MOW TO GET THE HIGH DENSiTT TREE Off TO A GOOD STA«T 

 MEAVr MASKS SHOW WHERE PRUNING CUTS SHOULD BE MADE 



1 •y*ar-old tt<fion Remove oil 

 competing thooti Heod back t«r- 

 minol thoor 



7-voor-old techon Select and 

 head lateral branchet Remove 

 unneceitary loteroU 



3-year-old lection Spread branch- 

 ei, remove forked tenn'noli *0 a 

 tingie thoot and heod that ir>oot 

 Head tide thoolt 



4-vear old lection Spreod brorich- 

 et, remove forlred termlnoll to o 

 lingle iheet and head that ihool 

 Head tide thoott 



S-yeor-old lectlon and older If 

 tree hat filled alloned ipare, 

 head back where neceiiar> into 

 7 year-old wood to on unheaded 

 lide ihool Avoid heading cute 

 into 1 -year-old ihooti until the 

 tree It fruiting well 



Fig. 15. A diagram of the "constructive training" program suggested by Dr. D.R. Heinicke in USQfK Agriculture Handbook 

 No. 458 entitled "High Density Apple Orchards-Planning, Training and Pruning." (Reproduced with permission of 

 the author.) 



central leader should be pruned as in the third dormant 

 season— heading the extension growth, removal of 

 competing lateral shoots, selection of branches for 

 the third level, and positioning of branches in the third 

 level. 



3. The framework of the 2 lower levels of branches has 

 been established. Remove only water sprouts and 

 those branches which are growing toward the center 

 of the tree, or are competing with permanent scaffold 

 branches. Excessive pruning invigorates growth and 

 delays formation of fruit buds. 



Care beyond the fourth year. 



1. Prune to maintain the conical shape with short, weak 

 branches in top of the tree. 



2. Head the central leader annually. If it gets too vigor- 

 ous, cutting into 2-year-old or older wood may be 

 necessary. The central leader above the cropping area 

 should not carry too many branches. 



3. Try to develop new branches in the tree instead of 

 attempting to invigorate old wood. 



a. Water sprouts that are growing in the direction 

 of a vacant area can be kept to fill that section 

 with bearing wood or as replacements for older 

 bearing branches. Positioning of these water 

 sprouts would be beneficial in many instances. 



b. An occasional new shoot, growing at an angle 

 from a branch, can be retained to provide new 

 bearing wood for the future. 



4. Cut all dead and diseased wood, all branches that have 

 a tendency to grow inward toward the tree's center, 



and all water sprouts that are growing straight up, 

 whether in the center of the tree or from the upper 

 surface of side branches. 



5. Drooping shaded wood that has become weak and 

 unproductive should be removed. 



6. Where two branches are growing so close together 

 that one shades the other, the less desirable branch 

 should be removed. 



7. All suckers at the base of the tree should be removed. 



Pruning medium density orchards. A training and pruning 

 system for medium density orchards is described in Agricul- 

 ture Handbook No. 458 published by the USD A. ^ We have 

 no experience with this system in Massachusetts but since 

 there is grower interest in it we have attempted to describe 

 it below. The training and pruning procedures suggested in 

 Agriculture Handbook No. 458 (See Fig. 15) may be most 

 suitable for spur-type trees which branch less readily than 

 standard types. 



Planting time. 



1 . Head trees at about 28 to 30 inches. 



^Agriculture Handbook No. 458 published in 1975 by the 

 USDA and entitled "High Density Apple Orchards-Plan- 

 ning, Training and Pruning." You can purchase this publi- 

 cation for 65 cents a copy from the Superintendent of 

 Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 

 D.C. 



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