====================================================================== Total Weight Weight of Weight of Tree Number of Nuts Sound Nuts Spoiled Nuts Percent Spoiled 4-24-46--Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 7861 23.69 23.08 .61 2.57 7881 25.20 24.63 .57 2.26 7930 26.85 26.48 .37 1.37 7932 24.29 23.80 .49 2.02 7938 29.00 27.48 1.52 5.24 8174 15.82 14.80 1.02 6.45 ====================================================================== ALL LOTS 144.85 140.27 4.58 3.16 [Footnote 11: Weighed and examined 4/24/46.] Essential Elements in Tree Nutrition (Paper presented before the Northern Nut Growers Association Convention, September 3-5, 1946, Wooster, Ohio.) By J. F. Wischhusen Manganese Research & Development Foundation, Cleveland 10, Ohio Mankind has harbored an age-old grudge against insects and fungi, so that under the heading of crop protection from these pests there has developed a large insecticide and fungicide industry. Relatively little attention has been paid to the effects of a nutritional character that can be obtained from simultaneous applications of essential elements. Insects will probably always constitute a problem of destruction, either of them or by them. But fungi, bacteriae, viruses, can be made to combat, control and balance each other; depending on the conditions under which their propagation is either facilitated or inhibited. There is evidence that so-called essential nutrients, also variously referred to as "minor", "trace", "rare", or "micro" elements play a direct as well as indirect role of considerable importance in this matter, and that trees can be fertilized, sprayed, injected or treated with them in other ways to insure their growth, health, crop bearing ability, longevity, disease--frost--and drought--resistance. There still exists a paucity of scientific explanations on these subjects, but there is already a good deal of scattered information, which it is my purpose to draw to your attention. People do not care about scientific facts if they can obtain results without them, and then scientific concepts too may undergo changes. The manner in which trees obtain their nutrients from soil, air and water, however, will forever remain unchanged, whether we understand it or not, and it behooves every grower to observe effects from causes, and to reflect upon them, and report his observations to his association for the benefit of all. Physical Soil Characteristics