Temprate Fruits (1+1)

EXERCISE 12

EXERCISE 12: Training and pruning of stone fruits (Cont...)

Pruning

• The main objective of pruning is to maintain balance between vegetative growth and fruiting.
• Bearing peach require heavy and regular pruning because it bear fruits laterally on the previous season growth.
• It is known, once a growth has fruited will never bear again in its life. Therefore, pruning is done to remove the unproductive parts which in turn will form new fruiting branches in the following season.
• In peach pruning, thinning and heading back of shoots are two basic components. Pruning should be done so as to produce 30-70 cm of growth under subtropical conditions and 25-30 cm under mid hills, annually, which is sufficient for optimum fruit production,

• For good quality fruit production, 40-50 per cent of thinning out and 75% heading back of shoots is suggested under mid hills conditions.
• At the time of pruning , dead ,diseased and broken branches are pruned off.

Apricot

• In young bearing trees pruning should be light and of corrective type but in older trees heavy pruning should be done to maintain balance between growth and fruiting.
• In new castle apricot, 25-30 percent thinning of one year old shoots and 1/3rd heading back is recommended to improve size and fruit quality

Plum

• In plums, thinning and heading back of shoots are two basic components of pruning.
• Most of plum varieties bear on spurs on two years old wood. The life span of these spurs is 5-6 years. It is necessary to prune for some spur renewal each season .
• The extent of pruning is done such a way to induce an annual shoot growth of 25-50 cm.
• In bearing plum trees, 25-30 percent thinning of shoots and 50-75 per cent heading back of shoots is suggested for proper fruiting.
• At the time of pruning , dead ,diseased and broken branches should be pruned off.