ACTIVE AND DORMANT BUDS 



211 



Occasionally ringing is cmploj^ed to induce the formation of fruit 

 buds, in which case a narrow ring of bark is removed from the 

 trunk or branches in order to sever the phloem, and thus, by 

 cutting off the escape of the foods to the roots, bring a))()ut their 

 accumulation in the branches. Favorable 

 conditions for food formation in the leaves, 

 such as light and free circulation of air 

 and the addition of soil fertilizers, also 

 have an effect upon the formation of 

 fruit buds. 



Active and Dormant Buds. — Many 

 more buds are produced than can develop 

 into branches, for, if all buds were to de- 

 velop, branches would be so numerous 

 and crowded that none of them could do 

 well. The food supply and proper light 

 relations permit the expansion of only a 

 few buds. Consequently, many buds lie 

 dormant one or more seasons or through- 

 out the life of the plant. Usually the 

 more terminally located a bud is, the more 

 likely it is to be active. Thus the ter- 

 minal buds of the main branches are less 

 likely to be dormant than the terminal 

 buds of the branches less prominent, and 

 of the lateral buds often a large per cent 

 remain dormant. An examination of the 

 Ijranches of most trees shows many leaf 

 scars with dormant buds which most likely 

 will remain dormant and finally become 

 obscured by the thickening of the bark, 

 just as many others have. 



The dormancy of buds seems to be due 

 to checks imposed upon them from without and not to condi- 

 tions within the bud, for most dormant buds can be induced 

 to become active by the removal of the active buds. Thus 

 when the terminal buds of branches are removed, some of the 

 dormant lateral buds become active. Use is made of this prin- 

 ciple in inducing shade trees and fruit trees to acquire certain 

 desirable shapes. 



Fig. 192. — Sweet 

 Cherry, a type of tree ia 

 which terminal growth is 

 prominent, resulting in the 

 development of a central 

 shaft called a leader. 

 After L. H. Bailey. 



