 2

SOIL FOR APPLE ORCHARDS.

Clay soil is considered tin 1 best for i apple orchards, but it must, be made i porous and permeable by the air and rain. This will make it permeable by the roots. When roots do not go into clay soil, it is commonly supposed that they are not able to penetrate the soil, but this is not the case, say« a writer in the "Western New York Apple." A root has great power of penetration, I and can make its way into any kind of i soil where it finds plant food, porosity, air and moisture. In the ease of clay soil, it is necessary to drain it well j and frequently work into it lime and humus to give it the physical properties needed. When the soil is sandy it frequently I needs to be limed and supplied with I fertiliser and humus to make it good j orchard soil. As a general thing, sandy j soil lacks mineral food, aud because j clay soil is rich in mineral plant food iis the reason why orchard trees fre- | qnently do well on it. But sandy soil has the advantage of being naturally easy to drain, aud for this reason it pays ! to supply it with the elements of plant I food it needs, especially potash and ! phosphorus. ( The subsoil counts for a great deal lin orcharding. No orchard should be ' planted on a soil that has not under l it a porous subsoil. The roots of the trees should be encouraged to go down deep, that the trees may stand drought i well. We have seen sandy soils that j were underlaid at. about two feet with j a conglomerate of stones and lime that j had been washed out of the surface soil, i This layer prevented the downward movement of water in the case of heavy j rains and at other times prevented the I upward movementof capillary water. No I such location is suitable for orchardj irig, and because men have not looked , below the surface in such cases, the orchards on many locations have proved I partial failures.