ROOT-PRUNING FRUIT TREES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 434, 27 January 1912, Page 3

ROOT-PRUNING FRUIT TREES.

It not infrequently happens that certain varieties of fruit trees are found to be very slow in coming into bearing. This is particuialy noticeable with certain kinds of apples when grown on the free stock (seedling apple), and the same remark applies to most papers on the free stock, also to stone fruits. When growing for market this ia a serious matter, as all the expenses of cultivation have to be met, if the future well being of the trees is a consideration, whether any returns are forthcoming or not, and as there ia a demand for these varieties, it is useless to suggest that growers should avoid planting them. In a large number of districts the production of fruit can be hastened by planting trees on dwarfing stocks, but in some cases this procedure cannot be considered a commercial success; on really rich soils these stocks are to be recommended, but even then vigor" ous-growing varieties do not always come quickly into bearing when left to themselves.

When the roots are coarse and strike deeply into the soil and subsoil, the shoots produced are also coarse and gross, and fail to mature sufficiently to develop blossom buds, with a consequent failure to produce fruit. Fruit trees to bear freely must have a good fibrous root system, and these roots must be near the surface.

Trees growing in this way will eventually bear fruit, and that heavily, provided that they are sufficiently far apart to allow of-free extent on, and that the growths made by them are not too severely cut back. Thinning the branches to about IS inches apart, and removing the unripened points, is all the pruning that should be given to trees growing with excessive vigour. This will hasten the production of fruit considerably, but shoots grown under such conditions are very susceptible to attacks of can ker in apples and pears and "gum" in stone fruits: they are also likely to be pulled out of place, perhaps broken, when laden with fruit, being too thin and weak to carry the crop properly. Growers should aim at the production of sturdy, well-matured shoots only if quick returns are reqtiirpd. and when trees of even the most vigorous varieties make more than 20 to 24 inches of growth in a season it is a sure indication that they are developing some deep-growing coarse roots. Fruit trees, therefore, which are producing wood at the expense of fruit, should be uruned some time in autumn. Trees root-pruned at that time quickly become re-es-tablished, and frequently make several inches of new ground becomes too cold. If left much later, new growth does not commence till spring while, if operations are begun much eariler the shoots shrivel. Lifting and replanting should be the method adopted with trees three or four years old ;if longer established, root-pruning will be most advisable. In the case of peart* and piums grown as bushes, pyramids, or trained trees, it almost akvays pays to lift about the second or third year after planting. This usually causes them to develop fruit buds freely the following summer, without giving an undue check. At this time the roots will be moderately plentiful and fibrous, and will therefore quickly make a fresh start in the soil.