WHEN FRUIT TREES WON’T BEAR

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 768, 14 September 1929, Page 32

WHEN FRUIT TREES WON’T BEAR

If you have a fruit tree that seems to be quite healthy, having plenty of branches and leaves, but does not bear fruit, it may be taken for granted that the root system is at fault; long thick roots have travelled downward into the moist subsoil and built up a tree of shoots and leaves. It is tlio fine fibrous roots near the surface of the soil that produce fruit. When this trouble is suspected, excavate the soil around the tree on one side, and lay the roots bare. If any of the thicker roots are seen to be taking the downward trend, you have found out the cause of the trouble:* It can be easily remedied, however. Get a sharp saw and cut the root through, a foot or more from the trunk of the tree. Do this in the case of every root going downwards. Do not touch the other side of the tree if this is old —leave those roots until next year, or the three may receive a serious check by the loss of all its large roots. Why should the roots be cut and what happens? The best answer is seen in the photograph of one of the

thick roots that was sawn through some time previously. Around the cut part a mass of fibrous and slender roots has formed, these being near the surface of the soil receive all the rich deposits from rain and manurial applications, and are instrumental in the production of fruit. Root-prun-ing soon brings the trees into a fruitbearing condition.