suspected that a great many of these will die or continue in a stunted con-
dition for a nuniber of years. This season again proved the value of having HO`
peaches on well drained orchard soil. the
is 1
Sonie peach growers of Kentucky were of the opinion their tree losses but
i were caused by spraying with some of the newer insecticides such as BHC
and chlordane. However, we feel this was not true, for we have made many
. field observations that bring out the fact that many trees one and two years Pla
old died, that had never been sprayed except with dormant spray; also many m0
‘ trees died in some orchards not sprayed in 1950 because of a ei-opfai1ure_ lll
yie
· Personally, I well remember the spring of 1924 when we had a similar I"`
rainy season. Many trees died that spring and many amateur growers
thought their losses were due to treating young trees with P. D. B. However, FE
complete check-up of many Kentucky orchards brought out thc fact that "wet
feet" in March, April and May was responsible for their losses. 1
p a
V Twenty-five years before peaches were produced commercially in and
southwestern Kentucky, the Southern Illinois commercial peach growers had lim
developed the idea that special drainage was necessary in the orchards. Sm
They cultivated their peach soil so that the area at the peach row was ridged gm
to the- extent of some 6 to 8 inches higher than the middles between the rows, pm
Local terms such as "bedding to the middles" described this procedure,
y which was done with a road grader at the time of the last cultivation. Or it
may be done with a break-plow by opening up a furrow 10 inches deep be-
tween the peach rows in a direction that will allow the surface water to drain
I from the orchard. Modern orchard terracing will serve the same purpose.
‘ ******#**#
ZY;
STRAWBERRY VARIETY PERFORMANCE - 1950 [Oi
W. D. Armstrong gm
Recent strawberry variety trials at the Western Kentucky Experiment
Substation have been limited to the most promising commercial shipping was
varieties and strains and to varieties resistant to red stele root-rot disease. xeti
Blakemore and Tennessee Beauty remain the leading commercial varieties, wit
with Tennessee Shipper third. In recent years, the yield on Aroma has sis
dropped off alarmingly. This, along with the fact that the Aroma berry is sis
soft, a poor shipper, and not a good freezing berry, has almost eliminated
this berry from commercial production in Kentucky.
duc
Temple and Fairland, two varieties resistant to red stele root rot,
have also produced satisfactorily, approaching in yield the three variety
leaders mentioned above. Under more limited tests, Vermilion, a new red-
stele—resistant berry from the University of Illinois, also looks promising.
Temple, Fairland, and Vermilion are not quite firm enough to be top quality
shipping berries but they are satisfactory for local use and short hauls, and
deserve tests in areas where red stele is a problem.
Tennessean, a new berry, was just named and introduced by the Tenncs
see Experiment Station. The first plants of this were sent out for trial in
1948 as Tennessee 965. This is a bright, long, early berry, about with
Blakemore and is a heavy plant maker, equal to or surpassing Blakemore. Al
n Princeton, the yields have been greater than Blakemore the last two Y<1?i¥'$·
{ 4