The Brinkley argus. (Brinkley, Ark.) 1883-current, 1917-05-04

Orchard Work in May and June Is
Very observation-disclosures Or
chards Until August.
By J. S. Knox, Horticulturist, Exten
sion Division University OF
Arkansas.

The nation needs Arkansas Ii ui'
products for food and every orchard
list in the state should take precautlon
i not only to have large crop, but the
best crop obtairiable. 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 1t is during these
months.
This being the case, it is all fr-
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 be
harvesting a crop of diseased or
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 crop Of good
sized and perfect fruits. The ques-
ton is often asked, "Can ] afford to
spray my orchard three or four times
each season." As an answer to this
question | 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 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 we'll protected as 1t 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. 1t 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 codling 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
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 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 Of
a strength of 4-4-50. The first applica-
ton should have been made lust after
the berries set and others follow at
about three weeks interval. Two
pounds OF lead arsenate paste should
be 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 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 il
may help to defray the expenses OF
cultiyating the orchard These, how
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.
number of excellent bulleting
treating of the different phases OF
orchard work may be. had by applying
TO the Extension Division, University
of Arkansas. Fayetteville, Ark
All of these bulletins contain infor