Frank: Both my reliance peaches are leafing out so poorly after this winter that I am cutting them down. One was 8 years old and the other 9 years old. I will start over. The odd thing is that I sell fruit trees at the nursery I work at. Some clients bought Reliance peaches and have them situated close to Lake Michigan (Milwaukee area) and came thru great. Their flowered well. Another client bought one from me 3 years ago and is near where I grow mine and his flowered well. Mine are as good as dead. Did age of tree have anything to do with it? Not sure. Another client bought a Contender peach from me two years ago and got a nice crop last September. This year his tree is dead. I presume some sort of micro-climate or somewhat sheltered areas are the explanation as to why some peach trees lived yet others died around here. My blackgold sweet cherry looked ok when I pruned in March. The flower buds never opened this spring but it leafed out nice. I thought I was lucky as at least the tree survived. Two nights ago I checked on my orchard and found most of the leaves wilting on the cherry and the bark on the branches shriveling up. Cambium no longer green. Delayed winter injury too?

Have to disagree with gardengal, Cut the tree now and it's wide open for the fungus or insects to invade a weakened tree. Wrong wrong wrong, that's old time thinking when they painted trees etc. Cut it after a good frost, the longer into the winter, the better. In addition you want to trim the tree, you want air to circulate within the central area of the tree to ward off fungus. You also don't want to take too much off the tree during winter trimming otherwise you will get lots of leaves etc with little fruit in the next growing season, however in your case it looks like you need more structure within yor tree to support the heavy fruit. Below is from the North Carolina Coooperative Extension: Dormant pruning vs Summer Pruning Trees respond very differently to dormant and summer pruning. Dormant pruning is an invigorating process. During the fall, energy is stored primarily in the trunk and root system to support the top portion of the tree. If a large portion of the tree is removed during the winter, while the tree is dormant, the tree's energy reserve is unchanged. In the spring, the tree responds by producing many new vigorous, upright shoots, called water sprouts, which shade the tree and inhibit proper development. Heavy dormant pruning also promotes excessive vegetative vigor, which uses much of the tree's energy, leaving little for fruit growth and development. Historically, much of the vigorous, upright vegetative growth has been removed during the dormant season; heavy dormant pruning results in a yearly cycle with excessive vegetative growth and little or no fruit production. Timing of dormant pruning is critical. Pruning should begin as late in the winter as possible to avoid winter injury. Apple and pecan trees should be pruned first, followed by cherry, peach, and plum trees. A good rule to follow is to prune the latest blooming trees first and the earliest blooming last. Another factor to consider is tree age. Within a particular fruit type, the oldest trees should be pruned first. Younger trees are more prone to winter injury from early pruning. Summer pruning eliminates an energy or foodproducing portion of the tree and results in reduced tree growth. Pruning can begin as soon as the buds start to grow, but it is generally started after vegetative growth is several inches long. For most purposes, summer pruning should be limited to removing the upright and vigorous current season's growth; only thinning cuts should be used. To minimize the potential for winter injury, summer pruning should not be done after the end of July.

To avoid more limb breaking, you should take off as many peaches as needed per branch. Usually, peachlets should be thin to one peach every 8-12". You can prune a few limbs after harvesting or better in late spring. Don't do major pruning leading into winter. It weakens a tree and could make it more prone to winter injury esp. The fact that it can be very cold in NH.

I agree with others, removal only option. Even if this was a temporary branch, helping to add girth and taper to trunk before finally removing in few years for clearance. Looks like other portions of your tree might be susceptible to same type of damage, since your tree is a smooth bark species. Good that you have that trunk guard around base of tree which will shade it. I suggest checking out subject of "Formative structural pruning" on YouTube, since all young trees under age of 20 need this type of pruning every few years. Especially for good structure and "Apical dominance" by producing one central leader. Rather than growing competing stems of same size. Also, check out this link to video about "Primary root flare"! Since I cannot see one on your tree, so may have been delivered from nursery with flare already too deep in rootball. Or Mulch may be burying it. This is common today, requiring person installing tree to perform root flare excavation b4 planting. To find original level tree was born at. This old house video will explain all, Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI12XNNqldA