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BETTER FRUIT 



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of pruning young trees becomes rnther 

 simple, but unless they are mastered it 

 is ditTicult to develop strong, well- 

 balanced young trees. 



Lesson 1. To Choose and Space the 

 ScafTold Branches. — If you grow an 

 open or modified leader type of tree, 

 four or five branches are what we rec- 

 ommend. If you grow the typical 

 leader tree it does not make as much 

 difTerence, as from year to year new 

 branches aie added. We prefer here in 

 Oregon the four or five-branched tree. 

 While it may be true that the three- 

 branched tree will produce three 

 branches that average larger in diam- 

 eter than if four or five are allowed to 

 grow, nevertheless we feel that the 

 three-branched tree is a dangerous 

 one; that it is structurally weak; that 

 if you lose one of the three branches 

 you have practically a ruined tree; 

 whereas, with four or five scaffold 

 limbs, you can lose a branch and still 

 balance the tree in such a way as to 

 save it. The first lesson, then, is to 

 choose four or five well-spaced 

 branches, having them issue in a whorl 

 around the tree, if possible, anil having 

 them as far apart as they can be con- 

 veniently spaced. The farther a])art 

 they are spaced, the stronger and bet- 

 ter will be the trunk and the better the 

 tree obtained. To do this you must not 

 neglect the tree as soon as it is headed, 

 but must watch it very carefully the 

 first month or two after it is set out. 

 It will be necessary to rub certain un- 

 desirable buds off, to remove certain 

 undesirable branches, or possibly to 

 suppress from time to time certain 

 branches which tend to run away wilh 

 the tree. By observing these simple 

 rules you can build a stronger tree. It 

 is for this reason that we often advo- 

 cate that instead of cutting the tree at 

 20 inches al the lime it is set, cut it 25 



Figure 28 — At left : Five-year-old Wagener apple tree which was summer 

 priinet! in July. Photograph taken the following January. Note the amount 

 ot after-gro\\th, indicating that the tree ^\as pruned at about the right 

 jjeriod. A splendid ty))e of modified leader. At right: Same tree after 

 winter pruning. Note the light amount of wood which has been removed 

 in thiuTiing out; almost no heading back. 



or 28 inches, and then space the 

 branches from as near the ground as 

 you can get them up to the top of the 

 trunk. However, if you cut the tree at 

 25 or 28 inches and then go away and 

 leave it you w-ill often find all the 

 branches will develop near the top of 

 the trunk and the tree will be weak. 

 It is only by careful watching that the 

 extra increase in height of head can be 

 made of any material advantage. 



Lesson 2. To Keep Main Branches or 

 Sections of the Tree Properly Domi- 

 nant. — If one branch tends to grow at 



Figure 27 — At left: Five-year-old Yellow Newtown apple tree which was 

 pruneil the jircvious summer. Note length of shoots which resulted from 

 summer pruning. At right: Same tree as shown at left after winter prun- 

 ing. Note that the pruning has been light. This tree is reaching the critical 

 period when il should commence to bear. Heavy pruning might keep il 



from bearing. 



the expense of the rest of the tree the 

 weaker branches gradually become side 

 branches to the two or three remain- 

 ing stronger branches. If proper prun- 

 ing is done this can be obviated. We 

 find that the average pruner does one 

 of two things. He may be among the 

 group that cuts the tree level across the 

 to]3, so he has a plain surface. This 

 will never build a strong, well-balanced 

 tree, because in doing this ^ou pay no 

 attention to the relation of one branch 

 to another. The second group of prun- 

 ers is apt to cut the weakest wood 

 most antl the strongest wood the least. 

 They have heard that the more we cut 

 the wood the more it grows; therefore, 

 if wood is weak and we cut it back it 

 will grow stronger. It is true that the 

 more a tree is pruned back as a whole 

 while dormant the more will be the re- 

 sulting growth; that heavy heading in 

 of a tree means a heavy after growth. 

 This, however, has to do with the trees 

 as a whole and has little to do with 

 the relation of one branch on a tree to 

 another. If you have a strong branch 

 in close proximity to a weak branch 

 the best way to strengthen the weak 

 branch is by cutting back the strong. 

 The develoi)ment of the weak branch 

 will be in proportion to its leaf and 

 branch area: if there is a large amount 

 there will be a heavy demand on the 

 saj), and the weak branch will develop. 

 By limiting the branches and leaves on 

 the strong branch you restrict its 

 growth: as a residt the following year 

 there will be less discrepancy between 

 the development of the two branches 

 and a continuation of the i)ractice 

 should lead to a balance between the 

 two. The heading back shoidd be done, 

 then, not so much from the jjoint of 

 view of the tree as a whole, but from 

 the point of view of the relation of the 

 branches to each other. 



