200 ' Peach-Growing 



Blake ^ has set forth the more important objects of summer 

 pruning as follows : ''To improve the form of the tree. To 

 remove 'suckers' and undesirable branches which tend to 

 make the head or top of the tree too dense. To remove the 

 necessity for too severe winter pruning. To encourage and 

 induce fruitfulness." 



This summary relates particularly to young trees that have 

 not been planted more than three years and which, there- 

 fore, have not yet borne much fruit. The first year in 

 particular after a tree is planted, corrective summer pruning 

 in limited extent may be advantageous in improving the 

 form. Frequently one or two branches will take the lead 

 in groTvi:h and if not checked, the tree becomes one-sided and 

 unsymmetrical. If such branches are pinched back a little 

 as soon as it is apparent that the tree is becoming one-sided, 

 the other limbs have a better opportunity to develop. 

 Further, superfluous limbs may start to grow, and the earlier 

 they are removed, the better. Suckers that come from 

 adventitious buds below the ground had better be removed 

 also at once. By thus keeping the young growing tree well 

 shaped throughout the season, the need of very heavy prun- 

 ing and especially that which calls for the removal of entire 

 limbs of considerable size will be largely avoided. 



It follows to some extent that summer pruning is an in- 

 dividual tree treatment rather than one that should be 

 applied to entire orchards. When considerable pinching 

 back of "leader branches" is done, the development of many 

 relatively strong side branches is likely to occur. These 

 should ordinarily be thinned out as soon as the need begins 

 to appear. The first regular pruning, however, should 

 ordinarily be done during the first half of June, excepting 

 1 N. J. Exp. Sta. Bull. 231, p. 32. 



