PRUNING FRUIT TREES

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 116, 6 August 1927, Page 26

PRUNING FRUIT TREES

At this time of the year many young fruit trees a*e planted in various'parts of the country. Trees are just like children and their character has to be formed and moulded just the same as any child. When a baby shows signs of bad habits we check it, and so when a tree has a tendency to make bad or unsightly growth, we must cut it out or in other words prune the bad habit back.

Young trees should be encouraged to produce a strong healthy growth. ’he object of the first two or three years pruning is to aim at secLiring a good shape as a foundation on which to build the tree.

Always cut to the outer bud 'as shown) and be careful to make the severance at the correct point and use only sharpened secateurs. It stands to reason that good fruit in quality can only be produced frin healthy, well-cared-for trees. Hence the importance of building up a shapely, sturdy and well-balanced structure which will afterwards be capable of carrying heavy crops. Pruning induces new wood growth on which the fruit spurs are formed. This operation also cuts out all dead wood and straggling growths allowing the sunlight to penetrate through the inner branches.

Pruning directs the sap energy of the tree into channels where it is made most use of. The second and third years’ pruning is always more severe than compared with that after they commence to bear. Fruits are produced on different types of woods. The plum, nectarine and peach produce their fruit from auxiliary buds. The plum also forms fruit spurs on two-year-old wood. Apples and pears represent what is known as the terminal bud of spur bearing types. It is always wise to prevent fruit trees from bearing too young as early bearing weakens the tree, checks the growth and so makes it more subject to disease.