Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1928-03-20
PROFIT MADE
BYSPRAYINC,
EXPERT SAYS
Figures on Cost and
Value Limited But
Favor Practice, AS
serts Bach

The accompanying article has been
read and approved by the permanent
committee on publicity for Standard
Orchard Practices for the Lower Rio
1rande Valley appointed from a
group OF state, federal and railroad
egents engaged in agricultural work
N the Lower Rio Grande Valley. held
1e2s.
Com. on standard orchard practices.
NJ. H. Fried. superintendent SUBJ
station No. Is. Weslaco. Texas.
Jno. w. kirkpatrick. county aeri-
cultural aren't, Hidalgo county,
Edinburg. Texas.
Henry 4. Alsmeyer. county agri-
cultural agent, Cameron county,
San Benito, Teyas.
Cost and Profits from Spraying
tBy w. J.. Bach. P~athoIogist, Valley
Experiment S~tation)
In connection with the many rapid
advances being made in the growing
and marketing Of Valley citrus fruits
u may not be untimely 70 think OF
some of the problems involved IN
spraying. and the profit 10 be derived
from il. So far there appears 70 be
very little information available that
shows anything az the cost Of spray
ing citrus trees in the Valley. Like
wise, the profit % be derived from
spraying has probably never been
considered. or we would, more than
likely, find more growers who spray.
Since very little data Is available
20 show the cost Of spraying, as well
As the profit 10 be derived from Il IN
the Valley, il might be we'll to repre-
sent some work that has been done in
Florida along this line. Last spring
some information was collected by
the United States citrus disease lab
nrntory. located at Orlando, Florida,
on the cost and profit derived from
disease control. Some 40 question
naires were sent out 70 q selected list
uf growers and shippers OF citrus
fruit, and % nswer were received.
Cost estimates for one application Of
Borde1ux-oil ranged from a low Of
z to II cents 70 a high Of 16 70 20
cents per tree. Three wv placed
the cost on the box basis at 2 to 5
cents. The profit resulting from this
application of spray material. accord
ping 70 eight OF the estimates that
were given in figures, starts at %
cents per box and goes to so cents
and rs cents. the upper limit. The
gain il otherwise stated 20 be in
quality Of fruit. freedom from decay,
greater production from trees in bet
ter vigor. and less tendency 10 drop
Page Of fruit. After considering the
difficulties that the srrayer IL likely
20 encounter, u WIS gratifying 70
note that in the end there were so
xany who obtained substantial and
mtisfylng money returns from their
efforts. IL was a general opinion
that the quality Of the fruit was
raised at least n market grade.
Estimates made by the United
States citrus disease laboratory,
based on careful grade counts for
sprayed as compared with unspraved
fruit. and average market returns for
the several grades. indicate some
thing like ID 70 ID ctats net profit
Aner box Cor the whole crop after de-
durffng all cost ar control.
"a limited number OF observations
on the cost Of spraying in the Valley
Indicates that II runs close 10 30c
per tree for an application of oil
emulsion. fAllOwinE for the use of
Is gallons per tree Of a 2 per cent
solution of an emulsion that retails
for S1.00 per gallon.)
One of the questions asked the
Florida growers was: What system
Of grading brings the best returns 20
the grower who controls his diseases
and produces a high percentage az
brigh. fruitg This question was d.
rected primarily to those engaged ia
the actual marketing Of the fruit.
The main question is whether Il paws
10 sell the bright fruit separate when
there IS a high percentage Of briChts.
o. TO mix il with lower grades in "A
grove run pack. One favored grove
run pack when only a small percent
age Of brights was present and a
graded pack when the larger percent
age Of the crop was bright. The
|&rower, the man who puts his time.
thought and money into the produc-
ticn OF clean fruit, and who risks all
the uncertainties Of tire outcome. IA
entitled 70 all the profit that q high
class standard Of grade and pack will
bring for him on the market. This i
a phase Of the work that is deserving
OF careful consideration. In order to
accomplish this end, a careful study
Of the grading and marketing prac-
ficts viii assist in making the profits
to the grower larger and more GER
tain. The average grower could be Of
great assistance in such work. IN
fact, he can hardly do justice to his
own work a a business profession. If
he does not keep an accurate record
Of the cost Of each operation involved
In the production Of clean fruit. ana
Mf the profits obtained from IL.
Although the results reported here
ere taken from Florida conditions-
where diseases Of citrus, that can ~
controlled by spraying, are more
prevalent than in the Valley. the fun
d~anientals that should be given at