The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-09-03
Horticulture.
APPLE GROWING IN NORTH CAROLINA.


How to Make Apple Culture Profitable.
correspondence Of The Progressive Farmer.
Successful apple growing depends
on four primary operations. Those
are: Tillage, fertilization, pruning
and spraying. The effectiveness of
these depends on the thoroughness
and pe~rsistency with which they T
administered. There are other special
operations which in many 8 r
rendered necessary by the presence
of certain insects or diseases which
are not overcome by these opera
tons. In North Carolina the vast
majority of the apple growers have
not properly attended TO any n of
these, hence the numerous failures
of the apple crop. Neglect starves
and weakens the trees, thus giving
abundant opportunity for the in
crease of the insects and diseases
that attack them.
It is noticeable that the condition
of the apple orchards in the State
GROW WORSE AS WE GO EASTWARD
from the mountains, and this is be-
cause in the orchards have been
longer in existence, and the enemies
have become more and more destruc-
tive each year by reason of the neg
lect that has always characterized
the management of our orchards.
The trouble is that growers expect
their orchards to produce whether
they are cared for or not, and, when
the trees rebel against this unfair
treatment, the grower complains
that "Apples don't do well here"
In every case which the writer has
yet investigated, he has found that
those men in any one community
who produce the finest fruit, have
adopted some one or more of the
four operations named, which is not
in use among the other growers of
the vicinity. It is the man who gives
his trees a little better care than his
neighbors who realizes the profits,
and the thrifty farmer sells apples
so the careless one who lives next
door. Let the reader keep in mind
that an orchard is not really well
cared for so long as any one of the
four operations indicated in the first
paragraph of this article, is neglected.
With this fact firmly impressed, he
may be able to read intelligently
what follows.
THE EASTERN SECTION.
localities inspected - GOLdSbOrO,
Nashville, Marton, Selma and
Fayetteville.
In the eastern section of North
Carolina the apple orchard usually
consists or from 1 to 100 trees placed
near the house, often in the r. or
cotton field. Nc attention is given
TO the trees of themselves, but they
derive some benefits from the Guilt
Walton of the other crops. If the
orchard must be planted to anything
besides apples, cotton and corn will
do as we'll as any, but that portion
of the field should be doubly fer
tilted, as two crops are growing on
it at once. In this section an orchard
should never be planted TO a Owl
crop, but hoed ones are not injur-
ious. In this section the greatest
need is for pruning and spraying.
As an evidence of the need of prun-
ing, one may find dead branches on
almost any tree he may examine. A
dead or weakened branch is a tax
upon the tree from which no bene-
fit is derived. Every dead Of weak
ened branch should be cut from the
tree in the winter, which is the sea-
son when the busy cotton farmer has
the most time to spare. Enough
branches should be removed to ad-
NIT light to the interior of the tree.
AS an evidence of the need of
spraying, n has only to look at
the knotty, wormy fruit, TO be con-
WINGED. A very large proportion of
this loss might be avoided by intelli-
gent spraying. But it cannot be
done if the grower waits until the
fruit begins to drop. The secret of
success in spraying is to be ready be-
fore the trouble appears, begin early,
and spray thoroughly. The time TO
begin to spray is when the buds first
break in the spring. Another appli-
cation should be made Immediately
after the blossoms fall, and a third
spraying should be given from ten