—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 26. 1975 56 Grape shoot positioner evaluated at Penn State Tractor-mounted devices for machanically positioning grape vine shoots in large vineyards have been found efficient in studies by agricultural engineers and horticulturists of The Pennsylvania State University. Shoot positioning gives maximum sunlight to the entire grape vine grown under the Geneva double curtain trellis system, a common method of producing grapes com mercially. The shoot positioner also promises to make harvesting and pruning operations easier, the work at Penn State indicates. Several of these mechanical shoot positioners have been built and are being used by grape Fulton Grange meets Fulton Grange 66 met July 14 with Master Donald Trimble presiding. The Youth Committee is spon soring a bus trip to a Phillies ball game on August 15. The Grange voted to op pose House Bill 1198 and Senate Bill 208, which would stifle the use of parttime help and migrant labor. Fanners affected by this resolution have no way to recover in creased production costs, especially ir the wholesale and contract markets where buyers determine prices. The Grange agrees that seasonal farm workers must be protected against abuse and exploitation but feels that protective legislation must be reasonable without endangering vital food production. Lecturer Joyce Holloway opened the program with group singing of America the Beautiful, Mr. Jack Teaman, representative on Inter- County Hospitalization spoke on the change in some of the CUT HEATING COST, Sf AY WARM DURING POWER FAILURES, with this HEATER**, • Bi metal thermostat • Cast iron grate • Firebrick liner • Heavy metal jacket • Shipping wt 178 lbs • Immediately avuhble FIRE GRATE DOUBLES FIREPLACE HEAT OUT°UT jr • No irnt til iiion • 61 w *tt hlo • «n tulips • vji (>/ !*)■> • iunHhl< CONTACT HIESTAND DISTRIBUTORS INC. RDI, Marietta, PA 17547 Phone |717|426-3286 (Dealerships Available) growers in Pennsylvania, New York, and Michigan. The commercial grape crop in Pennsylvania alone is valued at over 8 million dollars annually. Several prototype positioners were built and tested from 1970 to 1974 at Penn State’s Erie County Field Research Laboratory at North East. The latest models use moving plastic fingers to position shoots on the outside of the rows, with hanging chains to open up the area between the two top wires of the Geneva double curtain trellis. The system has been equally successful in single curtain no-tie vineyards. Heading up the research are C. T. Morrow and M. D. policies. The program was held on ritualism, beginning with the reading of scripture found in the four degrees. A ritualism quiz was given between the men and the women, with the men win ning. Charles McSparran demonstrated code reading. The next meeting will be the picnic at 7:00 p.m. The committee in charge con sists of Mrs. Jesse Wood, Mrs. DeWitt Bacorn, and Mrs. Donald Trimble. The Grange will furnish rolls, butter and iced tea. Each family is to bring their own place settings, a meat dish and another dish. TRY A CLASSIFIED AD! 130 MOD 12 TO 48 FO( DIAMETER »•••*' ' MOST BINS AND EQUIPMENT IN STOCK WE SELL, SERVICE AND INSTALL CSSr ■Mgr D |s^s WmBBKB PUsi 'W r ~ Shaw, agricultural engineers, and C. W. Haeseler, pomologist, all with the College of Agriculture. Details on the positioner, including photographs, are featured in the Spring issue of “Science in Agriculture,” the quar terly magazine of the Agricultural Experiment Station at Penn State. Free copies are available from the Mailing Room, 112 Agricultural Administration Building, University Park, Pa. 16802. The hanging chains are 5- 16 inch log chains, about 5 feet long, which did an ef fective job in the ex periments with little damage to the vines. The chains should be coated with a flexible plastic to reduce damage to the vines and trellis. Data have been collected on yield per vine, cluster weight, berry weight, soluble solids, and vine vigor or pruning weight. Plans for constructing a mechanical shoot positioner are available from the Cooperative Extension Service at Penn State. In grape producing areas, This product and other animal health products available from vour local teed and farm Mipplv dealers serviced bv llai i isonbui £ \a AND FEED BINS E. M. HERR EQUIPMENT, INC. f1.D.1, WILLOW STREET 717464-3321 county agents will generally have copies. Results to date are not completely conclusive, but mechanical shoot positioning appears to be a real possibility, especially with the labor situation as it exists presently, Dr. Morrow stated in “Science in Agriculture.” It appears, he said, that the mechanical operation would be most successful >' conducted early in the season. Each succeeding year since 1970 the positioning was done at an earlier stage of vine development. In 1974 the vines were mechanically positioned about 5 days before full bloom. At this early stage there was little damage to the vines. There ROY ERICKSON COMPANY ”S«I iCITV FROM 1700 > 75,000 BUSHELS We have it in stock, now! 'Njectable solution 18 2% . 1. Dose:2cc. perewt ung° r 2 - Pu " ,he trigger 3. The job is done ikes the gue: out of wont AVAILABLE FROM YOUR FAVORITE ANIMAL HEALTH SUPPLIER were indications, however, that the operation should have been repeated a week or 10 days later to obtain maximum benefit. Although the-principle of positioning has been in corporated successfully into the machine, Dr. Haeseler said a positive vine response has not been evident to date with respect to positioning shoots mechanically. Hand positioning of shoots has produced positive responses TRAMISOI! levamisole phosphate INJECTABLE SOLUTION the first injectable dewormer for cattle New TRAMJSOL is this easy to use: "lEMPH DRY" •* » »tj j I J CMS Model—llE Temper Ones to WO Dir per hr T *'J U:) ** m CMS Model—l4E Temper Ones to 480 bu per hr iEiiiiE *»? CMS Model—loE Temper Dries to 350 bu per hr FARM FANS offers you a choice of 5 outstanding gram dryers— 3 CMS models that utilize the'exclusive continuous multi-stage prin ciple 2AB models that utilize the staged automatic principle All 5 dryers are fully automatic They cost less to buy and less to operate in the vine with respect to yield, cluster weights, and berry weights. Hand positioning once per season may be sufficient. The cost of constructing a Penn State grape shoot positioner, using a slider crank mechanism, should be less than $l,OOO, Morrow and Shaw reported. They in dicated additional studies are needed to relate shoot positioning operations to other cultural practices, to determine the optimum time for shoot positioning, and to establish pruning procedures most compatible with machine positioning. R GRAIN lOR PRRFII AS Model~l2B Temper Dries to 310 bu per hr HIkSF •w. AB Model—lß Temper Dries to 210 bu per hr
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