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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 10, 1952)
EIGHT MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE ' Sunday, August 10, 1952 isis uring County's Annual Orchard Tour and Fie of Problems Yai Orchard Demonstrated Host $ racing ey Day Orchard Heating, Insect Pests Among Discussion Topics Sponsored by State And County Groups The host of problems which face valley orchardists became abundantly evident recently, during the second annual Or- chard Tour and Field day, con ducted under the joint sponsor ship of the Jackson County Fruit Growers league and the State Horticultural society. The problems range from cold weather during budding season in the pear orchards, and what to do about it, to the recent in vasion of tiny insects known as Pear Psylla, and how to combat them. The first of these problems is a headache, for not only is or chard heating expensive under any circumstances, it is also a major public relations hazard as, every spring, housewives and merchants get madder and madder at the sooty smudge. Problem Unsolved What can be done, however, is still not solved. Experiments with "smokeless" heaters, which throw out less black soot, have been made with some success, but the smokeless type cost con- ' siderably more than do the old smudge pots with which or chards are equipped. It would require an investment running into thousands of dollars for each acre of orchard land to convert to them. Storage, too, is a prob lem, for the heaters, which have stacks, cannot be stacked row on row the way the simpler and less ' expensive pots can be stored. This year experiments in the motion of air were tried. One big installation was at Klamath orchards, where a tall tower mounting two big propellers makes a circle each 12 minutes, It helps bringing temperatures up a few degrees but only in a strictly limited radius. To , prove effective, many of the ex pensive "machines would be needed. The situation here, particular ly on flat bottom-land, is differ ent than in California, where hills, and a usual layer of warm air above make the machines much more effective. The 100 or so fruit growers and farmers on the recent tour visited the Klamath orchard, and inspected varying fruit damage resulting from the late-season cold snap, on June 12, when most heater-pots had been re moved from orchards.. Frdm there the group went to the Medford branch of the OSC experiment station, where Dr. Elliott Degman, superintendent. explained a series of experiments which have been conducted with various sprays for different pur poses, including those which pre vent fruit from falling from trees before they are ripe. At the station, viewers saw two plots, one of which had been treated with a new soil condi tioner, and one which had not, Many found it difficult to tell them apart, and the conclusion was that no decision on its worth can yet be made. The use of sawdust as a mulch and moisture-holder was shown at the next stop, the orchard of Chris Wolff south of Medford This procedure too is still large ly experimental, although more and more orchardists are trying it. The sawdust can be applied in various depths, serving to break up the soil, and to hold moisture in it without drying out. Sawdust is in some ways more efficient than the use of cover crops. The longest and most interest ing stop was at the Talent branch experiment station, where ur, Degman, Dr. L. G. Gentner, en tomologist, and Prof. Henry Hartman. of Oregon State col lege, told of experimental work designed to protect trees, and to develop better strains. Some 1,400 varieties of pear trees are planted at this station, and many of them are more than one -variety, through grafting. Here, too, is the daddy of all the valley's blight-resistant trees. It was one which resisted blight innoculations, made by Dr. F. C Reimer, original and long-time superintendent of the stauon. "Seedlings grown from this tree's seeds are used to form tree parts, usually roots, which pro vide the basis ior Diigm-resisiam producing trees. Other experiments in develop ing more colorful pears are also under way at the station. One of the highlights of the trip was a talk by Professor Hart man on the seemingly-dry topic of when to pick pears. However, Hartman's explanation, retailing the many reasons fruit should not be picked too soon, and then telling why they must not be of weather, picked too late, made the talk an - In previous years, Hartman interesting one to the fruitmen, pointed out, almost all fruit was whose livelihood depends on picked too soon, for fear of its timing, as , well as the vagaries dropping from the tree. More recently, with the development of hormone sprays which keep fruit on the trees, the tendency has been in the opposite direc tion, although from 90 to 95 per , EQUIPMENT DEMONSTRATED Follow- cutting weeds and cover crops; and beyond that ing the picnic luncheon for orchard tour mem- are sprayers. In front of the sprayers is a - bers on August 1, an equipment demonstration "smokeless" type heater, which some orchards was held at TouVelle park. At right is Hyster use, but which is considerably more expensive straddle truck used for carrying pear boxes; than old-type heating pots with which most next is ground beater with tractor, used for orchards are equipped. 1 . if: . : h ' r- ' f - ' j & 11'. , . cent of the fruit is now picked at approximately the right time, he said. A presure test, recently de veloped on the basis of many- years records, is the most effec tive way of judging the exact moment which is best for fruit which will be stored in cold packing houses. A discussion of the many dis eases and pests which are the bane of fruit men's existence was given by Dr. Gentner, and he illustrated his talk with exam ples of the pests he described. The Pear Psylla, a recent in vader of the valley, is a tiny, almost invisible insect, which can do great damage to pear trees because it is so tremen dously prolific. Several billions of insects can develop in just a few generations from' one fe male fly. Effective sprays, however, can keep it under control, provided they are applied sufficiently and properly, Dr. Gentner explained. Another pest is the spider mite, and great strides have been made in recent years in conquering this .pest, particularly through the use of newly-developed sys temic poisons, which are put around the roots or lower parts of the tree, 'and which are then absorbed into the tree, itself, thus poisoning the mites. These poi sons are still experimental, and not being used commercially. The conclusion of the tour was at TouVelle park, where a-pic nic luncheon vjbs served by ladies of the Phoenix Grange, and where dealers in equipment showed off their wares. The demonstrations gave a good idea of the "mechanical revolution" which has swept the industry in recent years, with specialized vehicles designed to vp J IS .; RESISTS BLIGHT Pictured is the orig inal tree, developed by Dr. Reimer, which has blight resistant roots. All blight resistant trees stem from this one, with the seeds grown to seedlings, and then other varieties are grafted onto these, on either the roots or trunk. Some times three or more separate trees go into mak ing up a single producing '"tree..'' In budding season, the framework around .the tree is cov ered with cheesecloth, and a hive of bees is put inside the cloth, thereby giving sure con trol of pollenization. handle boxed pears much more rapidly than can be done by hand, by automatic spray rigs which douse trees with chemi cals as they are pulled by tractor through orchards, and with other special equipment. The field day tour was the second one held in the valley, and fruit men here plan to make it an annual affair. Not only fruit men, but any others inter ested in the problems of horti culture and pear raising, are wel come to attend. ! : : i . I WIND MACHINE Shown above is a rotating type windmill in experimental use this year at Klamath orchard. Wind machines are being tried, with strictly limited success, as substitutes for smudging. The tall machine, operated by two engines with big air plane propellers, has raised orchard temperatures two degrees or so, .but only for a maximum radius of 500 feet. 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