Horticultural Instruction.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 57, Issue 6, 20 December 1938, Page 539

Horticultural Instruction.

Contributed by Officers of the Horticulture Division.

Orchard Notes.

Harvesting the Fruit Crop.

r T _ ’HE harvesting season for the main fruit crop is rapidly approaching, fruit crop is rapidly approaching, and much of the month’s work should be in preparation for the handling of the crop. Spraying on most varieties of apples and pears should continue throughout January and February, and on later varieties into March.

There should be little cessation of spraying through January, which may be regarded as quite a critical month, especially in regard to insect pests. Cultivation may slacken off after the end of January, the final operation being in preparation of a good seed-bed for the sowing of a cove crop. Handling the Crop. The bulk of the fruit handled during the coming month will be stone-fruits. Considerable care is required in handling these fruits, as bruising, with' rapid deterioration, will take place if the fruit is roughly treated. Fruit which has to travel any distance must be picked when firm. With peaches, a greater volume of a specialized trade in tree-ripened fruit could be built up by growers, thereby stimulating the demand for de c sert peaches. Even greater care in picking is

required, however, with a minimum of subsequent handlings and the use of special packages, either trays or crates. Improvement in Grading. Much improvement in the general grading, packing, and get-up of stonefruit may be made generally. Fruit

should be sized and packed in a regular way, and only in the case of small sizes should fruit be jumble-packed. Larger sizes in peaches should be wrapped. Only clean cases should be used, and they should be neatly branded. Coloured paper liners add to the attractiveness of the package and protect the fruit as well.

The picking and packing of pip fruits, both for export and local market, will soon be under way, and every effort should be made to ensure that complete arrangements are made for the main harvest. Fruit-cases should be made up in advance, _ stacked conveniently, and kept under cover, A certain quantity

may be labelled in readiness for the season. Strawboards and wrappingpaper require to be stacked conveniently for packers, and rubber stamps, stickers, and other requirements should be checked over to see that nothing is missing or out of order so that there will be nothing to cause delay. Orderliness in Packing-shed Orderliness in the pack-ing-shed is essential for thorough and economic working. Fruit traffic through the shed should be in one end and out the other, and the packingshed should be thoroughly cleaned out and kept clean. On no account allow reject fruit to lie about the packing-shed to rot, as unhygienic conditions in packing-sheds will cause excessive fungal rots to develop subsequently in stored fruits. Fruit - grading machines should be cleaned at frequent intervals, especially those parts against which the fruit moves, to save skininjury to the fruit. Particular attention should be given to maturity for picking. Fruit for immediate sale on the local market should be allowed to reach a greater degree of maturity than fruit intended for cool storage or export.

Buyers are becoming more discriminating, and the demand is more and more for tree-ripened apples. Many of our dessert • varieties of apples could be further popularized if attention were given to proper maturity for picking and marketing.

Thinning the Crop. Any available time will be profitably spent in further fruit-thinning. The main thinning of apples and pears should be completed by the end of December. A second thinning is often required and is desirable, and may be undertaken in January. By this time there should be a good indication as to whether the thinning has been adequate to meet the seasonal conditions, and to what extent the fruits should be further reduced in number. 4 In any case, it is advisable to go over the trees a second time to remove fruit which is obviously undersized, misshapened, di eased, or badly russeted, and at the same time to break up clusters which may have been missed in the main thinning. By taking this extra trouble much time is saved in . the picking and grading, when it is so essential that the shed staff is not hindered in a busy period through having to handle excessive quantities of rejects. The time taken in extra thinning is fully compensated for in the subsequent swork of handling the crop. The whole aim in thinning is to secure uniformity in size and to eliminate imperfect fruits. Pests and Diseases Control. Spraying of apples and pears should follow the lines indicated in previous notes. The general recommendation is for the continued use of lime-sulphur and colloidal sulphur, but a reduction of the strength of lime-sulphur as the season progresses. The maximum strength of lime-sulphur for the remainder of the season is 1-200 used with colloidal sulphur, 2 lb. to 100 gallons. On Cox’s Orange and Dunns it is advisable to use, as a fungicide, colloidal

sulphur only. This recommendation will also apply to trees which are feeling the stress of a heavy crop or which may be in rather a stagnant condition through' any cause. Heavily-laden Sturmers making but little growth do better when lime-sulphur is used more sparingly in late summer. Arsenate of lead should be added to all sprays, using not less than i J lb. to 100 gallons of spray. Two pounds of hydrated lime to every pound of arsenate of lead should be added to the arsenate before combining it with the sulphur spray. With late applications the possible picking-date should be considered so that sprays may be so timed as to avoid having an excessive spray deposit still showing on the fruit. Red mite may increase rapidly any time during J anuary, February, and March, and may appear in sufficient numbers to cause foliage injury unless checked. ’ Under dry conditions this invariably happens. Growers generally should be on the alert, and should keep the pest under close observation. ' / Effective Controlling Agent. The most effective summer controlling agent is summer oil applied at a concentration of i per cent. Such an oil will destroy both adult mite and summer eggs. To be effective a thorough application is absolutely essential. In the case of a heavy attack two applications ten days apart are advisable. ' Summer oil must not be used within ten days of a sulphur spray, and an interval of a week is advisable before resuming the ordinary sulphur applications following the use of summer oil.

In northern districts trouble is experienced with bitter-rot (Glomerella) . Bordeaux mixture seems to have given the most satisfactory' control to date. If humid weather conditions continue it is necessary to replace sulphur sprays with a weak Bordeaux strength- ii-3-50. At this time of the year there is no particular danger of causing russeting of apples through the use of Bordeaux if used at the strength recommended. The Bordeaux mixture may be combined with summer oil if the latter spray is necessary for the control of red mite. The regular spraying of peaches with lime-sulphur 1-200 plus colloidal sulphur 2 lb. to 100 gallons for the prevention of brown rot and leaf-rust should be continued up to within a fortnight of picking. . Cultivation and Cover-crops. If the season is proving dry, light cultivation should be continued throughout January or even later for the purpose of conserving all available moisture. Consideration should be given to the sowing o r a cover-crop on land which is deficient in humus. Blue lupin is still the most favoured crop for the purpose, but it requires to be sown in January to secure sufficient growth by early winter. At the time of sowing an application of superphosphate, cwt. to the acre, is recommended to assist the lupin crop. If good tilth is maintained up to the time when sowing is recommended no additional preparation need be made. The seed is better drilled in, but a drill is not always available, in which case it is necessary to sow broadcast and to cover by the use of tine harrows.

N. J. Adamson,

District Supervisor,

Nelson.