Bitter Pit in Apples

Horowhenua Chronicle, 12 March 1914, Page 4

Bitter Pit in Apples

A Tasmanian apple grower has come to the conclusion that winter pruning is largely responsible for "bitter pit." In a letter to Mr M'Alpine, who is investigating the subject on behalf of tlie Commonwealth Government, the grower referred to writes: — "I am making no experiment in my orchard. My discovery has already been experimented, and I have already given the facts to the fruit-growing world through the public press. Many growers are following my method, and have put. their pruning shears down until the sap if well up, not rising. Others, wlio consider my tliree years' interest in fruit culture not sufficient for my opinion to be worth considering, in spite of already demonstrated facts, arc going to put up with bitter pit a few years longer, until either they themselves, or some other experienced or official person has re-

demonstrated the fact. In my short and limited experience of fruit culture, I have yet to meet the man who can give me a reason why a tree should be cut in the winter months at all. T know many reasons why it should not. The reason given by men of more experience is that it promotes vigorous growth. Certainly it does. It bottles up sap and produces an unnatural growth. Check is not required. Nature does not make mistakes, if man does. A tree will naturally make sufficient sap for the growth it produces. F have seen in young orchards five or six feet of growth in a year cut. off in primings, when a foot or so of natural growth would have answered the necessary requirements : to build up young trees to maturity, and after that growth is not required to any great extent. What is wanted is fruit buds and fruit. In short, in my opinion, the whole idea of cutting back m winter is a fallacy. It leaves an open wound for fog, rain and frost to act upon, with no healing force (sap) to protect it, and creates a place for any microbes to attack it—woolly aphis, pear mite, etc. There seems to me to be no rea-

I son why pruning should not take place in building up a young orchard any time after the sap'has I risen to the end of November, | and in a matured orchard, any time of fhe year, oxcept the .time usually allotted to the purposeJune, July and August. This will give the orrhardist as much time for pruning- as before. J n building U p my own orchard T have cut the leaders back in November and December, with nr 7 ,,H S n, »„ , fruit h,ul,. This method severely cnhViVd locally, but is """ «<"»"•>% mlnplwl 'l„. | hnsn "•ho have seen the result.' P r i or to coming to Aufsr«li a J hnd n ? o„d Jo do With r„,„ ~!X™ ! n™. trn., „ r( . out ln M !" ap ™ c '' -*<■» »«or mn1i1,,,: fonsnlerable growth. I ] in j exprrionrp of any plots' rut back m the dormant slnto unn I in teres led myself in fruit."