It has not yet recovered and, in 1958, the up-and-coming peach producing areas were 
Murcia and Tarragona, The Provinces of Lerida and Valencia also began to increase their peach 
plantings. (Of these areas, Barcelona and Lerida are the only ones that produce primarily for 
the fresh fruit market.) 
Murcia had the largest number of peach trees in 1958--688,400--followed by Barcelona 
with 615,400 and Tarragona with 469,000. Barcelona, however, still had the most specialized 
acreage with 3,583 acres--down from 10,452 in 1954--but both Murcia and Tarragona were 
close behind with 3,015 and 2,965 acres, respectively. 
Murcia's plantings of peach trees in 1959 and 1960, according to the Spanish trade, were 
increasing at a faster rate than in previous years, In 1960 the total number of peach trees in 
Murcia was estimated to have exceeded 1 million, and additional plantings were taking place. 
In both the Murcia and Valencia areas, production of peaches per tree is about the same, 
averaging about 60 pounds. However, the Murciaarea produced more fruit per acre--about 10,000 
pounds of fresh fruit compared with 8,500 pounds in the Valencia area, 
Some of the peach varieties include May Flower, Amsden, and San Lorenzo, The Williams 
(Bartlett) variety of pear is most favored for canning. 
Pears and Cherries 
Production of other deciduous fruits--mostly pears and cherries--is scattered over the 
northern provinces. Some increases in the number of pear trees were reported in the Murcia 
area. One canner stated that he had planted 100,000 trees. It was reported that recently 1 million 
pear trees had been imported--Williams (Bartlett) variety--in a move to ultimately make Spain 
self-sufficient in pear production. At the presenttime, fresh pears are being imported to supple- 
ment domestic production in packing fruit salad. 
Pears,--Acreage, tree numbers, and production of pears has gradually increased. In 1958, 
specialized acreage was estimated at 10,000 acres and 3.8 million trees, the largest number 
recorded, Pear production in 1960 was estimated at 110,200 short tons, about the average for 
the past 5 years. 
Cherries.--Specialized plantings of cherry trees increased from 1939 to 1955 but in 1956 
dropped slightly and in 1958 were estimated in the range of 2,000 acres. Total tree numbers in 
1958 were estimated at 2.2 million, the highest number on record, Production in 1960 was esti- 
mated at 44,100 short tons, down about 21 percent from the high of 55,700 tons reached in 1958. 
Disease and Pests 
Diseases have not been too much of a problem in fresh fruit production, according to the 
Spanish canners, and about the only- pest is the Mediterranean fruit fly. Apricots are usually 
harvested before the fruit fly season. Peaches which are harvested later are damaged if left on 
the trees and become overly ripe. Almost all producers use bait trays for controlling the fruit 
fly. Some of the larger commercial producers use power sprayers with modern pesticides. 
Fertilizer 
Animal manure is the most widely used fertilizer, with the larger fruit producers also 
using commercial fertilizers in addition. 
When manure is used, each tree gets about 8-10 pounds and a side dressing of 1 pound of 
nitrogen, 
The main commercial fertilizers used are calcium superphosphate, potassium sulfate, 
ammonium sulfate, and Chilean nitrate, 
