Pruning Fruit Trees
Pruning, maintenance techniques, and timing for fruit trees are different than for other trees in the landscape. Applying good cultural practices and pruning techniques can help to improve the potential for high-quality fruit. Pruning is often neglected either due to lack of pruning skills and knowledge or fear that improper pruning can lead to injury or death of a fruit tree.
Pruning objectives:
- Obtain maximumn light exposure for both leaves and fruit
- Provide uniform distribution of fruiting wood along the scaffold branches
- Conrol size and health of the tree
- Reduce limb breakage
- Produce high-quality fruit of desired size
- Increase air flow in the tree to improve production and reduce potential for disease.
- Ensure a healthy root system by root pruning at planting, if necessary
A major requirement for the backyard gardener is creating a small tree open enough to allow effective spraying with home equipment and easy gathering of fruit. Pruning, combined with selection of fruit trees on dwarfing rootstocks, helps accomplish this requirement. Althought pruning is essential in development and maintenance of fruit trees, excessive pruning in young fruit trees will delay fruiting. Normal maintenance pruning throughout the life of the tree is done during dormancy, from January through March. However, pruning may be needed when a new tree is planted. Additionally, summer pruning is done with some vigorous fruit tree cultivars to balance tree growth and fruit production.
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