Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-12-14

! becomes necessary 10 SOW 10 grass anu
/ have sod orchard.
| When young trees are set on newly
cleared ground. some three or four fet
around each tree should be kept cleared
| Of sprouts during the first season. This
will also encourage the natural grasses
| of the soil In some sections IL Will be
/ found that lespedeza will spring up in
| great profusion. About the last of Au-
gust the ground should be disced and
put into shape for the sowing of some
grass seed. Ii the soil is limied or if the
orchard is in limestone section, =
heavy sowing of blue grass and red
clover made during September should
give a start towards a good sod. Use
I-2 bushels of blue grass and ten to
fifteen pounds red clover.
Where the soil is unlimed a mixture
/ of from 1-2 to bushels. equal parts,
of herbs grass and orchard grass should
be sown In the early spring. If efforts
are made to conserve the natural growth
of lespedeza and like plants one should
get fairly good mulch the first season
The trees in the sod orchard should
be constantly worked around. The area
OF the surface kept cleared should in
crease with the size of the tree. Where
IL can be done. the grass should be cut
two or three times a season and allowed
to rot on the ground. In some sections
of the United States the practice of rak-
ing up the cut grass and piling ii
around the trunks of the trees is fol-
lowed. but this makes a place for mice
and rabbits and is not advisable in this
section. Never, under any considera
tion. let a crop of hay mature, either in
sod orchard or in a clean cultivated
orchard: nor should a crop of small
grain be allowed TO mature in a clean
cultivated orchard
Only such crops as are frequently Gull
tiyated should be grown between trees.
This. of course, excerpts the cover crop
which is turned under early in the
spring. AS soon as the trees get large
enough 10 bear fruit and require the use
of the whole area, no crop should be
grown in the orchard except the cover
crop.
The fertilizer requirements of a young
orchard and a bearing orchard differ
In a young orchard every effort should
be expended to get a good growth Of
the trees. and this requires a fertilizer
rather high in nitrogen. whereas for the
bearing trees the most necessary ele-
ments are phosphoric acid and potash
Organic matter il a very important con-
stituent in all good orchard soils. Where
organic matter can be supplied by using
AfAA VI ANNANN AOiAo VI bsAi Aig al u iiiAhut z
per acre every two or three years the
question is not a hard one 10 solve, but
under existing conditions in Georgia ii is
essential that this organic matter be
supplied through the use of a cover crop.
We are particularly fortunate in being
able to grow numerous leguminous crops
in this section, which crops supply not
only the organic matter, so essential
for trees, but also most of the neces-
sary nitrogen. As nitrogen is the most
expensive fertilizing element, a consid-
cradle saving can be made by putting
this into the soil through the use of
leguminous cover crops. Commercial
nitrogen costs around 20 cents a pound.
and experiments have demonstrated that
nitrogen can be put in the soil through
the use of the legumes at a cost of 1
cents per pound. \ two-ton crop of pea
vine hay, turned under. will give to the
soil as much nitrogen as an application
OF 500 pounds OF nitrate Of soda. If
crop of this character could be turned
under in the orchard every year or two,
the bearing orchard would need little if
any other nitrogenOus fertilizer.
. Chemical analyses made in various
portions of the world have given definite
amounts of the necessary fertilizing ma
terial removed by orchards in bearing.
To supply all OF the potash removed by
an apple orchard in heavy bearing would
take 500 pounds of the following fOrmu-
la: 400 pounds of cOttonseed meal, 1000
pounds of phosphoric acid and 400
pounds of muriate of potash per acre.
This formula analyses IA per cent
nitrogen, 1O.2 per cent phosphoric acid
and 10.4 per cent potash. The 500
pound application will supply all of the
potash removed and large excess of
the phosphoric acid. but not the nitro
gen. consequently, as an adjunct to this
fertilizer we must turn under legumes.
Another formula that is recommended
by Voorhees, is as follows: 334 pounds
of nitrate of soda, 334 pounds of acid
phosphate, sec pounds of ground bone
and 666 pounds of muriate of potash.
This fertilizer analyses 81 per cent
nitrogen, 1912 per cent phosphoric acid
and 1s.6 per cent potash, and il requires
an application OF 400 pounds per acre
10 supply the potash removed. This ap-
pIication adds more phosphoric acid than
is necessary, but not enough nitrogen
consequently leguminous cover crops
should he used as an adjunct TO this
fertilizer. The eco and 400-pound appli-
cations of the fertilizers, recommended
above. should be made in circles about
the trees. starting some four or five feet
from the trunk and extending out as far
as the branches of the tree spread.
When the applications are made broad
cast they should be increased respec-
,iveIv TO 700 and 500 pounds. When
fertilizing young trees the first formula
recommended can be used by increasing
the cottonseed meal TO 75O pounds and
reducing the phosphoric acid to $50
nounds and the muriate Of potash to
400 pounds. From one to three pounds
should be applied in circles about the
trees.
For cultivated orchards II is best to
amply fertilizer in the spring. l. can be
worked in with disc. On sod or
chard the application of fertilizer
should be made as early in the spring
as possible and worked into the soil
under the trees with hoes. Where lime
can be obtained at a reasonable figure,
IL is well to apply from l to tons
Of ground limestone per acre every
or 4 years if the soil is at all sour.
Leaving out of consideration lime, the
fertilizer necessary to replace the plant
food removed by a bearing apple or
chard will cost from $500 TO $1,000 per
acre. plus the expense of growing and
turning under a cover crop.
In north Georgia every effort must
ne made TO retard the growth of young
trees in the late fall. Commonly speak
ing. the apple trees in this state arc
never winter-injured. Serious trouble
bntu-axra- n