Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Flowering buds are fat and furry while the
slender pointy wood buds will produce leaves
and if not pruned back, more wood. It is
important to remember it is estimated that it
takes 40 leaves to nourish one apple! Plenty of
leaf ensures a good crop, although some
cultivars benefit from some leaf thinning in
late summer in order to maximise fruit
colour. The wood bud and leaf growth from
the fruiting spur invigorates the spur wood
leading to further spurs. Shorten back wood
growth in summer and it will produce
flowering spurs at its base in two year's time
(see Figure 6.2).
Tip- and spur-bearing apples
Some apples fruit on the tips of short two-
year-old side growths. Golden Delicious and
Jonathon are two such, with Granny Smith
fruiting on both spurs and short side growths.
A relaxed attitude to pruning these trees is
the best. Leave side growths in place unless
they are very long and are disturbing the
balance of the tree. In such cases they can be
cut back by a quarter of their length.
'They fruit on spurs at my place'
This is the experience of an orchardist in my
local area, the Mornington Peninsula in
Victoria. In his commercial orchard, trees are
managed on a trellis system utilising one
central trunk to 3 m high, with up to 22 small
branches tied down to the trellis. Using this
system, these supposed 'tip-bearing' apples
develop spurs. These trees are planted as a
whip (or rod) and allowed to branch freely,
with all branches tied back to the trellis.
Over time, the spurs can become overcrowded
and will need thinning. Always thin the least
fruitful - they may carry only one fat
flowering bud and some worn out stubs of
spurs. Do not worry too much if the fruitful
spurs are further from the scaffold branch,
spurs are strong and fruit production is the
purpose of the exercise (see Figure 6.26).
The orchardists work on a ratio of three to
one for the trunk caliper compared to the
branches; that is, when a branch becomes
more than a third of the diameter of the
trunk, the branch is removed. One to two
branches are removed completely each year in
winter and are replaced with selected new
growth, again tied down to the trellis.
1
4
2
3
3
Maintenancepruning
Once the chosen framework has been
achieved, maintenance pruning is all that is
needed. Winter pruning will improve vigor
and summer pruning will reduce growth (see
'When to prune', page 26). Late winter
pruning in frosty areas can delay flowering
Figure 6.2
A side growth with four season's growth. New
growth from a wood bud keeps this stem actively
growing. Shorten it back in its first summer to develop
fruiting buds at its base in two year's time (1). A
developing two-year-old bud that will flower/fruit next
season. Young flower bearing spurs on three-year-old
wood (3). An established spur on old wood (4).
