White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1931-10-29
Condition of
Fruit Trees
Is Discussed
O. M. MORRIS TELLS HOW THEY
SHOULD GO INTO WINTER
QUARTERS

1.-THE condition in which we find or
chard trees at any one time is the re-
suit of past weather, food supply and
environmental conditions and treat
ment. Plants do not provide for the
future in the sense that men some
times assume they do" declares o. M.
Morris, State College professor of
horticulture.
"This past summer has not exposed
the trees to great excess of hot Wea-
ther, but there has been at least the
normal amount. There was in many
of the irrigated districts of Washing
ton water shortage that prevented
the trees having as much water during
the growing period as is desirable The
economic conditions existing also caus-
ed many orchardists to cut their spray
operations to the very minimum. The
total result of these two left the trees
with less than normal growth activ
ity in the middle and latter part of
the summer and early fall season.
a "The red spider and orchard mite
have been very bad in many localities
and have worked on the foliage of
many orchards to such an extent as to
prevent the best late season develop
ment and storage of food materials
that commonly accompany the period
following most rapid growth. Many of
these trees are in danger of going in
to winter quarters with less than the
normal supply of stored food mater
ials in the entire tree body.
"The low price being offered for
apples is causing few orchardists to
leave a lot of fruit hanging on the
tree acting on the basis that it will
not pay for harvesting. Even if it does
not pay for harvesting it is a great
risk to leave such material on the trees.
In observing the effects following the
delayed or neglected harvest of fruit
crops we very commonly see the trees
that have been severely winter injured.
Oftentimes there is no noticeable diff
ference in the amount of winter injury
suffered by trees from which the crop
of fruit was taken relatively early in
the autumn and those that had the
fruit crop left until very late. Some
years when there is hard freezing wea-
ther relatively early in the winter Sc
we're winter injury has resulted to the
trees that carried their fruit very late,
while adjacent trees that were relieved
of their crop early in the season pass
ed the winter without an evidence of
injury"
Trees that go into winter very dry
and suffering from drought are more
easily injured by cold than trees that
are in good normal condition. Trees
that are irrigated until very late and
kept in succulent growing condition
until late in autumn are also very liza
BILE to be partially injured by severe
winter weather. Either extreme is un
desirable and the cultural conditions
and practices that keep the trees most
completely in a normal state of we'll
being during any period of the year
are most beneficial to the plant in re-
sisting extremes of weather.
Professor Morris makes no attempt
to prophesy weather conditions that
may follow in the next few weeks or
months. He states that if severe freez-
ing weather does not occur until late
autumn or mid-Winter, late harvest
may not in the least endanger the
health or well-being of the trees. In
the past, however, the observation has
been that very late harvest and very
early severe freezing weather makes
combination that is very destructive to
apple trees.