PRUNING 75 



the science of pruning and the practice requires a knowl- 

 edge of the functions of the tree and its fruitiag charac- 

 teristics, as well as judgment, imagination, and forethought. 



68. Definition. — Pruning may be defined briefly as the 

 art and science of cutting away a portion of the plant to 

 improve its shape, to influence its fruitfulness, to improve the 

 quality of the product, or to repair damage. 



69. Objects of pruning. — ^The objects are essentially 

 two: first, to change the shape or growth of the tree itself; 

 and second, to influence the production and the character of 

 the product. Such pruning as is necessary to repair damage 

 is largely due to accident, disease, or neglect. It is easily 

 possible to over-emphasize the importance of training, for 

 the object of pruning a fruit-tree is certainly not alone to 

 produce a beautiful or shapely object, but rather to obtain 

 a tree that is commercially profitable and capable of carrying 

 its crop without breakage of limbs. It is not uncommon, 

 in sections where apple trees grow large (as in western New 

 York) , for them to produce a crop weighing as much as a ton 

 and a half, and the ability of the tree to cany such a load 

 must be a matter of foresight by the orchardist. Further- 

 more, the proper pruning of a tree will facilitate other 

 orchard operations, such as spraying and picking. From an 

 orchardist's viewpoint, it is evident that pruning has a 

 commercial objective, for the grower desires to obtain the 

 most return from the least outgo. It must be remembered, 

 however, that the most return is not always commercially 

 best, as is pointed out more fully in Chapter VI. This 

 then leads to an adaptation of tree type to conform with 

 other orchard practices, which in themselves must be adapta- 

 tions to enviromnent, variety characteristics, and the like, 

 and it is this ensemble of inter-acting factors that influence 

 the tree, or rather the tree and its product are the organic 

 result of all of this inter-action. 



