38o 



Bulletin 74. 



peaches on the tree is too familiar to need description, but it is not 

 generally known that this decay is not a normal process and pe- 

 culiar to the variety, but is caused by a distinct fungous disorder. 

 Very often these same trees which show the fruit-rot, have the 

 young growth blighted, as if attacked by something like pear- 

 blight. This death of the shoots is due to the same 

 --i^v^ fungus which causes the fruit to rot. The decayed 

 N peaches sometimes dry up and hang on the tree, and 

 become a prolific source of infection for the coming 

 year. These mummified peaches can be found in 

 orchards all over the state, even, in many cases, 

 a year following the attack. Fig. 8 shows a 

 twig from the center of a neglected peach 

 tree with four mummy peaches a year old, 

 and the fungus has completely killed the 

 entire shoot. Much small dead wood 

 in the center of the tree tops is the 

 result of this monilia, or fruit-rot 

 fungus. The same fungus 

 attacks the cherry and 

 plum. 



The best economic 



study of this fungus 



upon the peach 



S. Peaches of last year' s '% \ VV '^ has been made 



crop still hang mg on 1 V \v ^ bv Professor F. 



the tree, attacked by ^\ **^ V t-i ^a ' 



monilia. The branch l\ V. D. Chester, of the 



is dead from the ef- U >- Delaware Experiment 



fects of the fungus. vi r^ • . x r ■■ 



% nat. size. ^^i btation.^ He found that the 



fungus may destroy the flow- 

 ers in spring, and this injury may pass for the effects of frost. He 

 also found that thorough spraying with copper fungicides greatly 

 reduced the injury. His advice for the treatment of the disease 

 is as follows : i . Gather and burn all mummified fruit. 2. Early 

 in the spring, before the fruit buds begin to swell, spray the trees 

 with a solution containing i lb. of copper sulphate to 25 gals, of 



*Bull. XV. Del. Exp. Sta. 10-12; Bull. XIX ; Fifth Rep. 53-66. 



