254 



PRUNING 



three- or four-year wood, leaving the main branches 6 to 8 

 feet long, with stubs of the lateral branches attached, gen- 

 erally produce shoots of moderate vigor, which form sufficient 

 fruit buds for a fair crop the next year. Although the trees 

 are lowered to some extent, their bearing areas (height and 

 width) are not reduced so severely as in the dehorned trees. 

 After one yearns growth the bearing surface should nearly equal 

 that of normal, healthy, bearing trees. Owing to the absence 



Fig. 91. Fourteen-year-old peach tree pruned 

 moderately heavy. Note that all main leadera 

 have been headed back to outward-growing 

 branches but that the remaining shoots have 

 not been clipped back. Such a type of pruning 

 on old trees results in a good supply of new 

 bearing wood each year. 



of dense growth, the fruit is also of normal color on such trees. 



Experiments at the Maryland Experiment Station have 

 shown that dehorned trees yielded 1% pecks per tree after the 

 first year's growth following the treatment, 1% pecks the sec- 

 ond year, 9% pecks the third year, and 4 pecks the fourth year 

 following the pruning. Moderately pruned trees in the same 

 orchard during the same years yielded 4 pecks per tree after 

 the first year's growth, 8 pecks the second year, 18 pecks the 



