THE FRUIT INDUSTRY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XVIII, Issue 6, 20 June 1919, Page 361

THE FRUIT INDUSTRY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

AN INTERIM REPORT.*

By

J. A. CAMPBELL,

Assistant Director of the Horticulture Division.

The system under which the fruit industry is conducted in British Columbia, both on the cultural and marketing sides, differs considerably from that followed in New Zealand. <

THE TREES.—STOCKS, PRUNING, ETC.

Practically all varieties are raised on seedling stock. Woolly aphis, although more or less noticeable on the coastal area around Vancouver, causes little or no trouble in the dry-belt areas of the Okanagan Valley, where nine-tenths of the- fruit of the province is grown. The permanent trees of an orchard when planted are set out at 30 ft. apart, and fillers are planted at the central point between each set of four trees. These fillers are removed when they reach approximately ten years of age.

The trees themselves are, from our standards, practically unpruned. This applies ' to young trees as well as old. The pyramid style of training- is general, and all that is done with the young tree is to see that about six limbs are well started from the central leader. This may take two or more years to accomplish, utilizing 3 ft. or 4 ft. of the central leader, with the first branch some 3 ft. 6 in. to 3 ft. from the ground. The central leader is usually retained, but its removal after the main branches have been started is considered to be the correct course. Even when such is done, however, nothing resembling an open-centred tree results. The main limbs are allowed to branch at their own free will, the most that is done being to prevent excessive crowding. In some instances moderate shortening-back of leaders is continued after the tree reaches the age of five or six years, but the usual practice is to cut back nothing after the tree reaches that age unless under special circumstances. Stranger still from our point of view is the fact that hard cutting, as we . understand it,, is never practised even with young trees. Despite this, however, very large heavy-bearing trees are raised. This may be largely accounted for by the stock used and the amount of space allowed to each tree. This course of treatment applies pretty well to all trees excepting peaches. As to the latter I am unable to say at present, not having yet had an opportunity of seeing a peach-orchard, although such trees are fairly largely grown.

PESTS AND DISEASES. —SPRAYING-COMPOUNDS.

British Columbia is fortunate in not having any codlin-moth .or San Jose scale to contend with, and, as might be expected, the inspection of imported fruit and plants is extremely rigid. Red mite, mussel scale, powdery mildew, apple and pear scab, and brown-rot are present. The fungus diseases are not very serious in the dry belt, but are much more troublesome in the coastal areas. Fire-blight, however, is very prevalent within the dry belt, and where at. all neglected results in the loss of a large number of trees. Remedial measures are sufficiently reliable to keep the disease within bounds if properly carried out. Within this area also very serious damage to trees is liable to follow heavy frosts when such occur early in the fall before the sap is down. I saw evidence of this damage over practically the whole of the Vernon and Kelowna orchards visited. In the lowlying parts of the valley many acres of trees have been killed right out, but the damage becomes less apparent towards the higher levels..

The principal spraying ingredients used are commercial lime-sul-phur, bordeaux, Blackleaf 40, and whale-oil soap. Nine-tenths of the spraying, however, is done with lime-sulphur, at a strength 1-8 in winter and 1-50 in summer. This mixture can be used without damage to foliage at a strength of 1-20 and even 1-15. If these strengths applied only to the dry-belt areas the matter could be more readily appreciated, but it is not so. In the .coastal areas, where the rainfall reaches 60 in. and the summer weather is equal to that of Nelson or Hawke's Bay, the standard summer strength of lime-sulphur is 1-50, whilst a strength of 1-35 is frequently used. Many different brands are used, but I understand that the “ Niagara ” — 30 cents per gallon by the barrel (war price)—is the most popular.

THE OKANAGAN VALLEY.

The. Okanagan Valley, as previously stated, is by far the most important fruitgrowing area in British Columbia. The valley extends well over . 100 miles, or at least that portion referred to. The actual valley, I understand, runs right through the southern portion of British Columbia, and on through the west of the United States of America, .taking in many well-known fruit districts, such as Yakima and Wenatchee. The banks of Okanagan Lake, which lie in. the valley, are in the main rough and rugged, but occasionally give way to very beautiful undulating valleys, ranging from a few acres to several thousands of acres in extent. It is in. these valleys that the fruit is grown. The rainfall ranges from 8 in. to 18 in. annually, necessitating irrigation. The soil is very irregular, ranging from very poor to good. The minimum temperature is some 20° below zero F., and a maximum of no° in the shade is recorded.

Irrigation is carried out in a more or less haphazard manner, owing to the water being privately controlled and an insufficient supply having been originally provided to meet the requirements of fully grown trees. Although pruning and training has been carried out on the - lines previously referred to, there are many fine large heavybearing ..trees, but, . as might. be expected, quite a considerable percentage of inferior ones. How they would compare with New Zealand

trees of similar age, allowing for the greater number of trees per acre in New Zealand, could best be judged in the fruit season.

MARKETING.

The sale of fruit in British Columbia is carried out on altogether different lines to those followed in New Zealand. In the first place, there are no fruit-auctioneers. Instead there are fruit-brokers, wholesale —commonly called fruit-jobbersand, of course, the retail shopkeeper. The broker has no warehouse, nor does he actually handle fruit, but merely solicits orders from jobbers and passes them on to the packing-houses or individual growers, for which he charges io to 20 per cent, according to the size of the consignment for other than car lots ; for car lots of 720 cases of apples the charge is $30. The retailer receives practically the whole of his supplies from the jobber. .

The “direct to the consumer trade has been . attempted in British Columbia much on New Zealand lines, but the results, through the ' lack of a really good system, have not been satisfactory. In fact, the position regarding this class of trade is identical with that applying in our country. Growers and co-operative organizations fully appreciate the possibilities of such a system, but do not know exactly how to tackle it owing to the danger of antagonizing the proprietary trade. The manager of the Okanagan United Growers, an organization referred to later, assured me, however, that his concern fully intended taking the matter up to some extent during the coming season.

CO-OPERATION. —THE OKANAGAN UNITED GROWERS.

For some considerable time prior to 1912 the growers of the Okanagan were dissatisfied as a result of treatment received at the hands of the proprietary fruit-traders, so much so that Mr. Robertson, owner of considerable orchard property in that 'locality and partner in the firm of Robertson and Morris (Limited), wholesale provisionmerchants, of Vancouver, undertook to organize the growers of the valley on co-operative lines. In this he received the assistance and sympathy of the Provincial Government and its officers, as well as that of many of the leading fruitgrowers. Mr. Robertson, in 1912, succeeded in forming eight local associations, one each in the following districts: Vernon, Kelowna, Penticton, Peachland, Summerland, Enderby, Armstrong, and another since defunct.

The work of these associations was to assemble, grade, and pack according to standard rules all fruit and vegetables grown by the respective shareholders, and to otherwise prepare the same for market. The Government - advanced 80 per cent, of- the capital required to build and equip the necessary central packing-sheds to enable this to be done. At the same time a united selling organization was set up called the Okanagan United Growers. This company was formed of the growers who constituted the several local associations, but was registered as an independent concern with a share capital of $10,000, and a paid-up capital of $28 only. No further calls have since been made. The functions of this organization were to find a market for all the fruit and vegetables packed by the different local associations.

This it did and has continued to do very satisfactorily, so much so that it is now fully recognized to be the controlling selling organization of British Columbia. The local associations have been equally successful in handling their end of the business. ;

The joint organizations go to show what can be done by co-opera-tion when intelligently conducted along economic lines, even in the face of serious difficulties. The difficulties in this case lay in the fact that only 50 per cent, or less of the growers supported the movement, and that progress had to be made against the very firmly established footing, of some half-dozen proprietary firms. The Okanagan United Growers was further handicapped by the loss of a lawsuit during the second year of its existence, involving the payment of $30,000. The charge to growers by the local associations for providing cases and other material, and for grading and packing, varies according to the size of the package, but in the case of the boxed apples this charge is 42 cents. To this is added an overhead charge of 6 cents. The Okanagan United Growers’ selling-charge varies in the same way, but with the box of apples it is g| cents. Therefore the grower pays 57I cents for having his fruit graded, packed, and sold, plus commission, which at $30 per car-load is 4I cents, a total of 6if cents, or approximately 2s. yd. per case. For financing purposes the selling organization, apart from the direct case-charge referred to, withholds 2 per cent, of all accounts handled. Amounts so deducted bear interest at 5 per cent, and are repayable in five years. . If circumstances permit, the writer will return to the Okanagan during the fruit season in order to study the whole scheme in active operation. ' , . .

Cereal-yields at Ruakura.— The heaviest-yielding wheat at Ruakura in the past season was Marquis, at 45 bushels per acre, and Bobs close up with 44f bushels. Thew and Norok gave 38J and 36, bushels respectively. The only oat grown was Green’s Ruakura, the part of which threshed has yielded 90 bushels per acre. On measurement of stacks the crop would cut 4 tons of chaff per acre.

Saving Onion-seed.— In the horticultural section at Ruakura in July last seventy bulbs of Straw-coloured Spanish onions were planted for seed-saving. The crop was 4 lb. of excellent seed, harvested in March—a very remunerative result.

Apple - grading Machines. — Reporting on the fruit industry in British Columbia Mr. J.. A. Campbell mentions that the apple-grading machines used there by the various co-operative associations are the Cutler and the Page. These are the makes adopted by the Nelson Co-operative Fruit. Company. .

Milking Shorthorns.—The Weraroa Milking Shorthorn herd, consisting of twenty-two' cows, together with ten two-year and four yearling heifers, and four heifer calves, was transferred in April to Ruakura. About three hundred Milking Shorthorns, including young stock, are now at Ruakura.

* This is the first report received by the Department from Mr. Campbell, who is investigating the fruit industry of Canada and the United States. It is dated Vancouver, 29th April, 1919. .7 ■.