Planting Peach Trees

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Planting Peach Trees

For more than 200 years the Peach was believed to have originated in Persia and the scientific name, Prunus persica, indi-cates a Persian origin. However, in trackingdown historical references to the Peach,scientists found that at about 1500 B.C. it wasunknown in Persia and western India althoughit is mentioned in Chinese literature more than500 years earlier. Thus, China is now theaccepted origin of the Peach and its move west-ward is traced first to Greece and then to thetemperate areas of Europe.

Peaches were brought to North Americathe Spanish, French and English settlers.Perhaps the fruit was first brought to Mexicoby the Spaniards, who also brought them to Fla.in 1565, while English and French settlersbrought the seeds to eastern U.S. The nativeIndians carried this fruit far inland and iteventually reached the West Coast. Today thePeach is of commercial importance in Africa,South America, Europe, Asia and NorthAmerica.

Peach Growing in the United States

Peaches are being grown in at least 38 statesof the U.S. The areas best suited to peachgrowing are the West Coast states, the EastCoast states from Fla. to Mass., and the areasouth and east of the Great Lakes. The south-western slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Colo.are an important peach-producing area also.

Since the Peach is not a cold-hardy fruit, itsareas of growth are limited by minimum wintertemperatures. A temperature drop to —10° F.will usually kill many fruit buds and a tempera-ture of — zo° F. will often kill trees. The amountof damage following cold temperatures is in-fluenced to a great extent by the precedingtemperatures. Warm weather for several days orlonger preceding a quick drop to below zerocauses most cold damage. This is especially trueafter the tree has completed its rest period. Insouthern areas the bark of trees can be severelyinjured when day temperatures of 70° F. arefollowed by a drop to 18° F. above zero atnight.

Like all deciduous plants, peach trees requirea rest period between the time when the leavesfall and the flowers appear the following spring.Peach varieties differ considerably in their coldrequirements for dormancy, the required timeranging from 600 to 1200 hours of 45° F. orbelow to complete the rest period. Varieties thatrequire the minimum number of cold hours tocomplete a rest period have been developed sothat peaches may be grown in warmer, near sub-tropical, climates. Such varieties are needed forFla., south Tex. and southern Calif.

The Peach Tree

The Peach is not so long-lived as the Apple.Although some may live to be 35 years old,mostpeach trees do not live much beyond zo yearsand in some areas to years is the life expectancy.The young tree grows vigorously for the first 3.years. During the first year, a well-grown treewill grow from Soo to 15oo total inches of newgrowth depending upon weather and generalculture. In its second season of growth a fewfruits will be produced on the tree, but it isbest to remove these fruits and so permit the tree to make vegetative growth and toattain good size for early future production.The Peach produces fruit mainly on terminal,year-old shoots, which, for best fruiting, shouldbe about 12 in. long. Fruit buds develop all alongthis 12-in. shoot and there may be as many as3o of these. The peach tree that is growing in itsthird season may produce 75 to 150 peaches. Asimple rule of thumb for production is t bushelin the third year, 2 bushels in the fourth year,and so on, incresing production by t bushel eachyear until 6 bushels are produced in the eighthyear. More or less may be produced per tree,depending upon weather, culture, variety andtree size.

How the Peach Tree is Produced

Peach pits are planted and seedling treesgrow from these pits. During June in southernstates these seedling trees are budded to knownvarieties. This is necessary since seedling treeswill not produce fruit similar to the parentvariety. Usually the fruit of a seedling tree ismuch inferior to the parent tree. Buds insertedinto the seedling tree during June begin to growwithin a few weeks and the seedling growth abovethe bud is removed. The resulting growth fromthe inserted bud becomes a tree of a knownvariety and this tree is ready to plant in thegarden that same fall or the following year. Innorthern areas, budding is done in Aug. but,though union of the bud with the stock or seed-ling occurs, the bud remains dormant until thespring of the following year.

Tree Size Control

In most home gardens, the standard sizepeach tree is quite satisfactory. It can be main-tained at a height of about 8-to ft. and a widthof 12-15 ft. by careful pruning. A very limitednumber of peach trees are available on dwarfingrootstocks, including 'Brompion' and 'St.Julien' clonal plum stocks, P. besseyi, theSand Cherry, and P. tomentosa. The use ofdwarfing stocks has not been so successful or sowidely used with the Peach as with the Apple and Pear.

There are a few natural dwarf peach varieties.One that has had some success is called`Bonanza'. A natural dwarf peach tree is onewith shorter nodes and more leaves per lengthof growth than the standard tree, even though itis growing on standard seedling roots. It issimilar to the spur type apple tree where theterminal growth is short and the tree is smallerthan standard. The true dwarf peach treeproduces some fruit but because of its smallsize, the peaches are fewer in number.

General Culture

To grow peach trees sucessfully in the home garden, several cultural procedures must befollowed. Beginning with proper planting,trees must be fertilized, cultivated, sprayed forinsect and disease control and pruned annually.Fruit thinning and limb propping are oftennecessary as the tree beings to produce fullcrops of fruit. During drought seasons and inarid regions, irrigation is necessary.

Planting

Spring planting is best and this should beaccomplished before growth begins. Dig a holelarge enough to accommodate the entire rootsystem without crowding. It should be deepenough to allow the tree to be planted at aboutthe same depth of soil in which it grew in thenursery. While digging, keep the topsoil separatefrom the subsoil. Place some of the topsoil in thebottom of the hole and spread the roots over it,then sift more topsoil around the roots. If youcan get rotted manure or compost, mix it withequal parts of topsoil and fill the hole with themixture. If the soil is extremely acid, mix t or 2lbs. of limestone with the soil in the hole. Soilsalong the eastern seaboard are naturally acid.Those in western regions are alkaline and do notrequire additional limestone. Do not putfertilizer in the hole at planting time. Packthe soil firmly around the roots with your feet.

After planting, thoroughly water the soilaround the tree. Keep the soil moist duringspring and through the first summer. A slightdepression about 2 ft. in dia. left around thebase of the tree will help to keep water in theroot area. In the fall, mound the soil slightlyaround the tree to reduce ice accumulation andpossible injury to the bark on the trunk.

Sunlight

Full sunshine is essential to good tree growthand production. Trees will grow spindly andfruit production will beslight and of poor qualityif grown in a shaded area.

Soil

Trees will not tolerate a wet soil. The soilmust be sufficiently well drained so that waterdoes not stand on the surface or saturate the rootarea for days following a heavy rain. Peach treesdie quickly from excessive water around theroots.

Fertilization

After growth begins, the newly planted treecan receive about -Ar lb. of actual nitrogenapplied on the soil around thetree. A nitrogenousmaterial such as ammonium nitrate may beused, or a complete fertilizer such as to-to-to; a second application may be needed about 6weeks later to maintain good vigor. Excessive growth should be avoided because this results ina poor tree framework. An excessively vigoroustree produces an upright growth with narrow,weak crotches where limbs join the trunk.

The amount of fertilizer should be increasedeach year until the tree receives 1 lb. of actualnitrogen. This may be sufficient to maintainvigor and production, but if the soil is poor,more fertilizer will be needed. On sandy soil,peach trees can utilize t lb. of actual nitrogenper year. The growth of the tree and the color ofthe foliage are good indicators of tree vigor. Abearing tree should make terminal growth that isabout 12 in. long and the leaves should have ahealthy green color. Light green or yellowishleaves indicate a lack of sufficient nitrogeneither because an insufficient amount of ferti-lizer was applied, because of excessively dry soilor because there is injury to the tree fromborers or other trunk or root damage.

Cultivation

Peach trees grow best when the soil beneaththe tree is cultivated and kept weed-free.Mulching the soil under the tree is an excellentpractice and can be done instead of cultivation.The mulch must be thick enough to preventweed and grass growth. Straw, wood chips andlawn clippings make excellent mulchingmaterials. An area of about 2 ft. around thetrunk should be kept free of mulch to reducethe possibility of mouse injury to the roots andtrunk. One should watch for mice runs underthe mulch and trap the mice if they are present.

Irrigation

During dry seasons and in arid regions, peachtrees must be irrigated. A bearing tree requiresabout 3 in. of rain per month during the grow-ing season and, if this does not come as rain, anequal amount of water must be applied to thesoil. The best method of watering a peach treein the garden is to place a hose at the base of thetree and to let water trickle slowly for an houror more. A depression in the soil around thebase of the tree will prevent water loss. Theperiod when the tree needs water most criticallyis during the month prior to fruit ripening. Ashortage of water at this time will result in areduction of fruit size. Drought in early springwill seriously reduce terminal growth and fruit-bud formation for the next year, so water shouldbe applied at any time when the moisture in thesoil is low.

Fruit Thinning

A bearing peach tree usually produces moreblossoms and "sets" more peaches than it cangrow to large size and good dessert quality, sothe removal of some fruit is necessary. Killing of buds by winter cold or by spring frosts canreduce the crop so that little or no thinning isnecessary. A mature peach tree may have 25,000or more blossoms. This same tree can ripen togood size and quality about 1200 large peaches(6 bushels). Thus, between the time of blossom-ing and the harvest of the mature fruit, about95% of the blossoms and young fruit musteither drop or be removed by hand. Many of theblossoms drop soon after the petals fall, eitherbecause they were not pollinated or because thetree could not supply the tiny fruits with waterand nutrients. For this reason, also, a greatmany more tiny fruits will fall about 2 weeksafterbloom.

About a month after bloom, another naturaldrop of fruit occurs and this is a final attemptby the tree to reduce the load of fruit. The treewill carry most of the remaining peaches tomaturity. If there are more than tzoo peacheson the average-sized mature tree, some must beremoved by hand or they will be small and ofinferior dessert quality. To determine how muchfruit to remove, one can take a small section ofthe tree and count the peaches. This count willprovide a rough estimate of the total number ofpeaches and will indicate whether furtherreduction is necessary. Usually if peaches areremoved so that those remaining are 6-8 inapart, the thinning is sufficient.
The main reason for thinning is to reduce thenumber of fruits per leaves. It has been shownthrough research that about 35 leaves arerequired to ripen t large peach of good dessertquality.
Thinning should be completed as soon as thelast natural drop of fruit occurs for thosevarieties ripening in midseason and later. Forearly ripening varieties, the thinning should becompleted before the last natural drop, or about3 weeks before ripening. This is sometimesdifficult because the fruit is quite small and oneis not quite sure as to how much fruit will stilldrop naturally. It is absolutely necessary tothin early ripening varieties early to attainpeaches of good size. A peach that is 2 in. india. is quite acceptable and there arc about 300in a bushel. A 2.1-in. peach will average about200 in a bushel.

Harvesting

Peaches ripen rapidly when temperatures areabove 8o0-85° F. As they begin to ripen, theyshould be harvested every 2 or 3 days, depend-ing upon the temperature. High night tempera-tures speed the ripening. Of the early varieties,the first few fruits to ripen will have a split pit.This is a normal characteristic. Often mold willbe present on the seed. This is also normal andthe peach flesh is healthy and good to eat even though the pit is molded. Peaches can beripened fully on the tree and eaten immediately,or they may be harvested in a firm-ripe con-dition and held at room temperature for about 3days. They will then have ripened to excellentdessert quality. Peaches harvested when greenand immature may soften, but the dessert qualitywill be very poor.

Fruit Storage

Peaches can be held in commercial coldstorage at 31°-32° F. for a month or slightlylonger. In the home refrigerator, which ismaintained at about 40° F., they will hold for afew days in excellent condition if they are ripeor firm-ripe when placed in the refrigerator.Prolonged holding at 40"-50° F. results ininternal breakdown and poor flavor. Firm-ripepeaches will soften and ripen slowly while in therefrigerator, but will require about a day or twoat room temperature to develop good quality.Ripening proceeds half as fast at 60° F. as at7e-8o° F„ and only half as fast at 5o° as at6o° F.

Pruning

The year-old peach tree will arrive from thenursery as a branched whip. It should be cutback to about 3o-36 in. above the ground.Usually the side branches are weak and toosmall for framework branches. Cut thesebranches back to spurs, leaving 2-3 buds oneach.

After the tree's first season, remove all sidebranches that form a narrow angle with thetrunk (less than 45°). Remove t of any 2 limbs ofequal size that tend to divide the tree into a"V." Remove suckers or strong branches thatfill and shade the center of the tree. To keep thetree well balanced, cut back the stronger frame-work branches slightly. A central leader similarto that of an apple tree may be developed, but anopen-center tree with 3 main framework bran-ches is preferred.

After the second season, prune to develop anopen-center, spreading, bowl-shaped tree. Re-move any large limb that tends to grow upthrough the center, or across the center. Re-move large suckers growing straight up in thecenter. Retain most of the other growth through-out the tree. As with the I-year tree, removelimbs with narrow angles and branches of equalsize that form a weak crotch.

A peach tree grown well for 2 years will havea trunk 4-6 in. in circumference and a goodsupply of fruit buds. Moderate and carefulpruning at the end of the second season canresult in production of as much as a bushel ofpeaches during the third summer. Severe pruningat the end of the second season will reduce, and
may eliminate, the third summer crop.

After the third year, the peach tree shouldproduce annual crops of fruit. Pruning is muchthe same throughout the first 4-5 years. Afterthat time, somewhat more severe pruning maybe desirable to keep the tree within bounds andmaintain plenty of strong, healthy, fruitingwood.

Peaches arc produced on wood that grew theprevious season. The open-center or bowl-shaped tree with a well-rounded base and awide-spreading top is recommended andgenerally grown throughout the country.Trees of this type have a larger bearing surfacenear the ground than do other types. They alsohave good fruiting wood throughout the center.The height of the tree should be kept to amaximum of to ft., theexact height dependingonvariety, soil, and general culture. It is possible,by careful pruning, to hold the peach tree to aheight of about 7 ft. and still maintain goodproduction.

Pollination

There is no serious problem in regard tocross-pollination with the Peach because mostvarieties are self-fruitful. There are a few varie-ties that arc not, and if these are selected, onemust provide another self-fruitful variety forpollination. The 'J. H. Hale' is one of the self-unfruitful varieties.

Pest Control

The control of major insects and diseases byspraying and general sanitation is necessary toproduce fine fruit and to maintain vigoroustrees. Spray schedules are available for hometrees and single-package mixtures containinginsecticides and fungicides make the job quitesimple and safe. To be successful in pest control,the proper materials must be used, applied atthe correct time, and the tree must be thoroughlycovered.

During the first 2 years in the life of the treethe spray program is not a complete one becausethere is no fruit. Leaf-chewing insects andborers are the main problems. After fruitproduction begins, one must follow a full sprayprogram. Some of the most common insects ofthe peach fruit are plum curculio and orientalfruit worm. The most destructive diseaseattacking the fruit is fungus and brown rot.Borers can be a very serious threat to the vigorand life of the peach tree. The base of the trunkarea should be checked several times annuallyfor signs of borers. A jellylike substance willappear at the soil level if borers are present andthey must be destroyed. A soft piece of wireforced into the holes will kill them.

In addition to spraying, certain sanitarypractices will help, especially in the reductionand control of diseases. All dropped fruitshould be gathered and removed from the areabecause this is a source of brown rot. Peachesthat become infested with brown rot sometimeshang on the tree to shrivel and dry. These arealso a source of infection and should be re-moved during the pruning.

Insect Pests

Long-snouted plum cucurlio beetles feed andlay eggs in the fruit when it is in. in dia. andthe grubs feed in the flesh, causing fruit to drop.Spraying with insecticides # 6, # 9 or # 46 whenthe fruit is of the susceptible size is effective.Oriental fruit moth larvae, which resemblecodling moth worms, cause wilting tips on newshoots in early summer and tunnel in fruit in mid- and late summer. Applications of in-secticides # 37, # 5 and # 46 give control.Peach tree borer tunnels just beneath the barknear the soil and may girdle the tree. Masses ofgummy or dried sap identify the injury. Thelarge white worms can be cut out and sprayingwith insecticides # 11, # 17 or # 14 in Julyand Aug. may prevent infestation. San Josescale, Forbes scale and European fruit lecaniuminfest Peach, and severalaphids are often destructive. Small dark brownbeetles of the shot-hole borer breed under thebark of weak trees and hasten their death. Theyemerge through tiny round holes, as the nameimplies. Regular applications of a spray andgeneral good care should prevent seriousinfestations. The tarnished plant bug and thehickory plant bug "sting" the young fruit,causing pits and scars. The early summer spraysof a regular schedule should control them.

Diseases

Curly, deformed, new leaves with a pinkishcolor indicate the peach leaf curl disease whichoverwinters in buds and must be controlled bystrictly dormant sprays such as fungicide # D.Dead and dried blossoms, cankers on the barkand brown rotted areas in the fruit both beforeand after harvest make brown rot the mostdestructive disease of Peach. On fruit, infectionoccurs only through breaks in the skin, andinsect control and careful handling are im-portant. Dried fruit "mummies" are sources ofinfection and should be destroyed. Spraying ordusting at 7-10-day intervals throughout theseason with fungicides # P, # V or # W isrecommended. Scab is identified by small reddots on leaves and small, black, circular spotsoften followed by cracking on the fruit. Aregular spray schedule is effective. Bacterial leafspot produces angular, water-soaked or blackspots on leaves. If control is necessary, usefungicide # G. Several virus diseases, such asyellows, little peach and phony peach, cannotbe controlled and infested trees should bedestroyed. X disease spreads from ChokeCherry, which should be destroyed within aradius of 50o ft. of peach trees.

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