The Brinkley argus. (Brinkley, Ark.) 1883-current, 1917-05-18
THE NATION NEEDS
FRUIT PRODUCTS
Orchard Work in May and June Is
Very Important-Cuitivate Or
chards Until August.
By ! s. Knox. Horticulturist, Exten'
sion Division University OF
Arkansas.

I HE ndllOn lltCuo Al hehHS
| products for food and every orcharo-
list in the state should take precautiGn
not only to have a large crop, but me
| best crop obtainable. Good fruit IAN
be secured only by proper care ana
by continuing the orchard work IN
May and June. Possibly there IS no
other season of the year when the
work In the orchard is OF greater I'M
portance than 1t is during these
months
This being the case, 1t is all I'M
portant that we should cling 10
our orchard work and see that the
fruit trees have the attention which
they merit. Just as long as our or
chard work is made a sideline and
neglected when the real farming sea-
son comes on just so long will we be
harvesting crop Of diseased or
wormy fruit that will scarcely bring
returns sufficient to pay for the har-
veeting and packing. There is only
one way to grow first class fruit and
that is to take the best Of care OF the
orchard. II we fail to continue the
spraying and cultivation through the
growing season we have very poor
chance OF gathering crop Of good
sized and perfect fruits. The qucs-
ton is often asked, Can / ahord to
spray my orchard three or four times
each season." AS an answer to this
question I would simply say, ASK
your neighbor who has tried IT."
Spray Thoroughly.
Continue the spraying Of the stone
fruits, such as peaches. plums and
cherries with the $3.50 or self-boiled
lime sulphur solution adding 1 IL
pounds of arsenate Of lead paste to
each SO gallons of the solution. The
fruits have grown considerably since
the last application and, consequently,
it is not so well protected as 1t was.
n doing the spraying. remember that
only the portion of the fruits covered
by the solution will be protected
against the ravages of the insects or
diseases. This being the case it can
be seen that thoroughness is one OF
the great factors in spraying. You
cannot do the work thoroughly with
out some of the solution dripping
from the trees so don't worry about
that. 1t is usually during this season
| of the year that brown rot and scab
/ are raging on the peach crop and the
4 farmer who discontinues his spraying
operations now is the one most likely
I to suffer If some of the trees are
dying, better dig them up and burn
/ them since they make ideal breeding
/ places for bark beetles.
Don't Let Bitter Rot Destroy
Your Apples
The work in the apple orchards will
consist in the spraying for control
OF cooling moth, scab, blotch, and
canker worms Fortunately, we can
combat all of these with the same so
luton Use about IL gallons Of the
commercial lime sulphur solution and
four pounds of arsenate Of lead paste
TO each 100 gallons of diluted spray.
This work also must be done thor
i
sprayings must be made at intervals
OF two to three weeks. About the
middle Of June the bitter rot of the
apple is likely to show up in many or
chards and for this reason II proba-
bly, will be advisable to make one or
two applications OF the 4-4-50 Bor-
deaux mixture solution. There seems
to be quite lot OF this disease In a
great many orchards over the state
and when an orchard is once infested
there is nothing that can control il
except thorough and systematic
spraying
In practically all Of the vineyards
over the state there can be seen num-
bern OF mummied fruits still hanging
on the vines These were destroyed
in many instances by the black rot
fungous and could have been saved
by spraying with Bordeaux mixture 81
a strength Of 4-4-50. The nrst applica
tton should have been made lust after
the berries set and others follow a,
about three weeks interval Two
pounds Of lead arsenate paste should
he added to each so gallons OF the
above solution for the control OF the
grape curculio.
Cultivate Orchards Until August.
Keep your orchard cultivated dur
ing the summer or at least until Au
gust. when a Drop of peas may be
, sown for a cover crop and for the pur
pose OF adding more organic matter
to the soil IL you have cowpeas, pea
nuts, soy beans or potatoes planted
in rows between the rows of trees il
may help to defray the expenses OF
cultivating the orchard. These, hog
, ever, should be fortified so that they
will not draw too heavily on the soil
, Keep after your orchard work IT will
surely pay you
A number of excellent bulletins
treating of the different phases Of
orchard work may be had by applying
. 10 the Extension Division. University
! OF Arkansas, Fayetteville, Ark
3 All OF these bulletins contain infor