Page Twenty 



Elemental Treatise on 

 Pruning 



( Continued from page 1 5 ) 

 tion of the branch, while the lower buds 

 make a more, lateral growth. The last buds 

 usually make the strongest and most desir- 

 able growth. With young trees it is gener- 

 ally necessary to encourage spreading 

 growth. This may be done by cutting to an 

 outside bud, or if much spread is desired, 

 leave the next bud above in order to en- 

 courage a more horizontal growth from 

 the bud chosen. Cut to laterals in prefer- 

 ence to buds if suitably placed. 



Third Year — The amount of wood to 

 leave or remove depends entirely on the 

 vigor of the tree. If a strong growth has 

 been made three laterals eighteen to twenty- 

 four inches in length may be left on each 

 scaffold branch. If the growth has been 

 small and weak, leave only one or two 

 twelve to fifteen inches in length. 



In making the selection choose branches 

 making an outward spreading growth, al- 

 lowing no two to issue near the same point, 

 cross, or occupy the same light and air space. 

 Upward growth may be encouraged from 

 now on if the branches have attained suffi- 

 cient spread. 



Fourth Year — The frame work of the 

 tree has been formed and from now on the 

 pruning is largely a process of heading back 

 and thinning out, cutting as little as pos- 

 sible. ■ Light summer tipping is conducive 

 to fruitfulness. Remove crossed, diseased, 

 and superfluous branches, keeping the head 

 more or less open to the light. Heading in 

 will tend to keep the tree within bounds 

 and encourage the more fruitful lateral 

 growth. 



TIME to Prune — There is a general 

 tendency for orchardists to disre- 

 gard the needs of the tree and prune en- 

 tirely in winter. This is probiibly due to 

 the facts that in winter labor is more plen- 

 tiful and cheaper and the orchardist has 

 more time. Pruning also is more easily ac- 

 complished when the leaves are off, as the 

 pruner can readily choose the branches to 

 cut. 



Pruning m.ay safely be done under cer- 

 tain circumstances at any time of the year. 

 The proverb, "Prune in winter for wood 

 and in summer for fruit," explains the dif- 

 ferent physiological effects of pruning at 

 the different seasons. 



Winter Pruning — Removing wood dur- 

 ing the dormant season inspires wood 

 growth. The heavier the pruning the more 

 growth will result. The reason is obvious. 

 The removal of wood during dormancy re- 

 duces the surface over which to expend the 

 redundant energy, giving a proportionately 

 greater food supply for the remaining 

 branches. 



Winter pruning is practical where wood 

 growth or vigor is desired; as on young 

 trees, stunted or weak growing trees, 

 varieties which tend to over bear, or where 

 the soil is light and dry causing much small 

 fruit and little wood growth. 



BETTER FRUIT 



Pruning may be done at any time during 

 the dormant season but preferably just pre- 

 vious to the beginning of growth. If done 

 in the fall or early winter the wounds arc 

 subjected to a long season of drying before 

 the process of healing begins. Avoid prun- 

 ing when the branches are frozen, as they 

 will crack, dry out, and die back. 



Summer Pruning — The prime purpose 

 of summer pruning is to incite fruitfulness. 

 It is used to check the rampant growth and 

 hasten the period of profitable bearing of 

 young trees and to check the wood growth 

 and increase fruitfulness on vigorous grow- 

 ing, tardy or shy-bearing varieties and trees 

 located on rich, heavy moist soils. 



The physiological reasons for these ef- 

 fects are not fully understood, but gen- 

 erally supposed to be due to its weakening 

 effects on the plant.. All plants become 

 fruitful when starved or made to suffer. 

 Girdle a tree during the summer and it 

 will ripen its fruit prematurely in one last 

 effort to reproduce its kind. The removal 

 of leaf surface reduces the manufacturing 

 or elaborating of food, thus tending to 

 starve and weaken the plant. This not only 

 reduces the growth in the stems, giving im- 

 mediate results, but also retards the exten- 

 tion of the roots, making the results more 

 permanent. The vigor of the roots is 

 largely determined by the amount and 

 vigor of the top. On the other hand the 

 removal of wood during the growing sea- 

 son has a stimulating effect similar to win- 

 ter pruning by reducing the surface of 

 growing tissue over which to distribute the 

 elaborated food. 



Summer pruning has both stimulating 

 and weakening effects. The greater fruit- 

 fulness is encouraged by securing the 

 greater weakening or starving effect with 

 a proportionately less stimulating effect. 

 In other words, where the stimulating effect 

 is greater than the weakening effect it de- 

 feats the end; it stimulates a wood growth 

 instead of inciting fruitfulness. Therefore 

 the efficiency of summer pruning rests 



January, 19^^ 



largely with the ability to remove a large 

 leaf surface with a proportionately small 

 amount of wood. Tipping and pinching 

 back of the current year's growth gives the 

 best results. 



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