2498 



PEACH 



PEACH 



The common commercial packages now in use are 

 the sixteen-quart Jersey or Delaware basket and its 

 modifications, the Georgia six-basket carrier, the Michi- 

 gan bushel and half-bushel, the Climax basket (Fig. 



2804) and the western or 

 California box. 



Packages often arrive 

 on the market hi bad 

 condition because they 

 have not been suffi- 

 ciently well-filled at the 

 orchard. The fruit must 

 be packed tightly enough 

 so that it cannot move 

 in the package during 

 transit. 



Simple mechanical 

 2796. The vase-form, or so-called graders have been used 

 natural-headed tree, in old age. for some time in some of 

 the peach regions, but 



have never been entirely satisfactory. The new types 

 of graders are still in the experimental stage. See Pack- 

 ages, page 2426, for description of types of fruit-graders. 



Markets. 



All the large cities in the United States and Canada, 

 in addition to the local towns, consume large quantities 

 of peaches. A grower who is situated near a large 

 local market can allow his fruit to become well-ripened 

 and haul it by wagon or truck without requiring other 

 transportation facilities. Much of the crop must go to 

 market by rail, however, and if in transit more than a 

 few hours, some refrigeration is necessary. Refrigerator 

 cars are employed for this. The large so-called "Fruit- 

 Growers Express" or "Dispatch Cars" will hold five 

 and one-half tons of ice and are capable of carrying 448 

 Georgia carriers in four tiers, or 558 crates in five tiers. 



All crates, boxes, or baskets should be so arranged 

 when placed in refrigerator cars as to allow of a free 

 circulation of air. 



Precooling of peaches previous to shipment is 

 practised to some extent, but is not yet common. One 

 who engages in peach-production upon a large scale 

 cannot depend upon local markets to take his entire 

 crop at a profit and must be prepared to ship to the 

 wholesale markets. The ideal shipment is the car- 

 load. To ship at least a carload of fruit constantly, 

 one needs to have from about 1,000 to 1,200 trees of 

 each variety in full bearing. 



Insects. 



The most serious insect enemies of the peach are 

 the borer, San Jose scale, and curculio. A few years 



2797. Headed-in peach tree. 



ago the scale was considered the most troublesome of 

 the three, but the borer is now the most difficult to 

 control. The mature insect is wasp-like in appearance, 

 the male shining steel-blue in color with an orange- 



yellow band about the abdomen, while the female is of 

 a deeper and duller color. The eggs are laid on the 

 trunk near the ground from June to as late as Septem- 

 ber, or possibly October. The "grubs" hatch and work 

 their way under the bark and there feed upon the 

 inner bark for about twelve months, when a case is 

 formed of the "sawdust" and other materials, in which 

 the pupa stage is passed. One or two borer larvae may 

 completely girdle a nursery tree, while several may 

 accomplish similar damage on a young tree in the 

 orchard. In any case the infested tree is greatly weak- 

 ened. The presence of borers is easily detected by the 

 mass of gum and "chewings" at the base of the tree. 



A great variety of materials has been tested as 

 coatings to prevent the entrance of borers, but none 

 has proved to be entirely successful. The 

 expansion of the bark because of growth 

 causes numerous cracks in the coating of 

 most materials that are applied and the 

 borers gain entrance. A soft grade of 

 asphaltum applied to the trunk for a few 

 inches above and below ground is a promising 

 material now under test . Lime -sulfur, white- 

 wash, and other materials may have some 

 value as repellants, but are not very efficient. 



The common practice is to remove the 

 soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches about the 

 trunks of the trees in early spring and to 

 kill the borers by means of a knife and a 

 short piece of wire. Some growers examine 

 their trees in autumn, but there is danger 

 of winter injury unless the soil is put back 

 before severe winter weather occurs. 



The San Jose scale is now easily con- 

 trolled by a thorough dormant-season spray- 

 ing of lime-sulfur diluted to a specific gravity 

 of 1.03 to 1.04. 



The plum-curculio is a small snout beetle 

 about ft inch in length with four irregular 

 humps upon the wing-covers. It is dark 

 mottled gray in color with black markings. 2798. 

 The principal damage caused by this insect Fruit-buds 

 is during seasons of light crops or upon trees of * he P e * ch 

 just coming into bearing when the loss of 

 a proportion of the green fruits reduces 

 the crop. In seasons of heavy crops, the 

 loss of a proportion of the green fruit may not prove 

 to be of economic importance. The beetle appears 

 in the orchard about blooming time and feeds on 

 the foliage until the calyces are shed from the fruits, 

 when egg-laying begins. If the egg hatches, the larva 

 makes its way to the center of the peach and feeds 

 upon the developing germ, causing the fruit to 

 fall from the tree later. The mature beetle may also 

 do considerable feeding upon the outside of the peach 

 while it is still small, causing irregular blemishes that 

 may markedly effect the commercial value of the fruit. 

 The curculio is most troublesome when the orchard is 

 surrounded by grasslands and hedgerows of weeds and 

 native trees. When much of the area is under cultiva- 

 tion and good orchard practice prevails, the damage is 

 greatly reduced. A spraying of arsenate of lead just after 

 the petals fall, and again just as the calyces are shedding 

 from the fruits, will destroy many of the curculio. It is 

 best to combine the lead with the self-boiled lime-sulfur 

 to secure a better distribution of the lead and prevent 

 any burning of foliage by an inferior product. 



The bark-beetle is a small black insect not more 

 than y mcn m length that attacks the bark upon 

 weakened trees, causing gum to exude in spots upon the 

 trunk and branches. Fortunately, the insect usually 

 causes little or no damage to vigorous healthy trees and 

 its presence indicates that some other factor is really to 

 blame, although it is sometimes reported on healthy 

 trees. The black peach aphis is occasionally trouble- 

 some upon light soils, but good culture and a vigorous 



tween. 



