Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Maintaining the trees at less than 3-4 m can be achieved by topping trees
either with large machine pruners or by hand, using dif erent cutting devices
such as machetes, chain saws or pruning shears. This pruning becomes
a periodic or yearly operation and is often carried out immediately after
fruit harvesting in order to allow the trees plenty of time to regenerate their
productive structures. This pruning has resulted in signifi cant increases in
yields and fruit quality, and in disease reduction.
Another technique used, in species like mango, is a peripheral pruning
after harvest, eliminating the outer 30-40 cm of the canopy in order to
stimulate a uniform re-growth so that all new shoots have the same age, in
order to induce uniform fl owering (Fig. 4.3b). This includes eliminating all
fruit stalks left from the former harvest since they have been shown to have an
inhibitory ef ect on production.
(a)
(b)
Fig. 4.3.
Production pruning begins after the formation pruning and the induction
of subbranches. The most common practice is to remove branches inside the
canopy, especially those that are diseased and crossing other branches; this will also
maintain tree height. Peripheral pruning is also practised to maintain canopy size
and tree height.
