Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1915-11-23
Fertilizer Did Not Increase Fruit

Fertilizer Did Not Increase Fruit
As it is pretty generally known, when
Maine purchased Highmoor farm 1t had
something over $500 apple trees upon II
which had been systematically neglect
ed. These trees were about 20 years
old, but for the most part had been com
pletely neglected, as regards pruning,
culture and spraying. The first season
the station had the farm the orchards
were plowed, cultivated and sprayed.
Pruning was begun and has been contin-
ued until at the present time the or
chards are in pretty fair shape. 1t was, OF
course, not desirable or practical to thin
the trees out at the start to where they
should be at the end, but the pruning
while rather severe each year has been
gradually increased in amount.
The orchards were fertilized at the
rate of 1000 pounds per acre of fertiliz-
er carrying percent nitrogen, percent
available phosphoric acid and Z percent
potash. At the end of the third year
the orchards had so far responded that
they gave good crop and since that
time fertilizer experiments have been
carried on in various portions OF the or
chards, as follows:
The use of highly nitrogenous fertiliz-
ers have been advocated as means OF
forcing trees into bearing and in some
parts of the state has been tried with re-
suits that seemed to be gratifying. This
method was first suggested by DIR. Fish
or of Massachusetts and was tried by the
station in some cooperative work with
Mr.. Pope in his orchard at Manchester
Without very decisive results. AT High
moor farm 80 Baldwin trees were divid-
ed into three sections. The trees were
treated alike so far as the application OF
standard fertilizer was concerned, but 10
of the trees at each end of the row re
ceived in addition nitrate OF soda at the
rate OF 100 pounds per acre. Also the
Baldwin orchard was divided into two
parts so that part of it received the
usual treatment and in addition received
100 pounds of nitrate of soda per acre
per year.
In experiments carried out at the New
York station it has been found that
with their deep clay soils well suited TO
apple tree growth and apple bearing
there is no effect from the use OF
fertilizers, either upon the growth oil
Young trees, the wood growth on matur-
ed trees, or the amount of the fruit or
the coloring of the fruit or the size of
the fruit. To see if anything like this
would hold with Maine conditions, par.
ticularly with the rather shallow soil
and with the stubborn subsoil upon
HighmOor farm, an experiment was be-
GUN in 1912. II is TO be remembered
that the orchard has been cultivated and
fertilized for the three preceding years
and brought into good condition.
About 400 trees were divided into three
plots containing II rows extending clear
across the large No. l Ben Davis Or
chard. Plot A, rows one to four, has
received no fertilizer since 1912. Plot
B, rows five to eight, has received aunu-
ally since 1912, 800 pounds of fertilizer
carrying four percent nitrogen, s percent
available phosphOric acid, and percent
potash. Plot C, consisting of rows nine
to twelve, has received annually since
1912, 1000 pounds per acre of CONNER
cial fertilizer carrying 4 percent nitro
gen, S percent available phosphoric
acid, and Z percent potash.
Careful records of growth shown by
measure and of yields of fruit as shown
by weight are made of all of the trees in
orchard. Thus far no results that
could be attributed to the fertilizer have
appeared. No person examining the II
rows of apple trees, part of which have
been fully fertilized, part partially fer
tilized and part not fertiized at all for
the past three years, could detect differ
ences whereby he would be able to pick
out the treated from the untrested rows
1t is to be remembered that in all of
these experiments nothing has been
grown upon the land except apple trees
and apples. An orchard cover crop is
sown in the fall, is plowed under early in
the spring, and the land is kept cultivat-
ed until well into autumn, when the COW
er crop is again sowu. The plant food
stored up in the wood growth and that
which has been removed in the apple
crop has been taken from the soil, but
beyond that the soil has not been made
to pay tribute to any other crop.-Dr.
c. ID. Woods.