THE FRUIT CROP

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 253, 13 July 1918, Page 10

THE FRUIT CROP

PEESENT CONDITIONS REVIEWED. Officers of tho Horticultural Division of the Department of Agriculture report as follow regarding the conditions of too fruit crop at tho end of June:— North Auckland—Lemons: Average. Strawberries: Season's plantings completed. Oranges: Sweet, average; Poorman, heavy to medium. A gale, blowing with hurricane force, was experienced throughout tho north on the night of ■ Juno 20, and Mused considerable <iamn#e •- to citrus groves, and a considerable loss 'has been sustained in oranges. Waitemata —Lemons: Average. Strawberries: Main plantings completed. Oranges: Poorman—A medium crop is Jbeing harvested at fnir prices. Appied ure very late in losing their foliage this season,; and many varieties have not yet ehed one-half of their leaves. On the night of June 20 tho wind from northwest blew with hurricane force, and caused considerable damage to shelter belts and also to citrus groves. . Poverty Bay.—Nothing now remains except oranges, lemons, and tree tomatoes. Oranges are of good quality, , but light crop. Lemons have good crops, but the fruit is badly affected by verrucosis in the northern part of the district. Treetomatoes hiivo carried good crops, but the trees have been knocked about very much by high winds. The tree tomato is now being grown in large' quantities. Palmerston North.—Apples: Cool storage now coming on market. Lemons: Tew grown. Pears: Pew cool store being offered. Wet month, ftuit all pick- , ed. Cool store fruit coming on market in fair order. Prices arc good at present—Sh. to 10s. per caso. Wellington.—All fruits are now harvested. Nelson.—All crop is now gathered. Drying kilns have been basy throughout the month. Central packing sheds closed towards the end of the month. Cool stores have been busy packing earlier eorte of apples—Cox Orange, Jonathan, etc.—and pears for present market. A record rainfall has l>een experienced for the month, and orchard work has been considerably delayed. Marlborough.—Growers are now busy pruning and attending to genoral winter work. . The establishment of a co-opera-tive packing shed has relieved them of considerabio work and anxiety, and everything points to a very successful year. . ,• Canterbury and We3t Coast.—Crop is now all harvested, and tho cool stores are fairly well filled. Unfortunately a good deal of fruit in store U not first i quality. Sufficient care has not beim fcivon in weeding out diseased and inferior fruit. ,A shortage of good pruuers is very noticeable. Exceptionally- wet ■weather has prevailed during the past ..fortnight. . Christchurch, and Suburbs.—Pruning' operations r ara in full swing, but the shortage in labour is being felt in this lino as well as others. Tomato growers ■ now have' their first batch of plants ready for prioking out, in ' preparation In use in heSted houses,