FIELD DAY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 October 1938, Page 9

FIELD DAY

SOUTH WAIRARAPA BERRY GROWERS. OFFICIAL EXPERIMENTS BEING CARRIED OUT. (“Times-Age” Special.) A pleasant and interesting meeting was held by the South Wairarapa Berry Growers’ Society at the fruit plantations of Mr S. H. Nichols, Greytown. The afternoon was devoted to a demonstration of a suitable spray outfit for the control of diseases in small fruits, by representatives of the New Zealand Fruit-growers’ Federation, also an inspection of the official experiments established by the Horticulture Division of the Department of Agriculture. The official experiments are designed to indicate the most efficient methods of controlling diseases of raspberry canes and black currant bushes; also, under the heading of manurial experiments, a number of plots of raspberry canes and black currants have been selected for treatment with various applications of manures. It is intended that the experiments will be maintained for a sufficient period to determine by recording the yield of fruit from each area, the economic value of the sprays, and fertilisers applied. Keen interest was shown in the remarks of the Government Orchard Instructor, Mr M. Davey, who explained to those present the lay-out of the plots. The general opinion was expressed by the growers present tnat the activities of the Department in the direction of official experiments under local conditions snould be of great value to the Wairarapa growers in the future.