Smyrna times., 1927-05-18
GRAPE SPRAYING NEAR SMYRNA
Ralph E. Spruance COmbats ''BIack
Rot; Now Experimenting at Vine
yard of George Carter Farm

Rot; Now Experimenting at Vine
yard of George Carter Farm
In an effort to further demonstrate
the Importance of early applications
of the Bordeaux spray, and the COM
parative effectiveness of the liquid
and dust treatments in the successful
control of black rot, anthracnose, dead
arm, bitter rot and other fungous dis
eases which attack the grape crop in
this area, arrangements have been
made by Dr. Thomas F. Manns, Plant
Pathologist of the University of Del
aware, and Kent County Agent Rus
sell E. Wilson to conduct disease con
troll demonstration again this season
in cooperation with two of the COM
mercial growers on essentially the
same basis as has been followed for
the past several years. The demon
stration showing the Importance of
timely applications of Bordeaux mix
ture in the control of these various
diseases will be continued in the
Smyrna district this spring for the
third consecutive year in an effort to
encourage the growers as a whole in
this particular section of the county
to follow more consistently the rec
commended five-spray program. For a
period of five or six years this type of
extension work was conducted in the
Dover and Wyoming districts. For
the first two years spraying demon
stration was conducted in the vine
yard of Ralph E. Spruance where
black rot had been causing heavy
damage to the crop each summer at
about the time the fruit was ripening.
As the result of this demonstration
Mr.. Spruance began following the
regular spray schedule throughout
the season and so successfully con-
troled the black rot that it is now nee
essary that another vineyard be Sc
lected as a suitable place in which to
carry on this work. After looking
over the grape district at Smyrna
this spring it was decided to estab-
lish this same type of demonstration
this season in the large commercial
vineyard of George H. Carter where
small section of the vineyard has
been divided into five different plots
for receiving the Bordeaux spray at
various stages in the growth of the
vines and in the formation Of the
fruit clusters. One of these plots
will receive the treatment in accord
ance with the fve-spray program
throughout the entire season, and each
Of the other plots will be given one
less application of the Bordeaux spray
with few vines left unsprayed as a
check plot for making further com
parisons. A demonstration to show
the comparison Of the liquid Bordeaux |
and the dust in the regular five-spray
program for disease and insect con
troll was established in the vineyard |
Of DR. Alfred Smith near Wyoming in I
the spring of 1925 by DR.. Manns and I
County Agent Wilson, and plans have T
been completed whereby this project
will be continued in this same vine I
yard for another season. A small /
section of this vineyard has been di- t
vided into four plots, one of which
will receive the Bordeaux spray ac-
cording to the recommended program
for this area, and one plot will be
treated with the dust in accordance
with this same schedule, while two
small plots of few vines each will
be left as checks. In addition. to the
yields of grapes from each of these
plots in the Carter and Smith vine
yards which will be weighed separate
" calculated on theacre basis, a COM
parison will also be made of the pre-
valence of disease and insect injury
on the fruit in each plot, thereby MAX
ng these demonstrations of a practi-
,al value to the rapidly expanding
commercial grape growing industry in
his section of the United States.