IQIJ 



siiiuiner secondary shoot growth noi- 

 iiially produces large, plump lateral 

 buds that the following season are 

 prone to grow out into fruit spurs. 

 Furthermore, this late sunnner shoot 

 growth of summer-pruned trees is gen- 

 erally advantageously place<l in the 

 tree, and it is not apt to be so long that 

 much heading back is required (luring 

 the following dormant season. The re- 

 sult is that the tree under this pruning 

 treatment rapidly develops a fruit-spur 

 sy.stem because this secondary shoot 

 growth becomes covered with fruit 

 spurs the year following its production. 

 At the same time there is no tendency 

 for the tree to become straggling in 

 form. It is a method of procedure en- 

 abling the presei-vaticm of all the good 

 effects resulting from thinning, for 

 there is a vigorous thinning both at the 

 time of summer and of winter pruning, 

 and the avoiding of the evil effects of 

 heading back, because the heading back 

 is done at a time of the year when it 

 does not remove the portion of the 

 shoot that is most prone to develop 

 fruit .spurs. This latter combination, 

 then, is the pruning treatment that we 

 recommend for the quick development 

 of a vigorous and extensive fruit-spur 

 system in young trees of varieties that 

 normally bear upon spurs from the 

 start. It will be understood that it is 

 not a pruning treatment recommended 

 for varieties that at first normally bear 

 mainly upon shoots. It will be under- 

 stood, also, that it is not a pruning 

 treatment that is recommentled for 

 older trees that have been bearing good 

 crops for a number of years and nec- 

 esarily have already developed an ex- 

 tensive fruit-spur system. With them 

 the object should be to keep their old 

 spurs strong, vigorous and productive 

 rather than to promote the formation 

 of a great many new ones. Pruning 

 treatment that will best promote that 

 object will be discussed later. Before 

 leaving this subject it may be well to 

 call attention to the fact that the proper 

 timing of this sunmier pruning is an 

 important matter. It should be given 

 comparatively early in the growing sea- 

 son. If delayed until thei'e are signs 

 of lerminal-bud formation in the main 

 shoots, little or no secondary shoot 

 gr((wlh will be produced. On the other 

 hand, if done too early in the growing 

 season equally unsatisfactory results 

 are apt to follow. The best time seems 

 to be when shools of the current season 

 have obtained one-half to two-thirds of 

 their normal length. The exact time 

 will vary with variety, location, season 

 and many environmental factors. 



The statement was made that the 

 ideal fruit-spur system is not only an 

 extensive system, but a productive sys- 

 tem. At first thought it might seem that 

 productiveness is correlated with age. 

 However, recent investigations have 

 shown that old spurs are neither more 

 nor less elilcient than young spurs on 

 accomit of their ;ige, for many old spurs 

 are regular producers of high-grade 

 fruit. On the average they are less 

 efficient, but less eflicient because less 

 vigorous. What, then, arc the factors 

 influencing the productiveness of the 



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Page 21 



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individual fruit spur. A careful study 

 during the growing season of the fruit- 

 spur system of almost any old apple 

 tree reveals the fact that it is in the 

 more densely shaded portions that we 

 find the majority of the weak and dying 

 sjjurs. Light supidy is undoubtedly not 

 the only factor influencing the vigor of 

 individual fruit spurs, hut it is plain 

 that it is an important one. The in- 

 fluence of heading back and of thin- 

 ning out upon light supply, and conse- 

 ([uently upon spur formation from 

 buds on the jjasal portions of shoots 

 has already been pointed out. It is evi- 

 dent that these two practices would 

 lead to ecpial, or even greater, differ- 

 ences in liie light supi)ly reaching 

 already eslablislied spurs in tlie lower 

 and interior portions of the tree. 



Therefore, we would exijcct more vig- 

 orous, — because better li.ghted, — spurs 

 in the tree receiving nuieh thinning; 

 and this would be true whether the 

 thinning is linnted to the new .shoots or 

 is extended to the older wood. On the 

 other hand, we would expect weaker 

 spurs in trees receiving much heading 

 back, even tliough at first thought it 

 might seem that this practice would 

 tend to divert a cei'tain amount of food 

 material into the spurs lower down in 

 the tree. It should be remembered, 

 however, tliat it is elal)oraled food ma- 

 terials, such as are received from well- 

 developed leaves, rather tlian raw food 

 material, such as ai'e received from the 

 roots, that induce fruit-bud formation 

 and fruiting; and heading back would 

 liave more of a tendency to divert raw. 



