136 



growth. It has been generally found that the buds on weak trees 

 are more forward than on trees that have grown late in the fall. At 

 Doniphan, Missouri (in one of the extreme southern counties) dur- 

 ing the spring of 1908 in an orchard owned by a Mr. Neal, old Elberta 

 trees that had been weakened by late summer pruning and others 

 that had not been pruned at all were in full bloom by March 15, while 

 young Elberta trees that had been severely pruned the' spring and 

 late winter before were not yet in bloom, being apparently at least 

 one week more backward in blooming than the weakly growing 

 trees. Other orchards in the same community showed similar condi- 

 tions. It should be said, too, that this was not an abnormally early 

 bloom for extreme southern Missouri. 



During the spring of 1910 a number of Elberta peach trees were 

 pruned back very severely in the orchard of the Ozark Fruit Farm 

 Company at Brandsville, Howell County. The following winter 

 was so abnormal that nearly all Elberta trees were almost in full 

 bloom by February 22, when a temperature of 14° F. was experienced. 

 Of course the bloom and some of the unopened buds on such trees 

 were killed. At that time the fruit buds on these severely pruned 

 trees that had grown late in the fall were not open, and they suffered 

 much less injury than did buds on trees not cut back. 



Again on March 16 a temperature 20° F. was experienced. Buds 

 on these cut back trees had not yet reached the stage of development 

 that had been reached by trees not so treated by February 22, the 

 temperature between those dates being too low for much growth 

 to take place. The following table gives the percentage of buds 

 killed on the severely pruned and on the unpruned trees by the freeze 

 of February 22, and by the freeze of March 16. 



Table 42. Showing the Percentage of Buds Killed at Brands- 

 ville, Missouri, by the Freezes of February 22 

 and March 16, 1911, on Severely Pruned 

 and Unpruned Trees. 



