few years have caused most all aware of it. There is a distinct i appl
bearing orchards to receive better market advantage in growing a ples
care, and more production has been f`ruit on either the northern or · mor
obtained. But better care does not southern edge of where that crop lt is
reduce the age of our trees. Look- can grow. By growing cherries, I mot
ing into the future, one of the for example, in Michigan in the . two
finest investments I know of today north, they have the advantage of the
, is an apple orchard about 12 years lotv national production and higher . was
of age. lf we drop that age down prices at marketing time. By grow- Trai
to 6 years, it is still an excellent ing apples, particularly early ap- hart
investment. How few of tis have ples, in Tennessee or Kentucky, thai
such investments now. Just how you have the same advantage early Si
good is an investment in an orchard in the season; that is, smaller na- ‘ win
1 year old, or 1 year old next year, tional production and less com- late
if we plant this year`? The disad— petition at your marketing time. l ° esti
vantages of planting now are al- may be wrong, but I know of no , earl
most as bad as during the war be- location in the United States that Ear
cause of labor shortage. and scarce, can put apples on the market . tim
high-priced nursery stock. How- earlier than you can. risk
ever, if it is to be done, the sooner There are some disadvantages to due
we can plant the better. growing early apples, as you all Thr
If the prediction of low produc- know. . ple:
tion from 1950 to 1960 is true,-—if The weather is hot and they
very few plantings have been made must be picked, packed and market- —
in the early -10`s,—if you can over- ed in a hurry. The markets locally · yi
come present planting difficulties, can be easily flooded and your oftl ,.,,,,
and various angles mentioned grade apples are more difficult to ,,,,,
above, I say by all means plant an handle in mid—summer than in the . ,,,~,.
apple orchard. fall. The poorer grades go down ,,,¤
Just to show how our apple faster than the better grades. ,,`,—
population is diminishing, I will Early apples are inclined to be my
read the following government tender, have flesh with large cells, ·]
figures: and, consequently, bruise easily. ‘ ,,,·
Number of bearing apple trees in They are more perishable and do 5,,,-
the United States 1910, 151 million; not stand rough handling as well as ,,,Q
1920, 115 million; 1925, 104 million; late apples. ,5
1930, 89 million; 1935, 82 million; On the average it is more dif- du,
1940, 74 million; 1945, 66 million ficult to grow large early apples ~ SC,
(estimated). than large late apples, and size is ,.,,,
About 20 million trees need to be \'€1`>’ imD0i`l¤¤Y- cia
planted every 10 years to maintain However, the advantages so far ; {ct
70 million trees in this country. outweigh the disadvantages of art
We are not getting anywhere near growing summer apples that it ab.
that number planted. makes an unfair debate. ist
Dr. J. R. Magness, chief of fruit Probably the most important ad- sti
— work in the U. S. D. A., made the vantage is that mentioned above; le;
following statement in 1941: "The that is, your ability to cash in on on
‘ apple industry today appears to be an early open market. Next comes no
in the soundest basic position of the fact that codling moth is only lig
any of the larger fruit crops in the about one-third the problem it is ye
United States, from a standpoint of with late apples. There are less un
production trends. Some plantings sprays and, therefore, less costs or
of orchards to replace old orchards, in production. In the Arkansas si;
which are now past their commer- 55th Annual Report, they state that br
cial peak, seems desirable? on isolated blocks of early apples, in,
I don’t know just what he would harvested before July 15, the , ed
say today, but believe he would second and third generations of ce
more strongly urge apple planting. codling moths are starved out. The U.
There has been very little since second year only 5 percent worms to
1941. were counted with only one worm 31
So much for the apple situation spray, which was the calyx. S0. bk
in general. Regarding early apples, the codling moth problem had been §ii
and this section of the country, almost avoided where only blocks in
there is one point that stands out of early—ripening apples were is
clearly, and I am sure you are all grown. Mixing blocks of summer ~ se
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