10 



Branches whicli liavc bcrii l)rokeii (liiiiiii> slorms 

 Olid ciillivation should l3e inimetUatcly removed. A 

 very serious mistake in pruning, "or not pruning,"' is 

 the laihu'e to remove dead wood caused I'rom I'l'eezcs, 

 storms, etc. Many growers believe this dead wood will 

 not effect the tree in any way if lelt. It is sometimes 

 left until some convenient time when there is no other 

 work to be done, Wc believe when the growers learn 

 the following facts, thev will not again make this mis- 

 take. 



When trees are partially killed by freezing, if tlie 

 frozen branches are pruned off as soon as the extent 

 of killing can be determined, new vigorous branches 

 will put out near the cut and thus in a measure save the 

 former desirable shape and vigor of the tree. If the 

 dead branches are left, new branches may sprout out 

 just below the extent of the killed area. These branch- 

 es will how^ever be inclined to be weak and will either 

 die soon or dwindle along and die later, or if they live 

 wdll be stunted and susceptible to future fungus and 

 insect attacks. If the dead w^ood is left, new sprouts 

 may not put out near the low er area of the freeze in- 

 jury. In this case the tree wdll put out numerous 

 branches in the crotch near where the tree was headed 

 resulting in a deformed tree consisting of a mass of 

 sprouts. 



Practical observations and experiments on the part 

 of the writers show that orchards pruned as soon after 

 freezing as the iniurv can be determined will give a 

 vigorous growth; those pruned later wall give fair re- 

 sults; and those neglected will give poor results. (See 

 photograph on Plate II for dead w^ood which has not 

 i)een pruned out.) 



After young trees are transplanted from the nursery 

 to the field, the top often dies back for a few or several 

 inches. This dying back may be caused by either 

 freezes or weakened condition from transplanting. It 

 is highly important that this dried portion be pruned 

 off a:, early in the spring as its extent can be determined. 

 If it is not taken off an insect often enters the dead 

 branch, makes its way into the heart and begins eating 

 downward. It does not stop its downward movement 

 when the live tissue is reached, but continues until it 

 has eaten the heart out of the tree where the bud was 

 inserted and the tree is destroyed. 



