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PRUT-IING PEACH TREES 



Pruning At Setting Time 



Even though the life of a peach tree is normally considerably shorter than 

 that of an apple tree, the same care should be taken in building a strong frame- 

 work to prevent subsequent breakage of main scaffold limbs, 



In the past, the customary method of training a young peach tree has been 

 the open center system which consists of three or four main scaffold limbs arising 

 at approximately the same point on the trvmk. This tends to produce a tree with 

 v/eak crotches which frequently break down with a heavy load of fruit. The recent 

 trend is towards a modified leader t3'pe of tree, Nonnally a one-year peach tree 

 as it comes from the nixrsery has several side branches. After the tree is set, 

 all branches viithin eighteen inches of the ground sh-ould be removed. Any narrow 

 angled side branches should be removed. Then, three or four branches which come 

 out at a vdde angle, vertically spaced about six inches apart , should be saved 

 for main scaffold branches. All other branches should be cut off flush with the 

 trunk. The leader should be cut back to the top-most side branch and then the 

 lateral branches should be cut' to short stubs two to four inches long, vdth each 

 containing one bud. 



If one-year trees, 9/l6 - 11/16 inch diameter, and five to seven feet in 

 height are set, an alternative method, known ae deshooting may be employed. This 

 provides for a better selection of lateral branches and a somewhat better establish- 

 ment of the head, IfYith this method, the main trunk is cut off at forty to forty- 

 four inches from the ground and all branches are removed below eighteen inches from 

 the ground. All other side branches are cut back to stubs of one bud each. Later, 

 when the shoots from these buds have grown to a length of four to eight inches, four 

 or five of the most desirably placed laterals are selected and the others removed, 

 A vertical spacing of four to eight inches is desirable j also, the laterals should 

 be spaced around the trunk so each has an open space in which to develop. The more 

 vigorous branches which have been saved should be cut back to about the same length 

 as the shorter laterals. This method practically insures a strong framework v/hich 

 will not break down. 



Pruning During the Formative Period 



Pruning after the first season's growth consists of making a final selection 

 of scaffold branches, li/hile most of these villi be the same as selected originally, 

 it may be necessary to make slight readjustments. From this point on, the effort 

 should be to develop a symmetrically open bowl-shaped tree removing branches virhich 

 tend to grovi inward and those which are grov;ing straight up through the center of 

 the tree. Scaffolds should be headed back slightly if growth has exceeded thirty 

 inches with little or no branching. On scaffolds which have made less than thirty 

 inches growth with several side branches all but two or three well spaced side 

 branches should be removed. Laterals on a scaffold branch which grow out and slight- 

 ly upvard from left and right, are most desirable. Those which tend to grow towards 

 the ground should be removed. All branches other than scaffolds, which arise from 

 the trunk, should be removed. 



From the second to the fourth year an annual removal of branches which inter- 

 fere with the growth of the scaffold limbs is essential but severe pruning should be 



