Pruning
Pruning mature trees consists of balancing vegetative
growth with bearing wood. Apple and pear trees normally
bear on the terminal end of spurs located on wood 2 years
old or older. Fruit spurs are productive for at least
5 years and longer, although the best production is from
fruit wood that is 3 to 5 years old. As the trees reach
6 to 8 years of age, you should start to renew the fruiting
spurs by pruning out one-third to one-fifth of the older
fruit wood. Avoid cutting out large scaffold limbs because
they tend to decay. Also avoid cutting into the branch
bark ridge, which is where new tissue that promotes wound
closure originates.
Proper pruning can help prevent diseases such as powdery mildew, fire blight, and bacterial blast
and canker. Do not overprune as this may lead to sunburn, which may make trees susceptible to borers. |
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