Arizona republican., 1915-07-31
CULTIVATION OF THE ORCHARD

When our forefathers planted ort
 their orchards on the hills of New Eng
 land they counted little upon cultiva ton for increasing the productivity of these orchards. Indeed it would be practically impossible to cultivate some
 of the hillside orchards of the humid regions of the country. for if clean cul- ture were practiced all of the soil would
 wash away. says Prof. s. B. Josnson. assistant horticulturist of the T. of A agricultural experiment station. As the settlement of the country pro- Gressed westward where the rainfall was less it occurred to thouGhtful men
 that trees could not compete with all kinds of plants and still produce ma ximum crop This led to a system of clean culture for the orchard. Soon this system was taken up and prac- ticed by the best growers and out of it grew cultivation which had for it's ob- feet not only to keep down the weeds but also the conservation of the soil
 moisture. The results secured from this clean culture were very gratifying in the beginning. However, the error
 in such a system lay in the fact that
 the soil received no addition to the or Eanic matter except from the leaves
 
 sufficient. The depletion of the supply of organic matter is indicated by the
 ''lifeless. cloddy" appearance of the soil. The cultivator finds that after a few years of clean culture. the soil lacks the friable or crumbly texture it once had
 IL has been found that there are two ways Of preventing this condition or restoring a desirable soil texture. These ways are by applying animal manures or by growing green manure crops on he land and turning them under. The better method is generally the cheapest and best way because cover crop can not only supply organic matter to the soil, but if can be sown at a time when it can take surplus moisture thereby checking the growth of trees. promot- ing the formation of fruit buds and hardening up the wood of the trees that they will go into winter in good condition Arizona is fortunate in hay ing 2 good part of her rain come at suitable season for growing a cover crop. namely in the latter part of the summer.
 Irrigation of the orchard has also undergone a change in recent years lstead Of shallow furrows deep fur rows are used by the best growers. The advantage of the deep furrow lies in the fact that the surface soil can be kept dry and the wated goes into the snbsoil where it is needed. Shallow furrows encourage shallow roofing of the trees. The roots are disturbed in cultivation and are affected more by heat and drouth
 Briefly. the seasons cultivation is as follows: Late winter or early spring. The discing is t9 encorporate the vege- table matter with the soil. Water ap- piled at this time can be retained in the soil for spring growth by the maintaining of a good mulch. Clean culture is the rule for the growing season. Sheep and hogs are very ef- fectiVe in keeping down weeds close
 to the trees, although using the best types of orchard tools such as the | extension disk and other orchard harrows, there is very little unculti- vated area. Irrigation is not neces- say oftener than every 30 days of it | is thoroughly done by letting the wa | ter run slowly through deep furrows. | There is no rule for when to irri- gate, however. cultivation should fol i low every irrigation until the sum mer. At this time a cover crop is | planted or if a winter cover crop | is preferred the planting is deferred until fall and the growth felt on | the land until the late winter or early sprink disking and blowing.