Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Stub Cuts
Stub cuts are a form of heading cut used on fruiting branches. According
to the Oregon State University system, about 20 percent of all fruiting
branches are cut back each year in order to renew the branches and spurs
and increase tree vigor. Over a 5-year period, you will renew all of the fruiting
branches and most of the spurs. The length of the renewal stub depends on
the amount of light it receives. Well-exposed fruiting branches near the top
of a tree can be stub-cut to be 3 to 5 inches long. Stubs for less-exposed
branches lower in the tree may be left as long as 2 feet if the canopy is dense.
Heading Cuts
Make heading cuts during the dormant season by removing the outer third
to half of each fruiting shoot that formed during the previous growing sea-
son. This practice increases branching, causes the fruiting spurs to develop
farther apart, reduces crop load, and increases leaf size and photosynthetic
capacity. The number and size of leaves are important factors in the fruit's
size and quality. To produce large, high-quality cherries, you need about five
leaves for each fruit. Leaves that develop at the base of new shoots are gen-
erally larger and have greater photosynthetic capacity than those near the
shoot tips.
For organic orchardists, a serious drawback with this system is that the
heading cuts produce very dense canopies that can increase humidity and
shading in the canopy, limit spray coverage on the inside of the canopy, and
increase disease and pest problems. If you use this approach to prune highly
productive sweet cherry trees, also increase thinning cuts to limit the num-
ber of branches in the canopy. You will have smaller yields but fewer pest
and disease problems.
Training Systems
While sweet cherries can be trained to simple open centers or, with more dif-
ficulty, central leaders, the trees' vigorous growth complicates management.
