THE FRUIT CROP.

Waipa Post, Volume IV, Issue 168, 3 December 1912, Page 4

THE FRUIT CROP.

PROGRESS IN THE ORCHARDS.

A further progress report on the season’s fruit'prospects, based on last month’s inquiries, has been issued by the Orchards Division of the Agricultural Department. The report gives the following particulars Whangarei. —All stone fruits, with the exception of nectarines, which are thin, have set medium to heavy. Apples also are medium to heavy. Pears heavy, and in some localities very heavy. There are a few sweet oranges to come off, which are a fair sample. Peach curl is rather bad. Auckland.—Poverty Bay prospects of apples, pears, plums, late peaches, and gooseberries are good. Nectarines and early peaches moderate. Apricots excellent. Lemons considerably damaged by frost of August 5. Auckland North. Prospects good generally. Fair supply of strawberries. Auckland South. —Occasional cold, boisterous wind doing a great deal of damage to young foliage. Japanese -plums practically a failure. English plums fair to good. Early and medium early apples have set well, and there is every indication of a heavy crop. Early pears blossomed well, but very poor setting. Potatoes are looking well. Growers have begun to dig, on account of high prices ruling.

Hamilton. —Leaf curl is rather prevalent in districts where winter spraying was neglected. Arsenate spraying for early varieties of apples has just started; other varieties blooming freely. Indications are fo- a good average crop. Wanganui. —Prospects of fruit crop, in spite of recent gale, have improved all round, more especially apples and pears, which have generally set well. Manawatu and Wairarapa. — The majority of the orchards are looking well. Rough weather was experienced towards the end of the month, but practically no damage was done. Peach curl is prevalent in some parts where no Bordeaux mixture has been used. Growers are busy spraying with arsenate of lead for the codlin moth. There is every appearance of a good apple and pear crop. Hastings. —The frost danger on several occasions during the month caused the fruit-growers considerable anxiety. During the later portion of the month heavy rains fell, and cold weather prevailed, resulting in heavy falls of snow on the surrounding hills. This again renewed the danger of frosts, but although a few degrees were recorded, nothing of a serious nature happened. The apricot crop this season is a record. All other fruits are carrying heavy crops excepting apples, which are considerably lighter than last season.

Wellington. —Japanese plums give promise of an abundant harvest. Peaches, nectarines, and apricots are poor. Apples give promise of a heavy yield. Cultivation and spraying operations are in most cases very backward, owing to the bad weather experienced during the past six months. The late storm did a great deal of damage, especially to pear trees which promised a heavy yield. Nelson.—On October 27 a severe frost was experienced, doing extensive damage to tomatoes and potatoes principally in Toitoi Valley and Stoke, but apparently doing no damage to fruit crops. Notwithstanding very wet conditions during September, vhile stone fruits wers blossoming, there are prospects of a very fair crop. Apples and pears are setting heavily. Blackspot is making its appearance on pears in some localities, and peach curl is very prevalent. Lime-sulphur solution is being extensively used for spraying this season in lieu of Bordeaux mixture.

Christchurch. —There is every appearance of there being a record crop of fruit this season, almost all varieties setting freely. There is still a fair quantity of local apples on the market. Timaru. —Mostly all varieties of fruit has a good show of blossom, and in nearly every instance have set well. Reports to hand point to diminished yield owing to the adverse weather. The raspberry bud weevil has been causing a good deal of damage. Dunedin.—Apples and pears are setting well; apricots good,

peaches fair to light in some places, plums good. Small birds are doing a great deal of damage by .picking out the young fruit and buds. Peach curl leaf and shot hole fungus are very prevalent owing to the wet season. Strawberries afre looking very well and showing great promise. PROSPECTS FOR THE SEASON.

Questioned a few days ago in the south as to the prospects of the Dominion fruit crop this season, Mr W. A. Boucher, AssistantDirectoi of Orchards, said he had been recently in the Auckland district and other parts of the North Island, and also in the South Island, and he had ascertained that the peach and plum crops promised, for the most part to be rather light owing to the unfavourable weather in the early part of the season. Round about the Hastings district, in Hawke’s Bay, however, the peach crop was represented to be very heavy. Apples and pears promised to be good throughout New Zealand this season, and the present indications pointed to a fairly large surplus of apples for export market.