The peaches of New York

by U. P. Hedrick

First.—The soil has much influence on hardiness. The peach must have a warm, dry soil to secure the hardiness inherent in the species. Only in such a soil can trees make a strong, firm, well-matured growth, which is conducive to hardiness. Bottom-heat seems especially necessary to secure a growth that will withstand cold and for this reason gravelly and stony soils, since they hold heat well, make good peach-lands. So, too, a gravelly subsoil seems to provide the proper root-environment for the peach-tree and if this be present it matters little, so far as hardiness is concerned, whether it be overlaid with sand, gravel, loam, a light clay or combinations of these.

MAP OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

Second.—The amount of moisture in the soil in the winter affects the hardiness of the peach. Either extreme of moisture, excessive wetness or excessive dryness, gives favorable conditions for winter-killing. A wet soil freezes deeply and trees standing in it are sappy throughout the winter. Cold, alternating with warm weather, or accompanied with dry winds, causes excessive evaporation from trees and if the soil be so dry as not to furnish moisture to replace the water evaporated, winter-injury ensues. When twigs and buds shrivel in winter, whether from lack of water or lack of maturity, winter-injury almost invariably follows.

Third.—Fertilizers may have a helpful or a harmful effect as regards hardiness of tree. When fertilizers cause a heavy, rank, soft growth, they undoubtedly make the trees more susceptible to winter-injury. On the other hand, trees suffer as much or more from cold if underfed than if overfed. Nothing is more certain than that vigorous growth in early summer can be made of great service in counteracting cold and that half-starved trees, or those which have been allowed to bear too heavily, suffer most from freezing.

Fourth.—Cover-crops protect trees from cold. Case after case can be cited of orchards with cover-crops surviving a cold winter when nearby orchards without the muffler of vegetation, leaves and snow were killed. Possibly the cover-crop is the most effective treatment of the peach-orchard to avoid winter-killing, acting as a cover to protect the roots from cold, causing the trees to ripen their wood quickly and thoroughly and assisting in regulating the supply of moisture.

Fifth.—Low-headed trees suffer less in both trunks and branches from winter-injury than high-headed trees. Buds, however, often survive on the higher branches and not on the lower ones. The low-headed trees are less injured probably because the wood loses less moisture by the evaporation from the effects of winds than do high-headed trees; because the trunk at least is better protected from the sun and hence suffers less from sunscald, one of the effects of freezing and thawing; and because, for some reason or other, low-headed trees seem to be more vigorous than high-headed trees.

Sixth.—Wind-breaks furnish small protection against cold to either trees or buds. The value of a wind-break depends largely upon the topography of the land. A wind-break so planted as wholly to check currents of air is detrimental so far as cold is concerned; so planted as to deflect the current of air they may become of value in keeping off frosts. More often than not, however, they seriously check atmospheric drainage and the damage by frost is greater.

Seventh.—Young peach-trees suffer more than old trees, probably because the young trees do not mature their wood as well as the older ones. There are, however, many exceptions to the statement that young trees are less hardy to cold than old ones. Old trees are often forced to produce large quantities of new wood susceptible to winter-killing, while, on the other hand, the superabundant growth of young trees can be kept down by orchard-treatment. Old trees possessing low vitality are less hardy than vigorous, young trees. Thus, trees suffering from the ravages of borers, leaf-curl or other fungus troubles suffer most from cold. While young trees are more susceptible to freezing than old ones, yet they are much more likely to recover, if recovery be possible, and their return to a normal condition is more rapid.

Eighth.—What degree of cold will kill peach-trees? Twenty degrees below zero under the best of conditions kills the peach. Depending upon the condition in which the trees begin the winter, however, the trees may be killed by any temperature between zero and -20°. The following are the conditions unfavorable to withstanding cold, in about the order of importance: Immaturity of wood; lack of protection of roots by snow or cover-crop; poor drainage; overbearing in the preceding year; lack of vitality from ravages of insects, or fungi or from infertility of soil; susceptibility of variety to cold.