THE ORCHARD.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XII, Issue 5, 20 May 1916, Page 396

THE ORCHARD.

J. A. CAMPBELL,

Assistant Director, Horticulture Division

The dormant season's work in the orchard becomes general from the month of June, and the fullest advantage should be taken of the opportunity thus afforded to do a general cleaning-up and the hundred-and-one small and large jobs that can only be satisfactorily attended to . during • this period. The largest of these will of course include pruning, the several forms of winter spraying, cultivation, and planting. SPRAYING. . Autumn spraying in ■ regard to die-back of the peach, San Jose scale, and woolly aphis was fairly fully dealt with in last month’s notes, a summary of : the recommendations being as follows: Die-back of peach — Bordeaux mixture, as soon as possible after the foliage has fallen. Die-back of peach and San Jose scalelime-sulphur in the ratio of 1-15, as soon as possible after the foliage has fallen. - • • •• ■ Woolly aphisemulsified oil, 1-25, as soon as the foliage has fallen sufficiently to allow of the work being properly carried, out. - • The:: above remedies were recommended for early spraying, but in most cases where not applied before this the. following is recommended. . - ■. ■ Stone-fruits. — For fungus diseases spray with sulphate-of-copper solution in the,. ratio of 1 of sulphate of copper (bluestone) to 15 of water. ; ..

For red mite and San Jose scale, spray with oil emulsion in the ratio of 1 in 17, if possible within twenty-four hours of spraying with sulphate of copper.

Pip-fruits.— The spraying ' of pip-fruits had now • be • better left until the end of July or the beginning of August, when the following should be applied: Sulphate-of-copper solution, lin io, for the destruction of fungus spores, followed immediately with oil emulsion, 1 in 12, for San Jose and mussel scale, mealy bug, red mite, and woolly aphis. PRUNING. Pruning of both the non-bearing and bearing tree is a matter of the greatest importance to the future welfare of the tree. In the case of the young tree the principal object is to build up a strong sturdy tree with a well-spaced framework. This can only be accomplished by careful and systematic pruning year by year. If such be done the work is comparatively easy so long. as other matters in. regard to the health of the tree are attended to; but when a tree is left more or less to grow as it pleases when young, the matter of subsequent . shaping is almost sure \to present many difficulties, and often such difficulties are insurmountable. . In respect to bearing-trees pruning is of equal -importance. Each class and each variety more or less requires special treatment in regard to detail, but apart from this the general principle applies and is worthy of far wider attention than it receives. Generally speaking, throughout the fruitgrowing districts of New Zealand the trees bear readily- enough. . The trouble with many varieties is that they bear too readily. Peaches, particularly throughout the North Island, even on carefully pruned trees, will set and carry far more fruit, if not thinned, than is good for either the fruit or the tree. In cases where such trees are left unpruned or lightly pruned, and the fruit is not thinned, the fruit is very soon played out, for "no tree suffers so quickly as the peach from overbearing, particularly when accompanied by other adverse conditions, such as bad cultivation or drought. To avoid this condition as far as the pruning • is concerned it is necessary to cut back almost half of the fruiting-wood, both to provide fruiting-wood for the' following season and to ~ maintain healthy vegetation throughout the tree, and for the latter reason also the ' leading growths should be cut back reasonably hard.

There are also many varieties of apples which, left to themselves, become stunted' and dwarfed in a few seasons. The habit of many of the • varieties of apples now grown is to bear heavily when young. This, combined with - little or no pruning, has the

disastrous effect on the tree which is to be seen more or less in every fruitgrowing district in the Dominion. Pruning combined with thinning, according to the age and vitality of the tree, will to a large extent prevent this habit, and . will also greatly assist in remedying any existing evil of the kind, if not of too long standing. But a tree thoroughly stunted through the lack of pruning, overbearing, and such causes is often very, slow to answer to the more growth-encouraging treatment, and in many cases nothing short of heading back will have the desired result. The aim, however, should be to prevent a condition of this kind by not allowing the varieties in question to bear too heavily until a tree of a satisfactory size has been raised, and to bring this about fairly heavy winter pruning of such varieties should be maintained. PLANTING. If the land is thoroughly worked and is not too wet, June is an excellent month for fruit-tree planting. Before planting all the young trees should be dipped in a solution of I in 15 oil emulsion for the destruction of insects pests and their eggs. This should be done despite the., fact that the nurseryman may have already sprayed the trees, as it is better to be sure than sorry. A double dose will not hurt the trees, and the process is not laborious or expensive.