Fertilize PeacK Soils WKen Trees are Dormant 



To maintain the fertility of peach 

 soils, they should receive applica- 

 tions of essential fertilizers. This 

 work, in some instances, should be done 

 in fall after the leaves drop. For the 

 peach, fertilizers that contain plenty of 



Properly Packed Peaches 



potash and phosphoric acid are required, 

 and only small quantities of nitrogen. 

 The proportion and quantity required 

 for a particular orchard will vary with 

 the texture and condition of the soil, and 

 the amount and availability of the plant 

 foods it already contains. The only way 

 to determine the wants of the soil is to 

 experiment and watch the results. 



POTASH 



The most essential element of fertihty 

 in a peach orchard is potash. It induces 

 fruitfulness rather than excessive wood 

 growth. Chemically speaking, it forms 

 salts .of the organic acids in the plant, it 

 s supposed to assist in the formation of 

 starch, and the assimilation of carbon, 

 and it influences the flavor. Also, when 

 abundantly supplied, it causes the fruit 

 to color up better. It is often deficient 

 in peach soils, and must be supplied 

 artificially. 



The most economical .source of potash 

 is unleached hardwood ashes. These 

 also supply a small amount of phos- 

 phoric acid. The potash in wood ashes 

 is immediately available. Forty to fifty 

 bushels an acre is the usual rate of ap- 

 plication. Muriate of potash is a form 

 of potash that also gives excellent re- 

 sults with peach trees. It is a definite 

 compound containing about 50 per cent, 

 of actual potash, and may be used at the 

 rate of 200 pounds an acre. This and 

 other references to the amount required 

 are merely suggestions. Local condi- 

 tions and experiment alone can tell. 



A common potassium salt used as ma- 

 nure is kainite. It is an impure form of 

 muriate of potash, containing about 13 

 per cent, of potash. Sulphate of potash 

 is also used by some growers. 



Potassic manures should be spread 

 over the ground when the trees are dor- 

 mant in fall or spring, and worked in 

 with a cultivator. Wood ashes may be 

 applied at any time. 



PHOSPHORIC ACID 



Phosphoric acid in some commercial 

 form is essential to the growing of good 

 peaches. The tree, the fruit, and the 

 seed are benefited most decidedly by 

 its application. Peach soils, being Hght 

 and sandy, are likely to be deficient in 

 this constituent. In heavier soils, it is 

 often present in an unavailable form, and 

 requires cultivation to liberate it. Phos- 

 phoric acid is usually applied to the soil 

 in the form of bone meal or superphos- 

 phates Bone meal also supplies a small 

 quantity of nitrogen. Superphosphates 

 are apt to be strongly acid, and should 

 be apphed in the fall or winter when the 

 tree is dormant, and at the rate of about 

 200 pounds an acre. Thomas or basic 

 slag is a form of phosphoric acid that 

 gives very good results on sandy soils. 

 It must be very finely ground, as it 

 parts with its fertility very slowly. Dis- 

 solved South Carolina rock is another 

 valuable form of this fertilizer. 



NITROGEN 



^_^An over supply of nitrogen is ruinous 

 to peach trees. It has been found that 

 "the peach is the healthiest and yields 

 the best fruit on soils which for most 



one must be cautious when using nitro- 

 genous fertilizers. 



A liberal application of nitrogen is im- 

 portant, however, for young growing 

 trees and for mature trees when the 

 leaves appear smaller than natural, and 

 take on a yellowish color. Although 

 this condition of the leaves usually in- 

 dicates a lack of nitrogen, it also may 

 indicate an excess of moisture in the soil. 

 Too much nitrogen is indicated by un- 

 usually dark green foliage, rank growth, 

 large crops of small, poorly-colored fruit, 

 or no crop at all, and immaturity of the 

 wood in fall. 



When nitrogen is required to stimulate 

 early growth or restore impoverished 

 bearing trees, it is most effectively ap- 

 plied in the form of nitrate of soda. An- 

 other commercial form is sulphate of 

 ammonium. This, also, may be used 

 for peaches, but it is not so quick in its 

 action as the nitrate. 



The most economical method of furn- 

 ishing nitrogen is by means of tillage and 

 green leguminous manures; the former 

 promotes nitrification, the latter indi- 

 rectly adds nitrogen to the soil from the 

 air, and it also prevents the leaching of 

 nitrates already in the soil. On poor, 

 gravelly knolls some commercial form of 

 nitrogen may be used with advantage, 

 and it should be applied early in the 

 season, as late applications tend to pre- 

 vent a proper ripening of the wood for 

 winter. 



BARNYARD MANURE 



Barnyard manure as a fertihzer for 

 peach trees is not favored by the major- 



A Uniform and Correct Pack for Pears 



crops would be considered deficient in 

 nitrogen." Also, that trees suffer from 

 winter-killing when overfed with nitro- 

 gen, are more liable to be infected with 

 brown rot, and produce later and poorer 

 cro])s of fruit. It is obvious, then, that 



269 



ity of orchardists. Its use seems to en- 

 courage fungous diseases, more so than 

 artificial fertilizers. Mr. J. H. Hale, the 

 "peach king," says that peaches stimu- 

 lated by stable manure are more liable 

 to vello'ws than those fertilized by com- 



