8 LEAFLET 2 2 7, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Fruit trees may be cultivated for the first 3 or 4 years if it is not pos- 

 sible to mulch them with straw or strawy manure. Thereafter apples, 

 pears, plums, cherries, and nuts may be kept in sod. Peaches and 

 grapes do best when they receive some cultivation, but they can also 

 be grown in grass and mulched. Manure mulch will take care of the 

 fertilizer requirements of the fruit plants. When manure is not avail- 

 able, use a fertilizer high in nitrogen. 



Pruning After the First Year. — The purpose of pruning is to 

 develop the tree or bush so that it will have maximum strength to carry 

 a load of fruit and maximum bearing capacity. A safe rule in pruning 

 trees, particularly trees up to bearing age, is to prune them as little as 

 will accomplish this specific purpose. Remove cross branches, suckers, 

 and broken or djung limbs. Young trees of most fruits require little 

 pruning before they come into bearing. Pruning of fruit trees in gen- 

 eral should be done during the dormant season, preferably in the 

 spring after danger of severe winter freezing is past but before growth 

 has started. 



If the vine growth of bunch grapes is rather weak during the first 

 growing season, it is advisable to cut the vine back at the end of the 

 season to one or two buds and to train up a strong trunk during the 

 second growing season. If the vine is to be trained to a two-wire sys- 

 tem, tie it to a stake and let it grow upright until it reaches the top 

 wire. At that point pinch it off and lead out a lateral in each direction 

 along the wire. During the second season, lateral canes will grow from 

 all the buds along the trunk. Select two of these at the height of the 

 first wire above the ground and tie them to that wire to develop fruit- 

 ing wood. Rub off or pinch back the other branches along the trunk 

 during the growing season. A vine can be trained to a fence in much 

 the same manner. 



Prune while the vines are in a dormant condition. As the fruit is 

 borne on shoots from the canes of the previous season's growth, it is 

 important that enough new wood be saved to provide for the next 

 summer's crop. With healthy, vigorous vines, from 50 to 60 buds 

 will produce as much fruit as the vine can mature properly. More 

 wood may be left on vines for home production, provided sufficient 

 space is available for the vine to develop. With vigorous vines, leav- 

 ing more wood may result in a greater total quantity of fruit, but the 

 individual bunches may be inferior in size and the fruit of poorer 

 quality. 



Except in the mountain region remove all the canes from black- 

 berries, both old and new, after the fruit has been picked. New canes 

 will then develop strong growth to produce fruit for the folio wing- 

 season. The tips of new shoots of black raspberries are pinched off 

 at a height of 12 to 18 inches, and those of purple raspberries and 

 blackberries at 18 to 24 inches. Red raspberries are not cut back, but 

 the weak canes should be removed. Winter pruning of purple rasp- 

 berries and of blackberries consists in cutting back lateral branches 

 to about 12 inches and of black raspberries to 8 to 10 inches. 



Spraying. — For those who find it possible to spray in order to 

 produce the best quality of tree fruits and grapes, the State agricul- 

 tural colleges can furnish spray programs giving details of sprays and 

 times of application. 



U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1952 



For sale by the Superintendent -of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office 

 Washington 25, D. C. - Price 5 cents 



