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BETTER FRUIT 



Page p 



lutely, either by forcing worthless 

 vegetative shoots or causing leaf buds 

 to start which do not have suflicient 

 time for reorganization into fruit-buds. 

 Roughly speaking, trees have a growth 

 period and a dormant period, though in 

 fact certain changes are going on 

 throughout most of the dormant period. 

 Changes take place within a bud and 

 determine whether it will become a 

 leaf or fruit-bud in the apple or pear 

 as early as the latter part of June and 

 proceed throughout the sununer and 

 fall. The very beginnings of fruit-buds 

 are also visible as late as the latter part 

 of August, so that apparently there is 

 actual difl'erentiation of buds occurring 

 throughout the summer. Usually this 

 differentiation takes place first in the 

 buds on the spurs, then those in the 

 axils of the leaves, and finally in the 

 terminals. Depending on conditions, 

 the order may vary, depending on the 

 -vigor and growth of the shoot, espe- 

 cially among the terminals. In fact the 

 order may be reversed, or they may 

 form at about the same time. With 

 minor exceptions fruit-buds for these 

 particular fruits go into the winter in 

 practically the same state of develop- 

 ment. But slight advance takes place 

 during the early part of the dormant 

 season. Later numerous microscopic 

 changes go on, and these, in late win- 

 ter and early spring, occur even more 

 rapidly, until finally the swelling of the 

 buds becomes very evident and bloom- 

 ing follows in course of time. Know- 

 ing the period at and during which 

 fruit-bud formation takes place, one is 

 better able to modify orchard practices 

 so that the best possible conditions for 

 their development can be brought 

 about. Such buds are influenced by 

 many conditions other than pruning, 

 such as moisture, light, air and food, 

 but it is the former means with which 

 this discussion is most concerned. 



The relation or balance which seems 

 to exist between the so-called vege- 

 tative or growth tendencies and the re- 

 productive or fruit-producing powers 

 of a tree is a delicate one and can be 

 brought about or maintained only by 

 the careful observation of each indi- 

 vidual tree and its response to any 

 treatment given. Sufiice it to say that 

 it is easily possible to have too many 

 fruit-spurs or fruit-buds in a tree; so 

 many in fact that the energies of the 

 tree appear to be used up merely in the 

 production of bloom, and such fruit as 

 may be produced is inferior both in 

 size and quality, as previously pointed 

 out. The aim must be to produce or 

 maintain, not the greatest possible num- 

 ber of spurs, but the most efficient 

 fruit-spur system, which means that 

 the spurs shall be evenly distributed 

 throughout the whole tree, that there 

 shall be ample room between and 

 among them, and that they be healthy 

 and vigorous. The same ideas as out- 

 lined for fruit-spurs hold true for the 

 fruit-buds of the peach. While the 

 total number of fruit-buds ])roduced 

 might be greater on an unpruned tree, 

 and it is true that large numbers of 

 them are lost from winter pruning, yet 

 it is better to remove some branches 



Figure 19. Bartlett pear. Old spurs ■\\hicli have set an average number of 

 fruits in previous years. At « spurs which bloomed but set no fruit, again 

 producing fruit-buds for the following year. At b the same, except no fruit- 

 buds jjroduced. 



Figure 20. Bartlett pear. Vigorous vegetative response from thinning spurs. 

 Terminal fruit-l)M<ls at t; axillary fruit-buds at a on one-year shoots. 



t'litireh and to shorten back others and 

 aihnit light and air into the tree to 

 strengthen the remaining buds and 

 maintain proper vegetative condition 

 tlian to allow it to spread out and lose 

 practically all its lower and interior 

 fruiting area and produce only at the 

 ends of the branches toward the 

 outside. 



Finally, then, it is necessar,\ that a 

 careful study be made of the fruit-bud- 

 producing habits of any variety under 

 any given set of conditions. Tliere are 

 localities in which trees tend to pro- 

 duce an excess of fruit-buds when com- 



pared with the iiroduction of vegetative 

 shoots and care must be exercised in 

 pruning that the ideal relationship be 

 maintained by either a heavy heading 

 back or thinning out. .\gain the ten- 

 dencies may be in the opposite vege- 

 tative direction, and unless great care 

 is exercised tlie trees are unproductive 

 or ilo not come into bearing for many 

 years. In such cases great caution in 

 heading back nuist be exercised, and 

 freciuenlly methods of control other 

 than pruning must be resorted to. The 

 question of annual bearing of varieties 

 i.s of great importance to every fruit- 



