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Dollar* And Sense ! > 4/
-f In Thinning Apples
Br W. H. Lyne, County A(*it
Don’t get the idee that I’m professing to be an expert horticulturist even though a county agent is frequently expected to know all . that is ktaown about agriculture, plus a little law, some veterinary medicine, yes and even sometimes what it takes to cure the baby of colic. No far be it—however let’s ponder over a few local facts pertaining 'to apples and what they did last* fall for some Rappahannock growers.
What did thinning actually give . ‘ here in Rappahannock last fall?
sunny weather with a temperature of 65 degrees P. or above is high enough to encourage bees to visit enough blossoms to produce a crop of fruit, if there are enough present and they are well distributed _in the orchard.
Strong colonies send out from eight to twenty times more bees ' in cool weather than do weak ones. Since it is likely to be cool at fruit bloom time, strong colonies are essential. At that time of the year, a strong colony will usually con-* tain five or more frames of brood.
If weather unfavorable for bee flight should occur throughout the fruit blooming period, as it sometimes does, distributing them in the orchard is helpful in producing a uniform set of fruit. The number of colonies per a'cre and the number of colonies at one point can best l>e determined by experience. Sometimes, one colony per acre is used, but with strong colonies and favorable weather too much fruit may be pollihated and thinning may be necessary for' the fruits to attain a good sixe. Generally, m strong colony to two or three acres is used in the luge orchards in Virginia.
If the proper varieties are interplnated, and if enough honey- i bees are present, good crops of ■ fruit should be obtained regularly, providing other factors in . pro- - duction are properly cared for.
The J. H. Hale and the Mikado peach require cross-pollination to produce a crop, but the quality of other peaches may be improved by this phenomena.
Other fruits requiring cross pollination or benefited by it are pears, grapes, most betrjr crops, cherries, plums, and avocadoes.
In all, more than fifty of ourpresent-day crops need bees or are benefitted by the activities of bees in collecting and scattering pollen in their efforts to msike a living - s<7:'
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