Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 5.21
The instant removal of dead, broken or
diseased wood will get rid of this complicated growth
quickly.
Figure 5.22
Clear out the centre of your tree.
spread over a few seasons to give the plant
time to recover. (See Figure 5.23.)
will almost certainly collapse and break under
the strain. The canopy is so dense that light
and air can hardly penetrate, leading to fruit
only on the periphery of the canopy and
therefore only on about a third of the tree's
fruit-carrying capacity. As it is so dense, start
by looking inside your tree (see Figure 5.21).
Masses of complicated growth can be
simplified by the instant removal of dead,
broken or diseased wood. This will give you a
clearer picture of what there is to prune to
create a more open structure of scaffold and
secondary branches.
When shortening smaller stems, always prune
to an outward- and downward-facing bud or
side branch. Try to imagine how that bud or
side branch will develop in future years. Will
it crowd other branches, or will it form new
fruiting growth/limbs with enough space
around it for fruit to develop?
Thin the fruiting wood so that all potential
buds have space to develop into fruit (see
Figure 5.24). Fruiting spurs can become
crowded so there is no space for fruit to
develop.
Remove any growth heading towards the
centre of you tree (see Figure 5.22).
At the end of this process there is a clear
centre consisting of structural/scaffold and
secondary branches supporting the fruiting
wood. There are also some branches that
could be removed at a later date, possibly in
late winter/early spring of the next year when
Crossed branches and vertical growth
are the next to go. Prune these off next to
their supporting limb (see pages 38-40).
The removal of large branches can be
