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buds are killed as are many leaf buds» Considerable wood injury is also evident. 

 All flower buds on the svieet and sour cherries and on the plums appear to be dead, 

 A few apple floiver buds and more of those on pears shavr injury. 



Growers can determine whether a flower bud is alive by cutting through it 

 longitudinally 1 A darkened area in the center indicates that the flower parts 

 have been killed. Wood injury in the tops of the trees can be determined by 

 cutting longitudinally the one^ two or three year old wood. If the vfood is in- 

 jured, it will be light to dark brown in color depending upon the severity of 

 injury. Non-injured wood is whitish. To be sure what non-injured vrood looks 

 like examine Virood on branches that ^vere covered by snow. In addition, examine 

 suckers that can be found at the base of some trees. 



Peach Trees - Priming of peach trees should be delayed until, or just after 

 bloom« At this time leaf growth virill have progressed sufficiently to distinguish 

 between living and dead wood. If there is considerable wood injury, prune the dead 

 wood only. Postpone all other pruning on these trees until another year to allow 

 as much recovery as possible. It has been reported in many instances that following 

 wood injury heavily pruned peach trees die viheveas trees not pruned or lightly 

 pruned make satisfactory recovery^ Rate of fertilization should be reduced accord- 

 ing to severity of injury. 



Peach trees having nearly all flovrer buds killed but v/ith little or no \rood 

 injury, can be pruned in the normal manner. Fertilizaer applications may be re- 

 duced or omitted depending upon previous vigor of trees , 



In case of older peach trees having severe winter injury, growers may pi-efer 

 to remove these and replant., However, past experience in other localities has 

 shown that many severely injured trees made remarkable recovery if not pruned. 



The grower should be continuously on the alert for signs of winter injury. 

 In the past, some types of vriiiter injury were not observed until during or at the 

 end of the growing season, 



Apple Trees - At the time this article was vfritten, no definite wood injury 

 to apple trees has been detected and only a few flower buds vfere killed. However, 

 grovfers should be on the alert for iidnter injury. If and vrhen \ie have evidence 

 of winter injury of apple wood, groTirers will be informed, 



A high percentage of Mcintosh apple trees in Massachusetts had a light crop 

 v;hich is favorable from the standpoint of winter injury. Trees with light crops 

 and healthy foliage accumulate an abundant supply of food materials in the vrood 

 and bark tissues which is an important factor contributing to winter hardiness. 



Other factors in our favor are maturity of tissues and the weather preceding 

 the sub-zero temperatures. The wood and buds acquj.re resistance to coldc Low 

 temperatures or sudden drops in temperature in late fall or early Tfin.ter before 

 the wood of the fruit trees are sufficiently hardened to the cold can cause con- 

 siderable Trinter injury. 



