THE CARE OF PEACH TREES.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18403, 9 June 1925, Page 11

THE CARE OF PEACH TREES.

• TO THE EDITOR OP "THE PKESS." ' Sir,—Now that the time is drawing noar to spray for peach curl and brown rot, a little information from the world V best authorities will be useful to poach growers. Professor L. T. Taft discovered about 30. years ago that by spraying bofore the buds commence to swell would prevent peach curl. But it'wa's not until 1922 that Professor A. J. Mix, of the University of Kansas, was successful in culturing f the peach curl fungus. . From his results he was able to show that the leaf curl following spore production grows and produces more spores, thus furnishing in tho orchard a myriael of spores which blow about and find lodgment on the bud scales of the seeds which-are forming, on the new growth. He says that many growers do not know that the buds for the succeeding year's growth are produced-in May and Juno (November and DeVembbr here"),and when it is cold wet weather in the spring. .The spores on these buds germinate when the' bud .scales are lifting, the parasite pushes into, the bud and infection takes placo; and spraying after the spore enters is useless. If prevention of' the disease is,to bo successful the spraying must, be done before tho bud swells. Concerning brown rot, Dr. H. Wormaldf of 'Wye College, Kent, says that to control this discaso all affected fruits and- "mummies!". and, all diseased wood, be cut out. The writer has jfound that . not only must the . affected, fruits and "mummies" be removed, but the shoots they grow ©n must be cut off below tho diseased parts. And unless this is done, no spray will prevent infection the following season; • Dr. Wormald 'a advice is to spray with ,11b caustic soda, lib'soft soap,iand 10 gallons of water a week or two before the buds swell. The writer finds that if all diseased shoots and dead wood are cut out the spray for peach, curl will do for both sprays.. I have about 16 or 18 spraying programmes .from different States in America; also an up-to-date manual of modem orchard practice; and the general advice is that if there is no San Jose scale- on; the trees to spray with* 6-6-50 Bordeaux' mixture. If there is San Jose scale, or other scale, of red mite, spray 'with lime sulphur—--1 in 8 or 1 in 10: that is one gallon of lime sulphur to'B or 10 gallons of soft water. The Bordeaux should, also be made with soft water. ' Then with regard to the pruning of the peach tree. Peoplo in the Dominion have always been advised to start pruning at this time of the year. The writer never prunes his peach trees until the ond of.. July or early August, and he is in good company; for the United States orchardists, some of them with 14,000 to 18,006 trees, never prune until growth starts, i.e., when the buds swell, and they give good reasons for this. This, of course, does not prevent Tjeaeh growers from examining carcfully their trees for diseased shoots, etc.— Jours, etc. GEO KGE LEE. Templeton, June 7.