1542 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OP PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



pact trees in whicli the fruiting wood is 

 kept as near the trunk of the tree as pos- 

 sible. In order to accomplish this it is 

 necessary to properly shape the trees 

 from the heginning 



Snmmer Pruning 



Summer pruning is not a common prac- 

 tice among peach growers in general, hut 

 it is a very heneficial and profitable oper- 

 ation in young orchards. Peach trees set 

 upon good soil and thoroughly cultivated 

 will make a very rapid growth the second 

 summer. 



Some of the leading shoots will com- 

 monly make a growth of from five to six 

 feet if allowed to develop unchecked, espe- 

 cially upn the better sandy soils. Where 

 such a growth takes place the side 

 branches upon the leaders are often poor- 

 ly developed and the tree has really grown 

 out of bounds. A tree will also frequent- 

 ly develop too many of these long lead- 

 ing branches besides some smaller shoots, 

 commonly termed "suckers," and the top 

 of the tree becomes too dense and thick. 

 These "suckers" and undesirable branches 

 develop at the expense of the desirable 

 ones by shading and otherwise interfering 

 with their growth. Such a tree will re- 

 QLuire severe pruning the following spring 

 to get it into proper form. A too severe 

 winter pruning is what we wish to avoid 

 in young peach trees as it promotes vege- 

 tative growth and delays fruit production. 

 Summer pruning has the opposite effect 

 of winter pruning, and instead of forc- 

 ing out still more vegetative growth its 

 tendency is to check the tree and to pro- 

 mote fruit bearing. 



Perhaps the greatest advantage of sum- 

 mer pruning is in training irregular trees 

 into a better form. An orchard may be 

 made to appear very uniform by a proper 

 summer pruning of irregular individual 

 trees. 



Objects of Summer Pruning 



The objects of summer pruning peach 

 trees the second season may be summar- 

 ized as follows: 



To improve the form of the tree. 



To remove "suckers" and undesirable 

 branches which tend to make the head or 

 top of the tree too dense. 



To remove the necessity for too severe 

 winter pruning. 



To encourage and induce fruitfulness. 



Trees which are making a one-sided de- 

 velopment or an irregular growth can be 

 trained into better form by a proper 

 pinching back of the leading shoots in 

 summer ("pinching" or "heading back" 

 are terms used to designate the cutting or 

 pinching off of the tips of growing 

 shoots). 



Trees which tend to make too upright 

 a growth at the expense of side branches 

 can best be induced to make a more 

 spreading symmetrical growth by sum- 

 mer pruning. A too spreading type of 

 growth may also be made more compact 

 by a pinching back of the leading 

 branches which tend to develop in a too 

 horizontal or drooping position. 



This phase of summer pruning, the 

 pincliing or cutting "bach of the tips of 

 leading branches, tends to make a tree 

 more dense and compact, because it forces 

 a stronger development of the side 

 branches. 



Summer pruning, then, may be said to 

 consist of two distinct operations: the 

 thinning of the new growth, including the 

 removal of any water sprouts or suckers, 

 and the pinching back of leading, rapidly- 

 growing shoots. 



Both operations are usually necessary 

 in summer pruning peach trees that are 

 growing rapidly the second summer. The 

 simple pinching back of the tips of the 

 most vigorous shoots results in making 

 the tree more dense and compact, which is 

 the exact thing we wish to avoid. In 

 general^ then, where pinching 'back is 

 practiced some thinning of shoots is also 

 necessary. The exception may occur with 

 a very open spreading type of tree with 

 but little growth in the center, where the 

 pinching back will simply check the 

 sprawling or very upright form of the 

 growth without causing the center zo be 

 come dense. 



Trees which are making a weak growth 

 should never be summer pruned, as prun- 

 ing tends to check them. 



Maueice a. Blake, 



New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station 

 Bulletin 231. 



