BLIGHT IN ORCHARDS.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 15 May 1911, Page 3

BLIGHT IN ORCHARDS.

HOW TO SHEAR THE WOOLLY APHIS. Following is the text of the paper read by Mr M. Fosolla at last Friday's meeting of the Horowhenua Fruitgrowers' Association, to which reference was made in Saturday's issue of The Chronicle: — The control of blights is the most serious problem the fruit grower , lias to solve. It is not enough to know how to combat the various pests; it must be done at a cost that the orchards will bear. If tho cost of keeping the trees clean is too great, the industry must be a failure. And there are many who think that the incessant spraying necessary will kill the industry in New Zealand. Fortunately, the treatment for the formerly dreaded codlin moth has now been proved, to be both certain and inexpensive, scale and scab can both be cured in a fairly cheap manner. But the most dreaded scourge of all is the woolly aphis. So serious are its effects that, in some parts of the dominion, it has been found impossible to grow some varieties of apples on account of it. With, the advent of blight-proof stocks, it was hoped that the scourge would be less direful in its effects,"and that has proved to be the case, inasmuch as the insects uo not attack the roots. Still, the evil is great, as stated above. There now, however, appears more than reasonable hope that the difficulty has been overcome, and that in a manner almost ridiculously cheap and easy. One Levin resident, Mr Newport, claims apparently with some right, to have evolved a*method of making trees that will not take woolly aphis, or only to a very slight extent. But that docs not "benefit the hundreds of thousands of trees already existing in the dominion that do take the blight. This difficulty appears to have been very effectually met by tho personal experiments of Mr Tavlor, of the AVeraroa State orchard-,. These experiments have been mentioned in The Chronicle- before, they having been closely watched'by into rested observers. It will be singular indeed if Levin proves to ho'the birthplace, mot only of one, Ivit of two important factors in. apple .growing, which- promise to he of incalculable value to fruit growers all over the dominion. The following remarks are from an interested observer: — Tho plan invented by Mr Taylor, 'of the Weraroa State Farm, for the cnve of trees affected by woolly

tipliis promises to 'he of enormous value to the whole dominion, only equalled in value by the introduction of arsenate of lead for oodlin* moth." Unlike most new ideas the remedy under review is of extreme cheapness, only casting a trifle, whereas other methods of control, besides being very expensive, have been almost useless, quit so_, in fact, so far as eradicating the insects is concerned. The trees treated on the State Farm have not been, touched since last winter; tbey are clean now, and will not require I treating during the coming winter. And the cost did not exceed) twopence or threepence per tree. T hope the official authorities will take proper steps to liave extensive trials made in various parts of the dominion in order to put the remedy to tihe fullest test.