January, i<)20 



BETTER FRUIT 



Page 7 



Practical Pruning as Applied to Apple and Pear Trees 



THE general practice in pruning is 

 to do tlie larger part of the work 

 during the winter. This has two 

 things to justify it. The workman can 

 get a better view of what he is accom- 

 plishing and there is then more time 

 for the work. As a rule, trees pruned 

 in winter have a stronger tendency to 

 respond to producing new growth in 

 the form of water sprouts or new twig 

 growth at the points where the cuts 

 were made. Summer pruning, as 

 usually practiced by careful growers, 

 is as much training as pruning, and is 

 practiced as much for the purpose of 

 modifying the form rather than the 

 growth or fruit production of the tree. 

 Heavy summer pruning may accomplish 

 the same results that heavy winter 

 pruning ordinarily accomplishes. It 

 may increase or decrease wood produc- 

 tion or fruit production. Summer prun- 

 ing can be practiced for the purpose 

 of modifying the shape of the tree top 

 without altering its habit of growth or 

 fruiting. The exact dates at 

 which summer pruning may be 

 done for the purpose of increas- 

 ing fruit production cannot be 

 indicated by the calendar with 

 any degree of exactness. Results de- 

 pend upon the growth conditions fol- 

 lowing the pruning and the kind of 

 pruning done, more than upon the date 

 of pruning. 



Late winter and early spring pruning 

 is less liable to be followed by the ill 

 results of the killing back of tissue 

 around the edge of large wounds than 

 the pruning done in late fall and early 

 winter. The wood should not be frozen 

 when the pruning is done, but in many 

 of the irrigated sections pruning while 

 the wood is frozen frequently results 

 in no harm to the tree. 



The young, rapidly growing tree con- 

 stantly tempts the pruner to head back 

 severely each year. Heading back causes 

 the development of lateral buds and 

 branches in the immediate vicinity. It 

 does not greatly modify growth nor 

 strengthen the main branches or limbs 

 of the tree. Shortening of the longest 

 branches is often necessary. This can 

 be done with a minimum loss of lime 

 and energy to the tree by frequent tip- 

 ping back in summer. Persistent annual 

 heading back delays as often as it 

 hastens fruit production. It commonly 

 results in the formation of a tree with 

 an excess of large branches and an 

 undersuijply of fruiting wood in the 

 center of the tree top. The thinning out 

 of the top should consist of the removal 

 of crossing and interfering txyigs and 

 small branches and of such larger 

 branches as will prevent the best de- 

 velopment of the remaining limbs. A 

 great deal of small side wood should be 

 left. It increases the diameter of the 

 main limbs and causes the tree to come 

 into fruit iiroduction at an earlier age. 

 Thinning out by the removal of large 

 branches is not so frequently overdone 

 as is heading back. 



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

 (PART TWO) 

 Varieties. 

 The commercial varieties grown in 

 Washington differ greatly in their gen- 

 eral shape and characters of growth, 

 and each requires more or less different 

 lines of treatment to prune them best. 



Jonathan — This tree is typical of those 

 that are inclined to start with a strong 

 central leader and very quickly develop 

 strong lateral branches. The central 

 leader usually subdivides by developing 

 in lateral directions and the strong side 



Figure 7. The fruiting branches of a Jonathan 

 tree. Note that all of the larger terminal buds 

 Ijolh on the twigs and the spurs are blossom 

 buds for next year's crop. At the point A the 

 fruit spur has developed into a twig. Such 

 forms are commiui in this variety. 



branches have a tendency to assume a 

 horizontal position and, with a heavy 

 crop of fruit, to become pendant and 

 drooping. The extremely short trunked 

 trees of this type are disappointing be- 

 cause the fruit is produced so low that 

 it hinders the ordinary cultural proc- 

 esses and the fruit produced on such 

 branches is of poor color and quality. 

 A constant etlort is necessary to keep 

 the tree growing in an upward direction 

 sufliciently vigorous to develop and 

 color its fruit well. Young trees .should 

 be trained to grow upward with the 



knowledge that heavy fruit production 

 will cause the top to spread, and as the 

 trees grow older more severe training 

 and more thorough fertilizing of the 

 soil is necessary to maintain vigor in 

 this variety. This variety has a good 

 habit of bearing fruit on small side 

 branches and with proper training the 

 fruit will be well distributed from cen- 

 ter to circumference of the top. 



Rome Beauty — Rome Beauty produces 

 a tree that, until fruit production be- 

 gins, has a strong tendency to grow up- 

 ward and the branches assume a lat- 

 eral direction only when trained by 

 the grower or held in that position by 

 a load of fruit. This variety has a 

 .strong tendency to produce its fruit on 

 long fruit spurs which are often more 

 like terminal branches than fruit spurs 

 of other varieties. A rather thick, 

 bushy top is required by this variety 

 for the production of a crop of fruit 

 distributed throughout its top. The 

 most common experience of the un- 

 skillful grower is to have the Rome 

 Beauty produce a large amount 

 of fruit in the outer part of its 

 top. This causes a drooping of 

 the branches and often a canopy 

 form of top in late summer and 

 early fall, with the result that 

 a very large proportion of the 

 crop is not well exposed to the 

 sun and colors poorly. A rather severe 

 thinning out of the large branches and 

 careful tipping back of the young shoots 

 is necessary to secure an even distribu- 

 tion of fruiting wood throughout the 

 top of this variety. It does not develop 

 its fruit well on short side spurs, as 

 does the .lonathan; and growers expect 

 it normally to produce a larger propor- 

 tion of its fruit in the outer part of 

 the top. 



Ben Davis — The Ben Davis, Gano, 

 Black Ben Davis, Arkansas, Winesap, 

 Stayman Winesap, and Delicious, as 

 young trees have a strong tendency to 

 grow in height, with a development of 

 well distributed lateral branches cap- 

 able of making a good well-balanced 

 top. All of these varieties can be well 

 developed by starting the young trees 

 with a central leader and maintaining 

 it for three or four years. The main- 

 tenance, however, of the central leader 

 with these varieties is not as important 

 as with the .lonathan and, as with that 

 variety, it will usually cease to be no- 

 ticeable in trees seven or eight years 

 of agt. All these varieties are vigorous 

 growers as young trees and can be eas- 

 ily trained to open tops with well-bal- 

 anced heads. The Ben Davis, Gano, 

 Black Ben Davis, Arkansas, Stayman 

 Winesai), and Delicious are vigorous 

 trees even while in heavy fruit produc- 

 tion. These varieties are moderately 

 heavy, annual fruiters. The Arkansas 

 Black is often a light producer and 

 should be pruned so as to open the top 

 as much as possible with the removal 

 of a minimum amount of wood. This 

 process will usually bring the trees 



