Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Guavas are forced to produce year round, and normally the actively
growing shoots are tipped once they become too large. This tipping forces re-
growth and new fl owers to be induced, to keep production high and constant.
In guava cycling, as soon as the harvest is fi nished, a peripheral pruning of
the canopy is performed, in order to force new shoots that will bear fl owers.
Cherimoya and atemoya are also tipped to remove last season's growth and
force new shoots to arise below this cut. The new shoots lead to adequate and
more uniform fl owering since new fl owers arise from these new shoots. If the
climate permits, this pruning can be done at shorter than yearly intervals, as
soon as the previous growth and leaves start to mature. This shortened period
can lead to fruit harvests every 7 to 9 months. In orchards where the trees in
a row are closely spaced and are starting to touch and shade each other, they
can be pruned as a hedge, by pruning the trees on both sides and leaving a
fl at surface where the hedge is a bit wider at the bottom than at the top. This
is achieved by pruning at a 20° angle. The top of the hedge would also be
trimmed horizontally at this time.
In banana and plantain all but one of the suckers taller than 1 m are
eliminated, leaving one replacement sucker or son that will be the next to
fl ower; the smaller suckers (grandchildren) are not cut. This practice is done
every 6-8 weeks.
Sanitary and maintenance pruning
Sanitary pruning is done to eliminate any growth that has been damaged by
diseases or by insects. It also includes branches that are broken or growing
in the wrong direction or interfering with neighbouring branches. Branches
growing towards the ground and interfering with fertilization or weeding
practices should be also eliminated. Any structure left from the former harvest
should also be eliminated. The person doing this pruning needs training in
order to make the correct decision as to what growth to eliminate. This could
include old, diseased or broken leaves in the case of papaya, plantain or
banana.
Structural regeneration pruning
This is performed to induce the regeneration of the productive structures and,
in the case of large plants, to reduce their size to facilitate fi eld operations and
avoid overcrowding. In yellow passion fruit, the plants are pruned after about
3-4 years, when they start to decline, and the decision has to be made between
replanting the whole fi eld or rejuvenating the old vines. If rejuvenated,
pruning is performed so as to leave the main stem and the primary branches,
which are cut back too about a metre, and all secondary branches are cut to
