BETTER FRUIT 



EDITOR: W. H. WALTON 



STATE ASSOCIATE EDITORS 



OREGON— C. I. Lewis, HortlculturiBt. 



WASHINGTON — Dr. A. L. Meiander. Entomolo^t; 

 O M. Morris, Horticulturist. Pullman. 



CoL<inAI>0— C. P. Gillette. LUreclor and Entoraoloplst : 

 E. B. House. Irrigation Expert, State Agricultural College, 

 Fort Collins. 



ARI/'ONA — E. P. Taylor. HortlniUnrist. Tucson. 



WISCONSIN— Dr. E. D. Ball. Madison. 



MONTANA— O. B. Whipple. Horticulturist. Bozeman. 



CALIFORNIA— C. W. Woodworih. Entomologist. Berke- 

 ley: W. H. Volrk. Entomologist. Watsonville; Leon D. 

 Batclielor, Horticulturist. Riverside. 



INDIANA- H. S. Jackson. Pathologist. Lafayette. 



An Illustrated Magazine Devoted to the Interests 



of Modern, Progressive Fruit Growing 



and Marketing. 



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Entered as second-class matter April 22, 1918, 



at the Postodlce at Porlland, Oregon, under 



the Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. 



Volume XIV 



Portland, Oregon, December 1, 1919 



Number 6 



Practical Pruning as Applied to Apple and Pear Trees 



By 0. M. Morris, Horticulturist, Washington State College of Agriculture 



THE best place to study pruning is 

 in the most productive orchards 

 in the community. Study there the 

 system of pruning that has been prac- 

 ticed on the best and most satisfactory 

 producing trees. Become acquainted 

 with the habits of growth of the dif- 

 ferent varieties and the form of the 

 tree at different ages. Adopt a system 

 of tree development that has given sat- 

 isfactory results in your community 

 in the quantity and quality of fruit 

 produced. Systems of pruning recom- 

 mended by fruit growers from differ- 

 ent sections than yours may not be at 

 all satisfactory in your district. A sys- 

 tem once adopted and established 

 should not be changed except for very 

 good reasons. 



Apple Trees. 

 The one-year-old tree just set in the 

 orchard should be cut back to a 

 straight stock about three feet in 

 height. This cutting back should deter- 

 mine the height of the trunk. The upper 

 buds left will usually be the ones to 

 produce the branches that will form 

 the framework of the head. These 

 branches which are to form the per- 

 manent frantework of the tree should 

 be distributed through a space of 12 

 inches, extending downward from the 

 top of the young whip. The branches 

 that are only three or four inches 

 apart on the young tree will be too 

 close together by the time they are 

 four or six inches in diameter. Trees 

 with a clean trunk 20 to 24 inches high 

 arc easier to cultivate and work 

 around than trees with a shorter 

 trunk, and a few inches difference in 

 the height of the trunk of the tree does 

 not modify greatly the convenience of 

 the work of pruning, spraying and 

 harvesting the fruit crop. The ex- 

 tremely short trunk is not as popular 

 after the trees are in full bearing as 

 it is while the trees are two or three 

 years of age. 



Trees that are growing very rapidly 

 and producing long slender shoots can 

 be made more stocky by clipping off 

 the growing tip of the branches dur- 

 ing the summer. Branches on the 



(PART ONE) 



windward side of trees exposed to 

 strong prevailing winds can sometimes 

 be kept growing in almost normal po- 

 sition by careful attention to summer 

 tipping back. Trees that are vigorous 

 and strong will grow in better form 

 with little or no care, than weak trees 



Figure 1. A young Joiiatlian tree pruned 

 to a central leader form. This is a good type 

 of tree and is well pruned, altho not quite 

 ideal, because of the low trunk. 



can be developed with all the pruning 

 and training that may be given them. 

 The two-year-old nursery tree is 

 seldom used in Washington for plant- 

 ing commercial orchards. It can some- 

 times be used to advantage for home 

 orchards and in replanting, but must 

 be severely cut back at the time of 

 transplanting. The three to five 

 branches selected to form the frame- 



work are cut back to about one-third 

 of their length and all others re- 

 moved. In varieties like Jonathan, 

 Winesap and Ben Davis, the center or 

 leading branch should be left several 

 inches above the highest side branch. 

 Cutting all branches back to three or 

 four buds may be advisable if the 

 trees have been exposed to drying 

 conditions after digging, or if they are 

 to be planted in a district of light rain- 

 fall without irrigation. When good 

 trees are planted in a section where 

 moisture is abundant, as in most dis- 

 tricts of Western Washington, they 

 will make a good growth if given only 

 enough pruning to secure a well bal- 

 anced top. 



The tree that has made one year's 

 growth in the orchard should be care- 

 fully pruned, although this pruning 

 should not necessarily be extremely 

 heavy. A few years ago, when so 

 many commercial orchards in the 

 Northwest were young, the practice 

 of very severe pruning of young trees 

 was common. It was carried to a de- 

 structive extreme in many cases. Win- 

 ter pruning that cuts away three- 

 fourths or four-fifths of the previous 

 summer's growth of wood does not 

 assure a stocky growth of trunk and 

 permanent branches, but causes the 

 production of another crop of long, 

 whip-like branches. It is not neces- 

 sary at the first winter pruning to 

 select the branches that are to form 

 the permanent frame of the tree and 

 remove all others; but if they can be 

 selected, the pruning should be so 

 done as to give them the advantage. 

 A little thinning out of the top to let 

 sunlight in and tipping back of the 

 longest shoots is usually all that is 

 necessary at this time. It may not 

 i-uin the tree to do more, but usually, 

 light pruning will accomplish about 

 all that can be accomplished by a more 

 severe pruning. 



The old controversy as to the ad- 

 vantages of a tree with a central leader 

 or one that has been developed in vase 

 form is not discussed so much as the 

 orchards grow older. Neither ex- 



