Peach Blight.

Manawatu Standard, Volume X, Issue 14, 15 June 1885, Page 2

Peach Blight.

- — ♦ (To the Editor Wanganui Chronicle.) Sir, — In your last issue a correspondent gives his experience ; I will now contribute mine on this rnibject, so that the cause and remedy niay be found within narrower limits. I had some 20 young trees from tho natives ; these and about a hundred seedlings h year younger wore dying with ihn blight. A year ago I moved them three miles off, nearer to the sea. When other trees— old and young: — were killed this last season l>y the blight the transplanted troos were cut down. They are now three and four years- old, vigorous and perfectly healthy. T raised 400 seedlings the year before last. Last year -they were cut down and grafted. Some of the grafts did not take, but the trees grafted and migrafted are all vigorous and healthy. Those that were not cut down or transplanted were killed -by the blight. The peach trees that I got from Mr Laird here, from other nurseries, and from natives were all free from blight the first year, some have been killed the second year, some have iieen injured by it, but where it has been necessary to stranßplant them they have not suffered from the blight. 80 far my experience show* that if the trees are annually moved the blight doet not afftct them, but an one swallow does not make a summer, it requires further testing before it can be relied U|K>n. What I have said applies equally to nectarines. That the blight dooa uot affect the roots is, I think, proved by the freedom of blight m the peach slock* grafted with plums, of which th*r» are many growing m Taranaki. I have heard of the inflects named by your correwpondent, but I have not seen them. Tho question arisen, are they the cause or an effect of tho blight? Two of our settlers aro reported to have blight-proof peaches. In this direction something may be disco vercd4 I have beon trying by getting together some fifty varieties of peaches. No doubt I shall find some duplicates, but so ,far J have not found any blight«proof unless transplanted. Chas. B own.