212 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE 



SPRAYING. 



Spraying in early spring with copper sulphate, one pound to twenty gallons of 

 water, again proved an en'cftual preventive of leaf curl. Trees and parts of trees left 

 unsprayi'd curled badly, while sprayed trees were very little, if any, affected. As in 

 former tests, early spring spraying gave much better results than when the spraying 

 was done just before the fruit buds opened. Spraying with Bordeaux nii.vture and paris 

 green after the fruit had set, had no effect upon the leaf curl, but was effective 

 against the curculio and shot hole fungus. As the foliage of the peach is very tender, 

 care should be taken to have the spraying mixture properly prepared, and somewhat 

 weaker than is used for other fruits. 



The need of thoroughness in spraying cannot be too strongly emphasized. If the 

 spray does not come in contact with all parts of the tree the curl is sure to appear 

 when conditions are at all favorable for the disease. Twigs and branches with leaves 

 badly curled can often be seen in early summer in sprayed orchards, showing that the 

 work has not been thoroughly done. Last spring a row of trees on the station 

 grounds, which could only be sprayed from one side, because of the proximity to a 

 fence, curled badly on the opposite side from which the spraying was done. To be 

 effectual spraying must always be done from both sides of the tree row. 



PRUNING. 



In last year's report (Bulletin No. 177) details of an experiment in pruning frost- 

 injured trees was given. In this report it was stated that in the light of last sea- 

 son's experience, very severe pruning proved dangerous to the life of the tree, but more 

 moderate pruning or cutting back upon wood from one-half to three-fourths of an 

 inch in diameter gave better results than pruning in the usual way. Observations 

 extending over another season confirm the belief that much risk is incurred in cutting 

 the main branches of the tree back to stubs, and at the same time strengthen the 

 opinion that a moderately severe pruning is highly beneficial. Trees given the latter 

 treatment have grown vigorously, developing clean, new, thrifty tops and this season 

 were covered with healthful, dark green foliage, and were for the most part loaded 

 with attractive fruit of fine quality. On the other hand trees which were pruned 

 lightly after the usual plan of heading in and thinning out part of the new growth 

 have grown more slowly, were marked by smaller, less thrifty foliage, bore fruit of 

 smaller size and poorer quality, and this fall contain much more dead wood. 



But it must be admitted that no manner of pruning will entirely renovate a badly 

 frozen tree. There is hardly a tree above four years old on the station grounds 

 that is not rotten in trunk and main branches and is held together only by the new 

 growth which has l)pen made since the freeze. This being the case the trees broke 

 down badly in winds and under their weight of fruit this season. But trees well cut 

 back, having made a greater development of new wood, were better able to resist 

 influences which tended to break them down, and doubtless their lives will be con- 

 siderably prolonged. 



THINNING. 



Tests of thinning to varying degrees gave results this season favoring nnich more 

 severe thinning than is commonly practiced. A distance of ten inches between fruits 

 seemed to be none too great in the case of a number of the varieties experimented on. 

 When the fruit ripened the trees were found to be carrying full loads, and in no 

 instance did the thinning seem to be overdone. 



Trees purposely left without thinning were broken down more or less by winds 

 and by the weight of the crop, and the fruit was so small as to be almost unsalable. 



The danger of thininng too severely is practically nil, since one rarely, if ever, 

 ihins to so great an extent as he purposes. Fruits, and even whole clusters of 

 fruit, are overlooked owing to their small size at the time of thinning, and the 

 obscuring effect of the foliage. Indeed, s© true is this in the case of varieties par- 

 ticularly inclined to overbear, that a second thinning after the fruit has become larger 

 is often desirable, if not positively necessary, to reduce the crop to the proper limit. 



