Pruning fruit trees has its differences from pruning conventional garden trees. This is due to the fact that the objective of pruning these trees is to obtain good quality fruits, so it is necessary to prevent small and poor quality fruits from coming out, taking into account that if the pruning is excessive, we can harm to the production of the tree. Therefore, we must find the exact balance between growth and production.
In this Green Ecologist article, we will talk about how and when to prune fruit trees.
It is convenient to carry out the pruning and guiding fruit trees since they are young, since doing it when they are older requires more effort, time and tools, in addition to being easier to get young specimens to adapt to new situations. We should try to get a more open shape of the branches, making them develop further across the width of the tree, and eliminate vertical branches and suckers, since they are the ones that take away the vigor of the tree and make the fruits grow worse. It is also possible to guide these vertical branches to a more horizontal position, reducing their growth speed and encouraging the formation of flower buds and fruits.
When we have already given a suitable structure to the young fruit tree, pruning can begin. Pruning is done every year and the unproductive wood must be removed, keeping it in a suitable size, so that we increase the amount of light that the rest of the branches receive. With the annual pruning, we keep the wood productive and fruitful and we get the tree to develop healthy and vigorous. Once the tree begins to bear fruit, its growth will slow down and so will the need for pruning. When pruning is carried out, the tree itself adapts to change and its response depends on where it is cut. To know how to prune a fruit tree, you have to take into account the type of pruning that is carried out, since the amount that is thinned and by which point of the branches to cut will depend on it.
Usually is cut above the budsAs we will see below, depending on what type of bud is cut, one effect or another is achieved on the growth of the fruit tree and its production.
Understand the parts of a fruit tree, help to perform proper pruning. You have to find a balance between fruit and leaves to achieve a good pruning. Approximately, forty leaves are enough for quality fruits to develop, that is why we must take into account the number of flower buds when it comes to achieving this balance. In addition, knowing these parts and what they are for will help you better know how to care for fruit trees. These are the different parts of these types of trees:
After the period of rest or dormancy, at the end of winter And just before the spring bud period, it is the right time to prune. In addition, if we do it at this time, the wounds that have been produced by pruning will heal better and faster. We can even delay pruning for up to a week after the tree blooms, with minimal damage to the plant.
Also, we can perform a small pruning during the summer and fall and we will pinch the more vigorous shoots, to favor the appearance of more vigorous lateral branches that have flower buds.
To reduce the vigor of certain fruit trees, when they develop too much, we can power it during the beginning or middle of August. If we want the fruits to be of higher quality, we will eliminate the leaves that shade the fruit. What we must consider is that pruning in late autumn or early winter is the worst, since in this case we will leave wounds on the tree exposed until late winter, which can cause fungal attacks and more damage due to the frosts of these times.
After knowing how and when to prune fruit trees, you may be interested in knowing why the fruits fall from the tree.
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