264 



PRUNING 



It will be recalled from the chapter on the growth of the 

 tree and the forming of fruit buds that fruit is borne on the 

 ends of small shoots which grow from the terminal or lateral 

 buds formed on the previous season's growth. Although old 

 trees generally bear some fruit annually, even without pruning, 

 this type of fruiting suggests that in addition to thinning out 

 the bearing tree, some heading back to laterals should be 

 practiced so that new growth will be stimulated each year. 



(E. W. Mitcheliy 



Fig. 98. Showing detail of hitch of brush pusher to tractor. 



5. Determining Pruning Costs. The cost of pruning is 

 influenced by many factors: age of tree, variety, height and 

 width of tree, kind and amount of previous pruning, and the 

 type of labor. The New York State Experimental Station at 

 Cornell has found that for most varieties the cost of pruning 

 can be reduced by pruning every other year. Its experiments 

 indicate that equally good yields of quality fruit may be ob- 

 tained by this biennial practice. This means a considerable 

 saving in pruning time. Up to picking time in the Hilton area 

 of New York, from 1928 to 1931, with both sod and cultivated 

 orchards, labor for pruning made up one-half of the total labor 

 cost. It was found that in orchards 30 years old or older, 



