236 



PRUNING 



or at planting time with two-year trees, and three to five 

 limbs, spaced as far apart as possible on the trunk, are left 

 to form the head of the tree (Fig. 80a). Advocates of this- 

 method claim that it is superior because it allows more sun- 

 light to enter the tree and because the tree does not become so- 

 tall as trees trained by the center-leader method. As a matter 

 of fact, the tops and centers of open-headed trees will become 

 quite thick if considerable pruning is not done. The main 



Fig. 80. (a) Four-year-old Williams apple tree pruned by the open- 

 head system. There has been practically no heading back, (b) A tree 

 of the same variety and age in the same orchard but pruned by the- 

 two-story center leader system. No heading back has been practiced in 

 this tree either. This tree will probably make a stronger one than the 



tree shown in (a). 



disadvantage of this method, however, is the fact that all the 

 main framework limbs, which are usually equal in size, com* 

 monly grow out very close to one another on the trunk.. 

 Weak crotches, which tend to split when heavy crops are borne,, 

 often result. 



When the center-leader form of tree is used, the center stem 

 is not removed. Each year additional side branches are- 

 trained from the center stem, which is always pruned less 



