BITTER-PIT.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 25 February 1914, Page 4

BITTER-PIT.

W. H. Taylor

The recent report from Britain as to the relation of weatherconditions to bitter-pit has been borne out by an experience at the Weraroa Experimental Farm. The Home report in question stated that when a cold season was experienced in the north of England bitter-pit was practically non-existent, but in the same season the summer was exceptionally hot in south of England, and there bitter-pit was common. I have noticed the same thing at Weraroa, where in a cool summer bitter-pit gave no trouble, whereas in a hot season the disease was prevalent. It has been contended that the trouble is due to overpruning, and that if fruittrees be only lightly pruned or left to make a natural growth the trouble would never be noticeable. My experience does not bear this out. The worst case of bitter-pit I have, come across was with a number of apple-trees (which it was intended to replace with trees of other varieties of fruit) which were left unpruned for two years. [I have known apple-trees twenty-seven years of age practically unpruned for eight or ten years on which all the fruit was badly affected by bitter-pit.—J. A. Campbell.]