THE FRUIT SECTION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20302, 9 July 1929, Page 5

THE FRUIT SECTION.

PRUNING PIP FRUITSj

Orchnrdists should push on with tha pruning work as quickly as possible, for there is plenty yet to be done before the sap rises again. There is still all the spraying, which is likely to produce beneficial results, to be carried out, and as this is a fairly extensive matter the fruitgrower will be wise not to leave it all until the last week or so of the dormant period. Next on the list of trees to be pruned arc the pip-fruits, which include tho apple and the pear. The apple trees consist of two great groups, viz., the tipbearers and the spur-bearers. Tho pruning of these two types differs vastly.

Until the young trees attain a size at which they may be expected to bear fruit, however, the pruning is the same, tho different treatment not being necessary until dealing with the fruiting wood. Fairly rigid pruning is required when training a young tree or tho tree will lose its shape lines in the years to come through the branches drooping under tho weight of tho top branches. Tho training of a young tree should aim at increasing tho stability of the limbs rather than the height of the tree. In the caso of spur-bearing trees the leaf twig is an important growth, as it produces the spurs. Provided there is no overcrowding, all twigs of tliis nature may bo retained, but where it is necessary to remove some owing to overcrowding, tho horizontal ones should be kept for preference. Until the twips havo formed spurs, which they should do in one or two years' time, they should not be pruned, but when furnished with a few spurs they should bo shortened back, according to the number produced.'. While the process of spur formation is going on the twig extends a little nn ; nually, the end of each year's growth being clearly shown by a grou'i of rings. Shortening Old . Spurs. A twig which has only ono spur or so after a couple of seasons should not be shortened as .much as others are, but in all cases the cut should be made in the middle of the group of rings. Leaf twigs which do not readily assume tho spur-forming habit arc more successfully dealt with during the summer when, by curtailing ' fht>ir elongation, their buds arc induced to form spurs. The spurs formed oil any twig may be of a fruiting or a vegetable character, but the latter will become productive also in the near future. When they become distended or much subdivided, however, the old spurs will need to be shortened. If there are young spurs which could replace tho old ones, though, it will be better to remove tne latter altogether. When shortening a spur, on tho other hand, it should bo pruned back to one of the side spurs near the baso or, if it has not subdivided, to tho end of h season s growth. In the case of spur-bearing trees, there is another shoot besides tne .leaf twig that will provide .spurs, this being known as tho fruit lateral. There is very little difference between tho two shoots, except that the fruit lateral has a flower bud as its terminal bud. The pruning is tho same. When one conies to prune a tip-neav-ing variety, it requires more judgment than is needed to deal with a spur-bearer. One must conserve as mauy of tho lateral shoots as possible and -yet prun&,>sufficiently to produce wood for next season s cropping. First of all the orchardist should know where the fruit is borne. Tipbearing apples produco their crop from the terminal buds (really clusters of buds) of lateral shoots and possibly from a few spurs if they have formed any. Tip-bearers may occasionally form a few spurs which are pruned in the same way as theso 011 spur-bearers. Laterals on " Tip-bearers."

The chief laterals on lip-bearers are the loaf twig and the fruit lateral, and from the names it may bo judged tliat the latter is of greater importance. The leaf twigs in this case ave of no practical use and mav bo pruned back to produce fruiting wood for the following year. The fruit lateral should also be shortened the first year, if there is an abundance of two-year-old laterals to carry the crop. If this typo of wood, is scaice somo of the fruit laterals should be left alone. Hie two-year-old wood should bear the major portion of the crop and shp.uld never be pruned. Three-year-old laterals may. also bo left untouched if they are not too lone, but in their fourth year they will need shortening. They should bo pruned back to a healthy bud near the base or replaced by a new lateral if there is no suitable bud. ' All laterals should be trained as nearly horizontally as possible to encourage tho fruitful habit. To summarise it may bo said that the pruning of the laterals on a tip-bearer consists of shortening the one and four-year-old shoots and leaving the two and three-year-old ones unpruned. The leading shoots should not be pruned too severely as tip-bearers are naturally inclined to bo vigorous and severe pruning will consequently npset their fruiting habit. Dealing With Pear Trees. The pruning of pear trees is different in certain respects. One of the groatest difference is in respect of the shape to which the tree is trained. It is considered that the ideal shape for a pear tree is that of an inverted cone, and consequently the main arms are trained more vertically than would be usual. The leaders will bo trained more than obliquely (i.e., with a vertical tendency) as they will fall away from the centre when carrying more weight. Once the framework of the tree has been built up the leaders should not be pruned very much at the annual primings. -They should be shortened sufficiently to encourago a little growth and allow them to maintain their individuality. If the tree is not as vigorous as it might bo the leaders, may bo pruned hard for one year or for two if necessary. As far as the treatment of the lateral growths is concerned, that for spur-bear-ing apples may be taken as a reliable giiido. A -note might be added hero concerning the removal of superfluous spurs. It is a mistake not to leavo any leaf spurs for it must be remembered that these will be fruit spurs next year, and while they will not uso much sap this year to develop fruits (as they will have none) yet will they be useful next year, perhaps to replace some that are exhausted. It is a peculiar fact that the pear sometimes requires severe treatment in order to induce it to bear. A healthy and yet not over-vigorous tree may bear but. scanty crops or nono at all. Light pruning may have no effect, whatsoever, and the tree will not bloom any more freely after the most judicious treatment. If the tree blooms well and yet does not fruit, howover, the fault lies in an entirely different direction, as the treo in tliis case is most probably self-sterile. The remedy lies in introducing another variety on to the tree by budding or grafting or by planting another pear treo in closo proximity to the other. If the fault lies with the tree and not with the variety, however, the only thinq left that has any chance of remedying the unproductive state of affairs is to rootprune the tree. Half tho tree should be dono each year ill two successive seasons. With a radius of 3ft. or 4ft. from tho trunk a trench should be dutr ■ half-way round tho tree and about t 18iri. deep. After all the main roots in this semicircle have been severed the soil may be filled in again. Tim other hair is treated similarly tho following year. ... 1 j :