Why train and prune young trees?
- A young tree that is not pruned will become a shapeless tree.
- A shapeless tree does not fill its space in the orchard and we cannot maximize light interception and light distribution.
- Growing fruit means trapping (intercepting) as much sunlight as possible and converting it into a high quality product that we can sell.
- To shape a fruit tree and give it a good structure we must train and prune young trees.
- The best shapes to intercept and distribute sunlight are the Christmas tree‑type (Central Leader) and V‑type (Tatura Trellis).
- Any pruning during the early years is dwarfing, the trees cannot fill their space quickly and it delays fruiting.
- Trees that are trained well and pruned minimally, grow fast and come into production soon.
- Fruiting reduces tree growth. If we allow fruit trees to crop heavily too soon, the trees will be in full production before they have filled their allotted space.
- Training and pruning young trees allows us to regulate tree growth and fruitfulness so that we can maximize the production potential of an orchard.
List of topics in the manual
- Why train and when to prune
- Eight pruning cuts
- Maintain a balanced tree structure: the 3:1 rule * Avoid forks * Keep trees open * Spreading branches * Keep the tips of branches up * Control growth in the heads * Keep leaders straight
- Different buds
- Renewal pruning: the 1,2,3 rule
- Importance of 1 and 2 year old wood
- Spur pruning
- Containment pruning
- Renovation pruning
- Root pruning
