BETTER FRUIT 



EDITOR: W. H. WALTON 



STATE ASSOCIATE EDITORS 



OREGON— C. I. Lewis. Horticulturist. 



WASHINGTON — Dr. A. L. Melander. Entomologist: 

 O. M. Morris. Horticulturist. Pullman. 



COLORADO— C. P. Gillette. Director and Entomologist: 

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



ley: W. H. Volck. Entomologist. Watsonville: Leon D. 

 Batchelor, Horticulturist. Riverside. 

 INDIANA— H. S. Jackson. Pathologist. Lafayette. 



An Illustrated Magazine Devoted to the Interests 



of Modern, Progressive Fruit Growing 



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Entered as second-class matter April 22, 1918, 



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the Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. 



Volume XV 



Portland, Oregon, December, 1920 



NUMBEB <> 



The Pruning and Care of Young Apple Trees 



Written for Better Fruit by Art Experienced Orchardist 



SO MUCH has been written upon 

 the subject of the pruning of 

 a young orchard that one won- 

 ders what possibly remains to be 

 said upon that subject, but, as surely 

 as the different methods of pruning 

 are based somewhat upon theory, so 

 surely will it remain undecided as 

 to which of the different methods 

 and theories are correct. Then, again, 

 it is surprising to find how many 

 orehardists, or rather people who own 

 young orchards, there are who are so 

 ignorant regarding the simplest princi- 

 ples of pruning, an example of which 

 the writer recalls in looking over a 

 young orchard, to see half inch to inch 

 stubs left and carefully covered with 

 walnut wax and, when asked why he 

 left such long stubs, the owner said 

 that was the way he was told to do it 

 by one whom he thought knew. So, 

 possibly, some of the points brought out 

 in this little article may prove of value 

 to the owner of a young orchard. 



It is hardly necessary to state that 

 the tree should be planted just as soon 

 as possible in the spring and the bud 

 placed from 2 to 4 inches under the 

 surface of the ground, the whole tree 

 slanted silghtly to the prevailing wind. 

 It is advisable not to cut the tree back 

 immediately after planting as in cer- 

 tain sections the bud weavil is apt to 

 make its appearance at this time. The 

 weavil always climbs to the top of the 

 tree and eats up the buds. The writer 

 has sometimes headed newly set trees 

 where there were often 6 to 8 weavils 

 eating the buds from the top of a single 

 tree. Incidentally, the weavil is very 

 hard to control, the only satisfactory 

 method of a great many tried is to 

 fasten a cone of tin with the apex up- 

 ward on the trunk of each tree. 



Before the leaves start to open cut 

 the tree back to a good bud 28 to 32 

 inches above the ground. Cut at an 

 angle of 45 degrees and preferably to 

 a bud on the windy side of the tree. 

 Cut one-fourth inch above the bud as 

 the trunk of the tree does not swell 

 very much the first year and the wood 

 dies back probably one-eighth inch; 

 then the second year cut the trunk 

 again (lose to the lop limb and the 

 wound will quickly heal over. If the 

 tree is branched, cut oil' the lower limbs, 

 but save some of the upper limbs if 



one should be in a desirable place, as, 

 if the limb should be removed, a bud 

 might not force itself out at that place, 

 but prune these limbs back rather 

 hard. Sometimes in May after the trees 

 have leafed out, rub off all shoots 

 within 16 to 18 inches of the ground 

 and, if all the buds come out above, 

 possibly a few of these may be rubbed 

 off. This is all the pruning for the 

 first year. 



Beginning the second year prune any 

 time before the leaves start and cut off 

 the top stub, if there be any, flush with 

 the top limb. Leave 4 to 6 limbs be- 

 cause the more limbs left the fewer 

 crotches there will be after the third 

 pruning and, later, should the snow or 

 a heavy load of fruit break off a limb, 

 the tree will not be crippled as it other- 

 wise would be were there only three 

 limbs. Have the bottom limb 16 to 18 

 inches from the ground, thus spreading 

 the head approximately a foot or more 

 and let the limbs be divided equally in 

 that distance. It is sometimes advisable 

 to take out the top limb to open up 

 the center with varieties that shoot up 

 too straight, such as the Arkansas 

 Black. Always take out the second 



Two year "Id tree pruned. 



limbs, i. e., the ones just below the top, 

 as before long this limb forms a perfect 

 crotch with the top limb and is always 

 the first to break in a deep snow. The 

 writer has seen after a bad winter a 

 whole row of trees where the second 

 limb and only the second limb has split 

 in every tree in the row. Prune to 

 an outside bud and cut oft" one-sixteenth 

 to one-eighth inch above the bud, quite 

 near, but not too near as the bud may 

 dry out and not start to grow. In 

 pruning lumps oft' from the trunk cut 

 close but not exactly up to the trunk, 

 but to a little collar at the base of the 

 limb, because when the cut is close 

 to the tree and the tree swells it leaves 

 a little hole in the trunk for water and 

 disease to enter and if the cut is out 

 from the tree the following year the 

 trunk swells to the cut and grows over 

 it. However, this is more important 

 with the larger limbs than with the 

 smaller, but never leave a stub. Cut 

 the limbs back to about 10 inches of 

 their growth, maybe 12 inches, if the 

 tree makes a good growth, otherwise 

 shorter. If the limbs are pruned quite 

 short and there are not many limbs, the 

 following year the forks will be too 

 close to the trunk. Carry a can of 

 thick white lead around and paint the 

 top of the trunk and the larger wounds. 

 White lead or red lead is more satis- 

 factory than any of the waxes as the 

 hard waxes all crack and split oft' 

 when the tree swells. The latter part 

 of May rub off some of the inside and 

 superfluous limbs and the pruning for 

 that year is done. 



This brings us to the spring of the 

 third year and the tree is a two-year- 

 old. It is now necessary to choose be- 

 tween the two fundamental types of 

 trees, the central leader or the open 

 centered. There are certain advantages 

 in both types, but on the whole the 

 writer is inclined to a modified form of 

 the central leader where the tree is 

 started with a leader in the center and 

 is opened up to suit the variety and 

 the conditions of the locality. It is 

 quite difficult to til! in a tree that is too 

 open after it is allowed to bear fruit, 

 but very easy to open up a tree that 

 does not allow sufficient sunlight to 

 color the fruit. An open centered tree 

 is not as Strong as the leader tree, is 

 more susceptible to splitting and needs 



