90 



PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF PRUNING 



the crops are even riKjre reduced by the pruning than in former 

 years. This result is said to apply also to trees which have become 

 stunted, as from root injury in transplanting. 



Since hard pruning has been shown to be the correction for fruit- 

 ing, it is concluded that freshly planted trees should be cut back 

 hard to prevent stunting by precocious fruiting. 

 With trees which were not cut back until the end 

 of the first season, the average size of the leaf 

 was 24 per cent less and the new wood formed 

 4.5 per cent less than with similar trees cut 

 back when planted. The ultimate result was 

 found to be that trees not cut back until the 

 end of the first year continued to form wood 

 in subsequent years, and the crop borne by 

 them during the first 10 years was only one- 

 third of that borne by those which were cut 

 back when planted. 



Experiments on apples, pears and plums 

 show that the date of cutting back a freshly 

 planted tree is immaterial, provided it is done 

 before growth begins. If delayed until after 

 the growth is well started the season's growth 

 is much reduced. The results were the same 

 when the lopping was done during the dormant 

 period. Lopping toward the end of May or a 

 few weeks after growth started, resulted in a 

 less growth during the year. This was more 

 than compensated, however, by an additional 

 growth during the succeeding season. 



While it appears to be established from 

 these experiments that the crops are larger 

 and the growth of the tree greater in propor- 

 tion as the pruning is reduced, the experi- 

 menter believes that another series of experi- 

 ments might demonstrate that a certain 

 amount of pruning may be good and even lead 

 to better results, especially with certain va- 

 rieties of apples which differ largely in their 

 habits of growth and require different treat- 

 ment. 



The general conclusions reached are that 

 prunings should be reduced to the lowest 

 possible limits consistent with the formation 

 of a tree of sufficient sturdiness to bear its 

 crops with safety, which in most cases would 

 mean, besides the cutting back after planting, 

 a gradually reduced pruning for the first four or five years. Prun- 

 ing after tliis time should ci>nsist merely in the removal of interfer- 

 ing branches and unripcned wood. With precocious varieties or 



FIG. 66 

 YEARLING GROWTH 

 CUT BACK 

 To cut bLick one- 

 year-old growth does 

 not materially change 

 the direction of the 

 limb, yet it keeps the 

 I'ruit-bearing area low. 

 Note that the upper- 

 most buds have made 

 strongest growth. 



