spray the trees with a fungicide before a rain occurs to help prevent 

 or reduce damage from Valsa canker. (Information on fungicides for 

 Valsa canker control can be obtained from your County Extension Ser- 

 vice.) Since Valsa canker is frequently associated with poor pruning 

 practices and winter injury, other control measures include avoiding 

 or eliminating narrow crotches, making pruning cuts so as not to leave 

 stubs, and avoiding late growth. 



Pruning during the formative period consists of making the final 

 selection of scaffold branches. These branches should be chosen after 

 the first season's growth. Most v/ill be the same branches that were 

 selected originally, with some slight readjustments. Subsequent prun- 

 ing should develop an open bowl -shaped tree by removing branches that 

 tend to grow inward and those which are growing straight up through 

 the center of the tree. Head back slightly only those selected scaf- 

 folds where growth has exceeded 30 inches with little or no branching. 

 On scaffolds which have made less than 30 inches growth with several 

 side branches, cut off all but 2 or 3 well-spaced side branches. Lat- 

 erals on a scaffold branch which will grow out and slightly up from 

 left and right are most desirable. Those which tend to grow towards 

 .the ground should be removed. All branches which arise from the 

 trunk, other than scaffolds, should be removed. 



From the second to the fourth year, cut off annually those branches 

 which interfere with the growth of the scaffold limbs but avoid severe 

 pruning, which will delay the time when the tree will start to produce 

 a profitable crop. 



P runing bearing trees : When pruning bearing peach trees, keep in mind 

 that peaches are borne laterally on shoots that grew the previous year. 

 Therefore, the stimulation of 1-year shoot growth by fertilization and 

 pruning is essential for maximum yields of fruit. On a vigorous 1-year 

 shoot, usually 3 buds will be produced at each node. The 2 plump out- 

 side buds will be flower buds and the smaller bud in the center will be 

 a leaf bud. On less vigorous shoots there may be but 1 flower bud and 

 a leaf bud on a node . 



In pruning a bearing tree the following branches should be removed: 



1. Those which are broken or diseased. 



2. Those which are slender and weak especially on the inside 



of the tree. 



3. Those which grow toward the center or straight up. 



4. Those which grow doxmward so as to interfere with mowing or 

 cultivating equipment. 



After these branches are removed, it may be necessary to thin out 

 a few of the more vigorous branches where they are too numerous. "Leggy" 

 branches (those which grow out for a considerable distance without 

 branching) need to be headed back in order to induce the development 

 of side branches nearer the trunk. To overcome the peach tree's growth 

 habit of producing bearing wood further and further from the trunk, 

 retain a few young branches on the inner parts of the tree. These 

 brancher: should be located so that they will subsequently replace older 



