Notes for Fruit-growers.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 120, 7 March 1901, Page 1

Notes for Fruit-growers.

THE BLACK CURRANT. This is a quite a distinct fruit from the red or white -currant, and requires an entirely different mode of treatment. It succeedfe best in rich, moist soil, thriving well in a cool, somewhat shaded situation. A thorough preparation of the land before planting, by either bastard trenching or ploughing and subsoiling, is essential. Although delighting in an abundance of moisture, the black currant will not thrive in a water-logged soil, the roots beincr destroyed by too much water. Therefore, in wet situations draining is necessary. The black currant being a gross feeder, an abundance of plant food is required to produc fruit of the finest quality. Farmyard manure, where procurable at a reasonable cost, is to be preferred, but where it is necessary to apply H special fertiliser, this should be rich in nitrogen and potash. As it is also a fibrous surface-rooting bush, digging or deep cultivation of the ground after planting must be avoided ; hoeing and surface-tilling only being neces - - sary, to destroy weeds and keep a loose friable surface. Fertilisers should be supplied as a mulch only, and where artificial manure is used it should be lightly cultivated in.

The black currant is easily propagated by cuttings. These should be made ibout 12in. long, cutting the lower end square off close to the bud, also cutting dfl! the top to make them branch out. Cuttings may be made from a healthy one-vear-old shoot any time after the fall of the leaf. None of the buds should b 6 removed. They should then be planted in rows 18in. or so apart, a few inches from cutting to cutting, and about Bin. deep. Three or four of the uppermost buds will then start into growth in the spring, and by the following autumn should have produced shoots from 12in. -to 18m. long. These one-year-old bushes should be removed and planted in their.permanent positions, sft, apart on the square being the minimum distance. This mast be regulated by the method of cultivation Intended. When thfe planting is finished, cut 'the branches well back, leaving but three or four buds at the base of each shoot; this wiil cause a vigorous growth of healthy young wood for the following season. All the pruning necessary the second season after planting will be thinning out where branches are crowded, leaving the centre of the bush fairly open. Do not shorten back any of the branches left. Since the black currant produces its finest fruit on the new wood—that is to say, wootl of the previous year's not on spurs, it must be thfc aim of the cultivator to keep his trees well furnished with thiS description of wood. To do this it is necessary, when pruning, after the bushes are established, to cut out the old wood that has produced a crop, to make room for the young growth. In removing the old wood cut well back to a healthy bud, which will develop into a shoot or branch to carry a crop of fruit the following season. Always leave the strougest and healthiest of the young wood to bear the crop, cutting out the Weakly growths, finally leaving the branches five or six inches apart-. If this system is properly carried out black currants will continue to produce heavy crops of fine fruit for many year's. An advantage to be gained : from leaving all the buds when making the cuttings is that, as ' the bushes get older, suckers are sent up from the base, and, as the best fruit is produced ou young wood, these suckers are benei ficial ; all that is necessary when : pruning is a judicious thinning l out of the same to prevent • crovydina. An additional advantage id districts where the borer ii prevalent is the abundance Qt young wood, enabling the growgf to cut out almost all th'etwto-yeArs \ old wood, besides leaving pleiiry ' of young wood to select fronii thus he is able to overcome W i

great extent \he ravages of this pernicious pest. Varieties Ogden's Black. Large deep black,strong vigorous grower, particularly well suited for cold climates. Baldwin's. Fruit very large, sweet and high-flavoured, prolific ; probably one of the best grown. Lee's Prolific. Fruit large, good colour and quality, good bearer. The first berries on the stalk do not crack aod fall as with many varieties. Requires warm, genial soil. Carter's Black Champion. Somewhat similar to Baldwin, being a strong grower and good cropper; thrives better than most vaiietieson 'dry soils. Black Naples. Fruit large and rich in flavour, the bunches are short; rather delicate grower. Other varieties have been tested, but theLe named have given best results. 1 Blights and Pests.

Black-currant Mite.—A vigilant lookout should be kept for the appearance of ibis formidable pest, which is now proving so cestructive in England. It can easily be introduced at any time through the medium of imported cuvrant bushes o:* cuttings. This mite is very minute, so small that it is quite invisible even with a strong pocket-lense. Its presence on the black currant is denoted by malformed buds, which are Tour times their normal size The increased size of the buds is due to the irritation set up by tl.e miles, which are feeding in numbers within. Buds thus affected f;'ii to but forth shoots, hence for all practical purposes the bushes are ruined. This pest spieads with great rapidity ; unfortunately, no practical remedy has been discovered. All bushes infested sbould be immediately dug up and burned. ' Scale and other insect pests also attack the black currant. It is a decided advantage, therefore, to spray all bushes just before the buds burst in the spring with lime, sulphur, and salt wash.