-3- 



The experienced peach grower knows where to locate his orchard 

 as regards site and soil. He knows varieties and what to look for in a new 

 one. He has the equipment and knows how to use it. But most important of 

 all, he has the "know how" for growrLg and handling peaches. The novice who 

 has all tliis to learn had better "stop, look, and listen" to make sure that 

 he gets onto the train and not onto the track. 



— J. S. Bailey 



CONTROL OF PEACH TREE BORERS 



Dr. Oliver I. Snapp, the originator of the eythylene dichloride 

 treatment for the control of peach tree borers, has been looking for some- 

 thing more safe and equally effective. He reported recently that propylene 

 dichloride, even when l/4 to l/3 less is used, is as effective as ethylene 

 dichloride and much safer. However, his experiments have not progressed to 

 the point where he is recommending propylene dichloride for general use. 



— J. S. Bailey 

 DAHGER IN HEAVY EARLY 17INTER PRUNING 



An apple grower told at a recent meeting that he had started to 

 do a very drastic job of lowering the trees in an excessively tall orchard. 

 Some of the trees had been slashed back to about half their former height, 

 TJ'ords of caution from others at the meeting about heavy pruning before mid- 

 vanter will probably set him thinking. The following is quoted from the 

 October issue of "Food for Victory with King Apple," (University of Illinois)} 



"Experience in Illinois indicates that fall and v/inter pruning of apple and 

 peach trees may result in serious tree-killing v;hen the pruning is followed 

 by sub-z«ro temperatures. During the v/inter of 1935-36 a 30-acre block of 

 peach trees pruned from December to February was killed to the ground by a 

 Feburary sub-zero cold wave. The rest of the orchard, which was unpruned, 

 was killed back to a height of about six feet. Durin.^ the severe v/inter of 

 1929-30 a block of '.wealthy and Duchess trees in the University orchard at 

 Urbana, which had been pruned before the cold v/ave, was so heavily damaged 

 that more than half the trees eventually died. The heavier the pruning, the 

 greater is the hazard. Pruning wounds heal better when cuts are made in 

 the spring. If it becomes necessary to prune during the winter because of 

 labor shortage, it is suggested that stubs about a foot long be left on all 

 cuts more than 2 inches in diameter. These stubs may thon be cut off in 

 early spring v/hen the danger of sub-zero temperature is past. This will en- 

 able the bremch to be taken out of the orchard during the winter." 



Similar observations v/ere made in Massachusetts after the severe 

 winter of 1935-34. There is apparently much less danger from fall and early 

 winter removal of weak, drooping branches or parts of branches, than from 

 heavy cutting of vigorous branches. 



In a recent release to Connecticut growers under the heading, 

 "Tall Trees are Expensive," H, A. Rollins says, "If you cannot reach the tops 

 of your a^jple trees with a 20-foot ladder it is time to lower the tops by 

 pruning, so that you can spray, thin and pick the apples more easily next year. 



