Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1917-05-27
THE NATION NEEDS FRUIT PRODUCTS
Orchard Work in May and June Is
 Very Important-Cultivate Or chards Until August.

 Very Important-Cultivate Or charets Until August.
 By J. s. Knox, Horticulturist, Exten-
 sion Division University of
 Arkansas.
 The nation needs Arkansas fruit products for food and every orchard ist in the state should take precaution not only to have a large crop, but tho best crop obtainable. Good fruit can be secured only by proper care and 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 it is during these months.
 This being the case, it is all ir,1- portant that we should cling to 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 he harvesting a crop of diseased CT wormy fruit that will scarcely bring returns sufficient to pay for the har- vesting and packing. There is only one way to grow first class fruit and that is to take the best of care of the orchard. If we fail to continue the spraying and cultivation through the growing season we have very poor chance of gathering a! crop of good- sized and perfect fruits. The qucs- tion is often asked, Gan I afford 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 8-8-50 or self-boiled lime sulphur solution adding 1-2 pounds of arsenate of lead paste to each 50 gallons of the solution. The fruits have grown considerably, since the last application and, consequently, it is not so we'll protected as it was. In 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. It is usually during this season of the year that brown rot and scab are raging on the peach crop and the farmer who discontinues his spraying operations now is the one most likely 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 codaing moth, scab, blotch, and canker worms. Fortunately, we can combat all of these with the same so- fulton. Use about 2 1-2 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 oughly and for best results additional 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 it 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 a 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 it except thorough and systematic spraying.
 In practically all of the vineyards over the state there can be seen num- bers of mNmmied fruits still hanging on the viaes. These were destroyed in many instances by the black rot fungous and could have been saved by spraying with Bordeaux mixture of a strength of 4-4-50. The first applica. tion should have been made just after the berries set and others follow at about three weeks interval. Two pounds of lead arsenate paste should be added to each 50 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 crop of peas may be sown for a cover crop and for the pur- pose of adding more organic matter to the soil. If you have cowpeas, pea nuts. soy beans or potatoes planted in rows between the rows of trees it may help to defray the expenses of cultiyating the orchard. These, how. ever, should be fertilized so that they will mt draw too heavily On the coil