Fruit tree pruning is the
cutting and removing of selected parts of a
fruit tree
A fruit tree is a tree which bears fruit that is consumed or used by animals and humans — all trees that are flowering plants produce fruit, which are the ripened ovaries of flowers containing one or more seeds. In horticultural usage, ...
. It spans a number of
horticultural
Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
techniques. Pruning often means cutting
branch
A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk (botany), trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term '' ...
es back, sometimes removing smaller limbs entirely. It may also mean removal of young
shoot
In botany, a plant shoot consists of any plant stem together with its appendages, leaves and lateral buds, flowering stems, and flower buds. The new growth from seed germination that grows upward is a shoot where leaves will develop. In the spri ...
s, buds, and
leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
.
Established
orchard
An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...
practice of both
organic and nonorganic types typically includes pruning. Pruning can control growth, remove dead or diseased
wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...
, and stimulate the formation of
flowers
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
and
fruit buds. It is widely stated that careful attention to pruning and training young trees improves their later productivity and longevity, and that good pruning and training can also prevent later injury from weak
crotches or forks (where a tree trunk splits into two or more branches) that break from the weight of fruit, snow, or ice on the branches.
Some
sustainable agriculture
Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an understanding of ecosystem ser ...
or
permaculture
Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using whole-systems thinking. It applies these principle ...
personalities, such as
Sepp Holzer
Sepp may refer to:
* Sepp (given name)
*Sepp (surname)
*Science & Environmental Policy Project
* Sepp (publisher)
*Substantially equal periodic payments, US tax-law provision
*Single Edge Processor Package
* State Enterprise for Pesticide Producti ...
and
Masanobu Fukuoka
was a Japanese farmer and philosopher celebrated for his natural farming and re-vegetation of desertified lands. He was a proponent of no-till, herbicide and pesticide free cultivation methods from which he created a particular method of agricul ...
, advocate and practice no-pruning methods, which runs counter to the widespread confidence in the idea that pruning produces superior results compared with not pruning. Many books about fruit-growing assert advantages and disadvantages of pruning or not pruning, although without
randomized controlled trial
A randomized controlled trial (or randomized control trial; RCT) is a form of scientific experiment used to control factors not under direct experimental control. Examples of RCTs are clinical trials that compare the effects of drugs, surgical te ...
s, it is hard to separate
theorizing and
traditional knowledge
Traditional knowledge (TK), indigenous knowledge (IK) and local knowledge generally refer to knowledge systems embedded in the cultural traditions of regional, indigenous, or local communities. According to the World Intellectual Property Organ ...
from
evidence
Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field.
In epistemology, evidenc ...
-based recommendations.
Overview
Plants form new tissue in an area called the
meristem
The meristem is a type of tissue found in plants. It consists of undifferentiated cells (meristematic cells) capable of cell division. Cells in the meristem can develop into all the other tissues and organs that occur in plants. These cells conti ...
, located near the tips of roots and shoots, where active cell division takes place. Meristem growth is aimed at ensuring that leaves are quickly elevated into sunlight, and that roots are able to penetrate deeply into the
soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...
. Once adequate height and length is achieved by the stems and roots, they begin to thicken to support the plant. On the shoots, these growing tips of the plant are called ''apical'' buds. The ''
apical meristem
The meristem is a type of tissue found in plants. It consists of undifferentiated cells (meristematic cells) capable of cell division. Cells in the meristem can develop into all the other tissues and organs that occur in plants. These cells conti ...
'' (or tip) produces the growth hormone
auxin
Auxins (plural of auxin ) are a class of plant hormones (or plant-growth regulators) with some morphogen-like characteristics. Auxins play a cardinal role in coordination of many growth and behavioral processes in plant life cycles and are essenti ...
, which not only promotes cell division, but also diffuses downwards and inhibits the development of lateral bud growth that otherwise competes with the apical tip for light and nutrients. Removing the apical tip and its suppressive hormone lets lower, dormant lateral buds develop, and the buds between the leaf stalk and stem produce new shoots that compete to become lead growth.
Manipulating this natural response to damage (known as the principle of
apical dominance) by processes such as pruning (as well as
coppicing
Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeate ...
and
pollarding
Pollarding is a pruning system involving the removal of the upper branches of a tree, which promotes the growth of a dense head of foliage and branches. In ancient Rome, Propertius mentioned pollarding during the 1st century BCE. The practice o ...
) allows the arborist to determine the shape, size, and productivity of many fruiting trees and bushes. The main aim when pruning fruit trees is usually to maximize fruit yield. Unpruned trees tend to produce large numbers of small fruits that may be difficult to reach when harvesting by hand. Branches can become broken by the weight of the crop, and the cropping may become
biennial
Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years.
In particular, it can refer to:
* Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and th ...
(that is, bearing fruit only every other year). Overpruned trees on the other hand tend to produce light crops of large, flavourless fruit that does not store well. Careful pruning balances shoot growth and fruit production.
One of the simplest instructions given in nearly every article or book chapter on the subject is that no branches should cross each other, that is, rub against each other, and that one of them should be selected and removed.
Formative pruning of bush trees
In the early years of the tree's life, it is important to develop a framework sufficiently strong to bear the weight of crops. This requires formative pruning to reinforce the tree. Formative pruning of
apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
(''Malus pumila'') and
pear
Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the p ...
(''Pyrus communis'') trees should be carried out in the dormant winter months. For the
Northern hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...
, this should occur between November and March; For the
Southern hemisphere, June and September.
Stone fruits—such as
cherries,
plum
A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes.
History
Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...
s, and
gages
Brugelette (; pcd, Brujlete; wa, Brudjlete) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium.
On January 1, 2006, Brugelette had a total population of 3,284. The total area is which gives a population density of .
The ...
—have different requirements, and should not be pruned in dormant months.
Image:Pruningyear1.png, One-year-old tree
Image:Pruningyear2.png, Two-year-old tree
Image:Pruningyear3.png, Three-year-old tree
Image:Pruningyear4.png, Four-year-old tree
Maiden tree
A maiden whip (a one-year-old tree with no side shoots) should be pruned to a bud with two buds below it at about from the ground immediately after planting to produce primary branches during the first growing season. A feathered maiden (that is, a one-year-old tree with several side branches) should have its main stem pruned back to three or four strong shoots at from the ground. Side shoots should be shortened by two thirds of their length to an upward or outward facing bud. Lower shoots should be removed flush with the stem.
Two year
Remove lower shoots and prune between three and five of the best-placed shoots by half to an upwards or outwards facing bud to form what becomes the tree's main structural branches. Remove any inward-facing shoots.
Three year
Prune leading shoots of branches selected to extend the framework by half, to a bud facing in the desired direction. Select four good laterals to fill the framework and shorten these by a half. Prune any remaining laterals to four buds to form
fruiting spur
In botany, a plant shoot consists of any plant stem together with its appendages, leaves and lateral buds, flowering stems, and flower buds. The new growth from seed germination that grows upward is a shoot where leaves will develop. In the spr ...
s.
Four year
The tree has begun to fruit and requires only limited formative pruning. Shorten leaders by one third and prune laterals not required to extend the framework to four buds.
Five year and onwards
The tree is established, and should be pruned annually as described in the following section.
Pruning the cropping tree
Before pruning, distinguish between spur-bearing varieties, tip-bearing varieties, and an intermediate between the two that bears both on spurs and at the tips. Spur-bearing trees occur more frequently than tip-bearing trees, and they bear most of their fruit yearly at the end of short lateral pieces of wood (spurs) up to about 4 inches long.
Spur-bearing types include apples of the varieties '
Cox's Orange Pippin
Cox's Orange Pippin, in Britain often referred to simply as Cox, is an apple cultivar first grown in 1825, at Colnbrook in Buckinghamshire, England, by the retired brewer and horticulturist Richard Cox. Though the parentage of the cultivar i ...
', '
James Grieve' and 'Sunset', and pears such as 'Conference', 'Doyenne du Commice', and 'Williams Bon Chretien'. Tip-bearers on the other hand produce most of their fruit buds at the tips of slender shoots grown the previous summer, and include the apples '
Worcester Pearmain
'Worcester Pearmain' is an early season English cultivar of domesticated apple, that was developed in Worcester, England, by a Mr. Hale of Swanpool in 1874.[Arboriculture
Arboriculture () is the cultivation, management, and study of individual trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants. The science of arboriculture studies how these plants grow and respond to cultural practices and to their environmen ...]
*
Fruit tree forms
Fruit trees are grown in a variety of shapes, sometimes to please the eye but mainly to encourage fruit production. The form or shape of fruit trees can be manipulated by pruning and training. Shaping and promoting a particular tree form is done ...
*
Fruit tree pollination
Pollination of fruit trees is required to produce seeds with surrounding fruit. It is the process of moving pollen from the anther to the stigma, either in the same flower or in another flower. Some tree species, including many fruit trees, do no ...
*
Fruit tree propagation
Fruit tree propagation is usually carried out vegetatively (non-sexually) by grafting or budding a desired variety onto a suitable rootstock.
Perennial plants can be propagated either by sexual or vegetative means. Sexual reproduction begins wh ...
*
Orchard
An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...
s
References
External links
*Alabama Cooperative Extension Video on Pruning Fruit Trees (1 of 3
{{Horticulture and Gardening
Horticultural techniques
Agronomy
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