Pruning. 



Few Massachusetts peach orchards are intelligently and 

 systematically pruned. More attention to pruning should pay 

 large dividends in increased crops and longer life of the trees. 

 The peach bears by lateral buds on the new annual growth 

 and on lateral or terminal buds on short, straight spurs. Most 

 fruit buds are of the former kind, and as a result of this 

 habit the bearing wood gets farther away from the center of 

 the tree each year. This tendency is to be checked by heading 

 back. Sometimes the fruit buds are near the base of this 

 new growth, sometimes near the tip, and sometimes evenly 

 distributed the entire length. These facts should be observed 

 before pruning so that intelligent hmiting of the crop may 

 follow pruning. Heavy heading back should follow a loss of 

 crop from winter cold, but one should make sure that the buds 

 are destroyed before cutting, lest he destroy a crop. Dead 

 buds will show a brown center within forty-eight hours after 

 killing, but 90 or 95 per cent of the buds may be killed and the 

 remainder make a fair crop. This is why the peach crop is 

 sometimes destroyed in April and yet floods the market in 

 September. If the buds are really all killed, cut the branches 

 back into three or four year old wood and cut to a side branch ; 

 also cut back the side branches and remove all weak shoots. 



If a crop is promised, less severe pruning should be practiced. 

 The new growth should be shortened one-third or more and 

 weak side shoots removed. Cut to a side branch whenever 

 possible. Every effort should be made to keep the tree from 

 going high in the air by cutting back severely the upright 

 growth in the center of the tree. 



Spraying. 

 The summer spraying program in the peach orchard will 

 differ considerably from that for apples largely because lime- 

 sulfur and lead arsenate will burn the foliage severely and 

 cause partial defoliation. Thoroughness of application is of 

 ^ital importance as with all spraying work; every leaf, twig 

 and fruit should be completely covered with the spraying 

 material. 



