WORK IN THE ORCHARD.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1690, 5 March 1913, Page 10

WORK IN THE ORCHARD.

OPERATIONSFOE MARCH. . Referring to'orchard 'work for March, Mr/- W. A. Boucher, Government Pomologist, has the following-to say:— - ' The' majority of fruitgrowers ,-rightly consider that clean cultivation of orchard lands during the spring and summer months is desirable. Yet, if this system is continued for a number of years the result in time will bo a deficiency in humus. This will bring.about a soil condition which is more or less injurious to the trees, and tends to increase the difficulty of maintaining satisfactory cultivaEspecially i9;this>so. in,tho case of clay"soils"jyhich, as .the/humus'' disappears, will have an increased tendency to, run togother after heavy rainfall, and to dry out again rapidly under the 'influence of sun and wind. Therefore, it •becomes essential/ that the humus should be periodically renewed. This is most satisfactorily accomplished by sowing k clover crop to be ploughed in in spring or early summer.

For preference, clover, rape, or mustard should be selected, as the orchard trees will then benefit considerably, not only by 1 the humus, but also by.'the nitrogen which such crops will renew in the soil. In order to secure the best results, whatever crop is selected should be planted early while the soil is warm, so that good growth may be made before cold weather sets in. If the sowing is'deferred until late, little more than tho germination of the seed will take place, and tho crop will remain in a stagnant condition duriner" the winter months, permitting probably an undesirable growth of weeds. fUnder such circumstances the clover crop will have made poor headway when the time arrives in the spring for it to be ploughed under. In that case'but little will be gained either in humus or nitrogen, probably not sufficient to compensate for the cost of seed and labour Pests and Diseases.

As a general rule, insecj pests and fungus diseases require les3 attention during the month of March than at any other period during the year. Still, there are two troubles that it will always pay the grower to keep under observation. The codlin moth pest is usually most troublesomo during the early part of the season, but it depends entirely upon locality and. weather conditions whether late infection may take place or not. Therefore it wopld be as well for grpwers, especially in the warmer districts of tho Dominion, to keep a good look-out for the eggs or new|y hatched grubs of this pest, and,' if necessary, to take measures to protect their crops of late apples or pears from infection. The leech, 'if tho necessary steps Have not been taken to keep it-under control, will continue to do serious injury to foliage until quite late' in.the season. The result will be that buds which should bo plump and vigorous will show imperfect development, from which affected trees' will suffer during the following season. Spraying with arsenate of lead should be' continued until no further signs of the pest can be noticed. . Grading and Packing. Tho necessity for the careful grading and packing of fruit cannot be too strongly impressed upon growers. Although there has been great improvement in tliis respect of late years, nnd many growers realise the value of\'cnrefully selecting, grading, and packing their fruit, still it is even now no uncommon thing to come across consignments badly graded and packed, rind moro or less infected with pests and diseases of various kinds. This is much to be regretted, as the returns to the .consignors can never be satisfactory, while the marketing of inferior qualities must to a greater or less extent affect the selling valuo of tho better class of fruit.