THE ORCHARD

Te Ao Hou, March 1960, Page 56

THE ORCHARD Citrus trees now require an Autumn dressing of fertilizer which should be very rich in nitrogen. Give a good dressing of a complete fertilizer, applying approximately one pound per year according to the age of the trees. For instance if a tree is five years it should receive five pounds of manure. This is a fairly reliable guide. Apples, peaches and plums also benefit from a top-dressing of superphosphate and potash which should be applied now. This season many reports have been received in respect of curly leaf infection on peaches and nectarines last spring. Much fruit has been deformed and trees have been left partially denuded of the foliage. If Home Gardeners would only take the precaution of applying a base spray of bordeaux at bud movement, which is usually about the middle of August, no further trouble would eventuate during the growing period of this particular fungus disease. The same applies to shothole fungus and bladder plum especially more susceptible on the Japanese varieties of plums. It is also very profitable to spray citrus with a white oil at the strength of one in thirty. This spray controls the soft and hard wax scale which in some districts and especially in home gardens is becoming very prevalent. If the common black aphid has been noticed a little nicotine sulphate at the rate of one in four hundred incorporated with the oil will control this troublesome pest. If grass or other weeds have been permitted to grow through the orchard it is a good plan to scythe now, placing the refuse under the trees but not too close to the trunk. During winter this trash will deteriorate and form valuable humus.