Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
and therefore minimise frost damage to
the blossoms.
Remove strong vertical growth in summer
unless it can be trained horizontally to form a
replacement branch. Remember that vertical
growth produces vegetative growth and
horizontal growth produces fruiting wood.
Depending on whether you want to invigorate
the tree or dwarf its growth, choose your
pruning season and remove any crossed and
crowded growth. Always prune to a bud
facing in the direction you want it to grow,
generally outwards and downward. Dead and
diseased wood should be pruned out as soon
as you see it.
In free-standing apple trees, removing an old
fruiting branch every two to three years will
allow you to create a fresh replacement
branch. This is best performed in winter.
Plenty of new growth will be stimulated.
Select one to two strong stems and remove the
rest. Weigh or tie this growth down to a
horizontal position to encourage fruiting
wood (see Figure 6.14).
Figure 6.3
All being well, the pruner will be rewarded
with a mass of blossom.
one blossom per cluster will make up the
harvest. This is an act of faith that many
domestic gardeners are reluctant to make.
Know your local climate and supply plenty of
bee forage, or even a hive at blossoming to
ensure success. If you are growing outside an
apple's preferred climate, waiting for the set
fruitlets is a safer option.
Fruitthinning
All being well, a snowstorm of blossom (see
Figure 6.3) will be followed by fruit set. An
apple will 'set' far more fruit than can be
brought to harvest so fruit thinning is a must.
Not only will fruit just drop off during the
season if this job is neglected, the apples that
survive the distance will be extremely small.
When you are establishing the framework of a
young tree, it is good practice to remove all
fruit until the plant is four to five years old. It
is better that the tree's energy is channelled
into establishment rather than fruit
production; a metabolically challenging
activity as all pregnant ladies know!
Orchardists will thin the fruit before it
happens; that is, the blossoms will be
removed so that the tree doesn't waste its
energy on any fruit development at all - only
Lack of fruit thinning can also lead to
biennial bearing; that is, there are masses of
fruit one year and hardly anything the next.