HOME GARDENS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 15, Issue 61, 26 June 1950, Page 6

HOME GARDENS

(By J. S. Yeates, Massey Agricultural College) PRUNING FRUIT TREES Now that the deciduous fruit trees have dropped their leaves is the best time to give them their regular winter pruning. It is the best policy to do this pruning early, so that there is ample time left to apply the’winter sprays early also. The first thing to understand befor starting to prune, is on what types of shoots the various types of trees bear their fruit.

The apple, for instance bears most of its crop on fruiting spurs and on two year old shoots. The fruiting spurs are on the older wood. They are short rather thick and very crooked growth which are quite distinctive. They bear fruit year after year until they become old and gradually lose vigour. One of the objects of pruning weak side shoots is to encourage the development of more spurs.

When pruning a grown apple tree trained to t;he wine-glass shape, the procedure is as follows: First see to the tip's of the leaders, in other words the extreme ends of the branches. There may have been too many leading shoots developed as branches in the last growing season. Decide which ones to retain as a part of the tree’s frame, and cut the others back rather short, leaving only one or two buds on them. The cut should be at least a quarter inch clear of the bud at any point. The leaders which have been chosen to keep should be shortened back above a bud also, but only about one-third or onehalf of last year’s growth is generally removed. In making any of these cuts, it is best to assume that the top bud which is left on the shoot will develop next year’s shoot. For that reason leave a bud towards the side where the shoot is wanted, usually towards the outside of the tree.

Having removed all but the base of surplus leaders, and shortened back the others, work downwards along these leaders. The fruit spurs as a rule should not be touched, but first of all any surplus shoots should be cut off flush with the main stem. These include shoots growing across others or in towards the centre of the tree, or maybe simply shoots that are crowding others. The remainder of the small shoots are commonly cut back leaving three or four buds on them. It is just as well to leave the difference • between a fruiting bud and a simple leaf bud. This may enable you to avoid cutting off any fruit buds that may be set on these short lateral growths. Some apple varieties bear their fruit on the tips of one year old shoots, that is, the shoots formed last spring will bear fruit next spring. The commonest ones in that class are the early varieties, Irish Peach and Gravenstein. If all shoots have their tips removed there will be no fruit. Winter pruning of such varieties should consist of thinning out surplus branches. The tippingback the twigs should be done in the summer, so that flower buds have a chance to develop on the new shoots before winter.

Pears are pruned in the same way as the ordinary type of apples, not like the tip-bearing varieties. The peach and nectarine are to all intents and purposes one fruit for pruning purposes. The fruit is all produced along one year old branches. The aim should be to prune hard enough to promote a vigorous growth of young branches each year, because that wood produces the next year’s fruit. The leaders should be slightly shortened each year, the fruit-bearing laterals have about one-third of last year’s growth cut off, and the smaller twigs and non-fruiting branches can be shortened back to about three buds. Here again it is better to learn the appearance of flower buds. They are in clusters of three while leaf buds are produced singly. . Routine Work Broad beans can still be planted if not already in the ground. Early peas can likewise be sown if you have a fairly warm spot with some well drained soil. Shallots can go in anytime now. Rows should be about a foot apart, and bulbs should be four to six inches apart in the rows. Have the ground well worked down, and rake it smooth and firm before planting. The bulbs, of course, should not be buried, but pressed firmly perhaps an inch into the soil, with their tops showing out. This crop seems to have gone out of favour because onions now keep fairly well. The shallots, however, are ready to lift in December, when onions are very scarce.