Sharp County record., 1916-03-31
5. FERTILIZERS AND HORTICUL'
TURE,

The fruit and vegetable growers are
| always leaders in the use OF plant
foods for their crops. This is espe-
cially true of the vegetable growers.
What they wish is rapid growth in
their produce, so that they will get
the vegetables on the market in the
shortest possible time from the time
of planting. This is the secret OF
success with vegetables, and the only
way to meet such conditions is to ap-
ply fertilizers in large quantities. In
the next paper we shall tell about the
home garden" and how to fertilize
it. In the present paper we are to
tell more particularly about fruit
trees and other horticultural plants.
The relation of apple growing 10
| fertilizers has never been very care
fully worked out. We know that the
use Of fertilizers with fruit trees, and
especially apples, pays, but we have
not yet worked out the best formula
for the various kinds Of trees, nor the
amounts which pay best Brisbin
says, in his book on "Trees and Tree
Planting" that in planting young
trees large quantities Of manure
should be used in preparing the place
for planting. These manures should
be rich in plant food elements if the
trees are expected to make rapid
growth. The best way to increase
the plant food in manures is to add
to the manures the mineral elements
in various forms, and mix with leaf
mold and manures. Brisbin also rec
ommends that weeds should not be al
lowed to grow around the apple trees,
as they will take UP the plant food
which is put down for young trees.
The best method Of producing
fruit Is to keep the field or orchard
clean BY growing other crops which
require constant attention and cult
vation. Most farmers and horticul-
turists fertilize the crops that grow
in the orchard, and In this way save
the expense Of fertilizing the fruit
trees again. In many instances lie.
gumes are grown as cover crop,
and, incidentally, to furnish nitrogen.
The orchard cannot be cultivated too
deeply, or injury will result. It needs
to be cultivated shallow, and manures
or fertilizers applied in reasonable
quantities. While it is necessary to
put fertilizers near the trunk Of the
tree, yet the roots scatter pretty well
over an orchard, and the plant food
that happens to fall further away
from the trunk is not lost.
A large crop Of apples or peaches
takes from the soil much plant food
such as nitrogen, potash and phos-
phoric acid, and unless this is sup.
piled from time to time, the trees will
prove less fruitful and finally bear
very little fruit, and what they do
bear will be Of poor quality. The ar
gument that old trees In pastures
bear good fruit Is not sound, be.
cause conditions prevail in many iso.
lated places this way that cannot be
duplicated In the orchard. Many
times II is the natural leaf mold,
woods earth, droppings from animals,
and other materials carrying available
plant food that make the fruit on
such trees, Besides, such fruit Is
rarely ever as excellent and delicious
as that grown In well.kept orchard.
Fruit like all other kinds Of field and
garden crops, must be forced more
or less to measure up to high stan.
dard. To force the fruit, and at the
same time keep the land fertile, we
must apply to the soil as much fertll.
izer as the crop takes from It.
Fruit trees demand in their growth
a fertilizer rather rich In potash and
phosphoric acid, but not very rich In
nitrogen, II was found that the citrus
trees In California at the Riverside
Experiment Station grew better fruit
and did better every way with a com.
plete fertilizer than with any single
plant food element, or any incomplete
combination, II was also found that
the acid requirements Of these trees
were more completely supplied with
sulphate OF ammonia than from any
othor nitrogen source,
Many Of the experiment stations
have secured good results from fertl.
izing orchards, but none quite 30 good
an the Ohio station, r, II. Ballou, in
charge Of work with apples, says:
ITO sum UP tho results In increased
fruit production from the uso Of
chemical fertilizers on the very thin
orchard land In southeastern Ohio,
taking into consideration all our dIf.
terent plots at the various places GOV.
erlng 60 miles Of country, we have
the following;
Average per acre, per year fertl.
lied, 100 barrels,
Average per acre, per year unfertl.
ised, A barrels.
Gain per acre. per year, from ferti.
ization, So barrels