Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 124, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 May 1911 — SPRAYING THE FARM ORCHARD [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

SPRAYING THE FARM ORCHARD

By PROF. M. W. RICHARDS

Httikului,.! D.pM'rot Puttlo. Eipmam SUlin . > Purdue Unfrcntty A&adiural. Extender

In the past the farm orchard has been an important feature in the commercial apple output of the state. Today the majority of the apples sold on the market are produced in large commercial orchards. The reason for this change can be attributed to the increase of insect and fungous pests and to the neglect of the farmer in caring for his orchard. The production of fruit fit for either market or home use from this time on, will depend largely on intelligent spraying. The Outfit. No thorough job of spraying can be done without a satisfactory outfit. A good outfit for the average home orchard should consist of a barrel pump, 25 or 30 feet of good hose, and eight to ten-foot extension rod and a

Fig. I—Home Spraying Outfit. Pump Is Mounted In the Barrel and Is Hauled About on the Stone Boat. Note the Long Lead of Hose and Extension Rod. Nozzle of the Large Circular Type Producing Spray of Large Volume and Misty Character.

nozzle. The pump and the nozzle are the vital parts of the outfit. A pump, to be satisfactory, should be capable of developing at least 85 pounds’ pressure; it should possess a good agitator and a large air chamber; the valves should be easily accessible and should be protected by a strainer. A pump which answers these requirements will be a good one, regardless of who manufactures it. The main points to be considered in the nozzle are that, it should be light and compact; it should produce a mist rather than a sprinkle; and it should not drip. With such an outfit mounted on a sled or stone boat (Fig. 1), the average farm orchard can be well taken care of.

Spray Solutions. The materials which are applied to the trees vary with the pest to be controlled. Scale is controlled by spraying when the trees are dormant. The time for this is now past. In the sum-, mer, pests which infest the fruit and attack the foliage are the ones to be contended with. Such pests fall under two classes —chewing insects and fungus diseases. These enemies may be overcome at the same time by the use of a combined insecticide and fungicide. The materials most used at present are dilute lime-sulphur or Boardeaux mixture for the fungous troubles and arsenate of lead for the chewing Insects. Lime-sulphur can either be made at home or purchased as a commercial mixture. For small orchards of 100 trees or less, it is advisable to use the commercial solution as it is more convenient than the home-made mixture and almost as cheap. Arsenate of lead is usually bought already prepared. It comes in the form

Fig. 2—Proper Time for First Spraying. Apples Should Be Sprayed Just After Leaf Buds Open as a Preventive Against Scabby Fruit. of a heavy paste (or sometimes as a powder) and is used at the rate of two pounds of arsenate to every 50 gallons of spray material. The limesulphur is diluted at the rate of 1% gallons of commercial mixture to 50 gallons of water. The arsenate is insoluble and must be .thoroughly worked up in a small amount of water to the consistency of cream before it is added to the lime-sulphur or Bar-

deaux. This combination of lime-sul phur and arsenate of lead will control the majority of the fungous diseases and all of the chewing insects which infest the fruit and leaves during the summer season. Time of Application. In order to insure a crop of perfect fruit, the spraying operations should be started early so that the poison will be on the trees before the pests arrive. The first spray should be applied just after the leaves come out but before the blossoms open (Fig. 2). This is the most important spraying for the apple scab and should be carefully done. The second application is made lust after the petals fall (Fig. 3) while the calyx lobes are still wide open so that the calyx tube may be filled full of the poison. This is where the majority of the apple worms enter the fruit and great care should be exercised to fill each blos< som with spray material. The third application is made two or three weeks after the; second with the same materials and the fourth about the last week of June. This spraying may be omitted on the early apples as it is applied for the second brood of the codling moth. If these four applications of the lime-sulphur-arsenate of lead mixture are thoroughly applied, at the proper times, the farm orchards of today will produce better fruit than ever before. Cost of Spraying. A good, reliable spray outfit suitable for the home orchard can be purchased for from $15.00 to $25.00. It has been demonstrated that the cpst of material, time apd interest of money invested in outfit does not come to than 25c per tree for

Fig. 3—Apple Cluster Showing Apples at Correct Stage for Second or Apple Worm Spraying. Young Fruit Standing Up With Calyx Lobes Wide Open Ready to Receive Maximum Dose of Polson.

the season’s spraying. AS a result of this investment of 25c, the amount of Marketable fruit is increased from 85 to 95 per cent; When the general farmer cares for his orchard as he cares for his other crops, he almost invariably finds that the orchard is not only* the most profitable acre on the farm, but that winter finds his cellar) full of fruit, as it used to be before the advent cf the codling moth and the apple scab.