The Orchard

Tuapeka Times, Volume XLV, Issue 6219, 9 December 1914, Page 4

The Orchard

(By VY. A. Boucher)

CULTIVATION NECESSARY. The day is past when the poorly cultivated orchard can be made a commercial success. In the summer the /cultivator should ibe .kept going, for, apart from thus keeping down all foreign growth, moisture is conserved by the mulch thereby induced, and the trees arei given full opportunity to develop and mature their fruit. In the orchard in which cultivation is neglected there is almost invariably to be found pests and disease, for which the; neglected growth of grass and weeds is a good harbour. It is ' useless spraying fruit trees thoroughly if other growth which may attract the pests being fbught art allowed to run riot. APPLE Ml) PEAK SCAB. December is generally a period when apple and pear scab gives utosi. trouble, the extent of '.lie visitation usually depending upon (he climatic conditions ruling. As emphasised before, a moist atmosphere favours I lie peat; a dry one lis'unfavourable i.o it. The grower must use his own discretion us to the advisability or otherwise of further spraying. Of course, in the event ot wet weather, it will be necessary to repeat spraying with the Bordeaux mixture of the summer formula. Codlin Moth.

Continued spraying with arsenate oi lead, as described in lust month's Journal, is very necessary in most districts at the end oi this month, as many imoths will doubtless then be on the wing. The number of eggs laid increases as the weather becomes warmer, and as the period oi incubation is covered by seven to ten days, according to climatic conditions, it is dangerous to delay control work. A dry season naturally favours an early uppearance oi the pest, und growers would be therefore well advised to commence their spraying 'operations) at an early date. BRONZE BEETLE.

Last seaßon this pest guvc considerable trouble, but those growers who took the precaution to tight the pest in advance by the combined arsenate of lead and resin solution suffered little from its depredations. Those, however, who waitqd to attack the beetle when it was already troublesome suffered from their failure to get to, work at the right timethat is, before it became established. No doubt many of those who suffered last year and have not forgotten their experience will now appreciate the truth of the old saying that prevention is better than cure. LEECH.

Tliohc who grow pears, plums, unci cherries will require to remember the ■leech pest about this time. When systematic spraying has been carried out for codlin moth, and the arsenate of lead spray has also been applied to the plium and cherry trees, this treatment will be all that is required. 'With varieties oi cherries and plums the foliage of which is found to be affected by the arsenate of lead spray of the ordinary strength a weak solution should be employed. PEACH-APHIS. Where treatment of this has been neglected up to now it may not be too lato to attack it ii this is done at once. Spray with McDougall's insecticide as directed.