TOO MUCH PRUNING.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 81, 30 December 1907, Page 2

TOO MUCH PRUNING.

A COMMON ERROR OP FRUITGROWERS. HOW TO WRITE A NAME IN FRUIT BUDS. ■ One frequently sees splendid healthy young fruit trees ruined by excessive pruning. An orchardist not overburdened with ideas as to the particular kind of tree he desires to produce, or, at'all events, tlio particular kind of treatment that is calculated to produce it, gets a knife and cuts. Often ho cuts because lie has learned that young trees ought to bo cut back, and he cuts back accordingly, but without method. To prune successfully, one needs to know as much as possible of the nature of a treo's growth, of tho causes that make it grow, of the reasons why one bud grows a branch and another a blossom bud, while a third remains quite dormant. Having learned these things, lie needr, to form, in his mind, his ideal tree. Then he can cut, with profit; Why does, a tree grow ? Every part of a tree of course is constructed from .the sap that tho roots suck up, plus the carbon breathed in by the leaves from the air. Constant moisture in the soil—but hot excessive saturation—causes a constant uninterrupted llow of sap, and constant healthy growth.: Whether that growth shall develop to bearing wood or simply to leaf-bearing branches, depends on many influences, of which, perhaps, the chiof is sunlight. Sunlight is one ol' the strongest promoters of blossom buds. It is, therefore, desirablf to let as much sunlight as possible fall upon the wood of the treo. It is in this respect that excessive winter pruning. does'so much harm. Winter pruning, as is woll knoifti, causes a great increase of new growth to take place in the following spring and summer. . An apple tree ; of twelve branches may, if each branch is heavily sllortencd, grow into a treo of thirtysix or more branches. Tho thirty-six branches, with their thicket of leaves, combine to. completely shut off, tho sun's rays from' the " lower portions of; •$!<&! treo,r arid any . tendency that-might originally, .have existed, to, form .blossom,,buds..low ; down;:will thus bo.stopped. ' This,kind of error is very frequently soen in small gardens where the mellowness of the soi> increases tho thicketlike nature of,'the-growth.' If, on the. contrary, . tho., .tree b'o notpruned at. all, tho extension of the branches will' be only modorate, and the advent of additional branches will .be moderate also. The ■ sun will, therefore, be more likely to gain access to tho lower parts of the branches, and promote the formation of blossom buds: If we had to choose between the two systems we should by all means choose the system of no pruning. But there is a better system than cither. Though it is wasteful to grow branches in tho summer to be cut off in the winter, thore are, nevertheless, branches that- can be caused to grow that are- . and dormant buds that . can be pushed into usefulness, Down the stems of n.ostyoung apple and pear trees will be found a good number of dormant buds. 1 If these buds can be; changed into blossom buds, it will be making good use of otherwise waste space. Possibly the sunlight itself, if allowed free play, will make them push out a pretty little coronet of four or five leaves. That, means a blossom bud for next. year. If anybody comes and tells you to rub off all this growth down the .stein and along the base of tne main branches, you had liottcr order them olf your premises at once, for they are dangerous. l'our best fruit will comc from those buds ; it will occupy no extra space, win bo easily gathered, and will riot bo shaken by the wind. But no fruit will grow- down tnero if the top of the tree is allowed to become " leafy." There is no senso in growing a branch on top to spoil a branch below. Use seiise in deciding oil the number of branches the tree can carry without over-shading the stem, and keep those branches stripped of sido shoots. You must aim to furnish tho stem and each of'the branches down to its base, with fruit buds, so .that in full fruit they would be like strings of Spanish onions. It requires a good deal of knowledge to do this, but tho reward, is glorious. Some experts claim to be able to write'.their name along a branch in fruit buds. Very fow orchardists seem .to know tho system of pruning for fruit buds; yet it is much easier to learn than the alphabet. The great point, is aim at is sunlight on the stem and lower parts of the branches, and this, is gained by keeping the main branches to single sticks. Sometimes a few of tho lower buds refuse to obey instructions, in spite of all olforts, and these aro sometimes in places where there is ample space 'for fruit. These obstinato buds can easily bo mastered. , One plan is to cut I back the branch. This will cause the dormant lower buds to grow, A number of new shoots will, however, develop on tho branch, and these must be all remove;! but one. If the removal of these additional shoots is deferred till winter, the tip that is left will be much smaller in circumference than the base of the shoot, and what Australians call "a tapering branch" will be the result. This is tho ideal shape of branch for bearing fruit. The sap which conies'up in the stout lower part of the branch is uuablo to find full vent in tho slender top,' and it lias to burst'out into growth below. The growth below should bo fruit buds. The less a branch is pruned the. more tapering will it become. Every timo it is pruned tho now growth makes tho top/ heavier—excopt when shortened for subsequont reduction, as already described —and the increased top outlot for the sap lessons tho tendency to fruit below. . ' Tho system of well opon, tapering branches is well suited for New Zealand. There is no need to fear tho olfcct of too much sun heat oil tho stem of the treo if tho stem is well covered with the leaves of fruit buds. Where proper thinning- of branches has been neglected, orchardists may perform tho operation now, or, preferably, so soon as raiu comes. ' . .