Lemon pruning should be done carefully; mastering the method is very important

If lemon is pruned improperly, it often only blooms without setting fruit, or sets few fruit, or even fails to bloom at all. To make lemon bloom and fruit year after year, the pruning step must be done carefully in order to achieve the goal of abundant fruit.

The main purpose of pruning young trees and trees that have just begun to bear fruit is to build the crown skeleton so that the crown can be expanded faster and better. Pruning young trees is suitable in winter; during the growing season, pinching and necessary heading back should be carried out, and branches, leaves and nurse branches should be retained as much as possible. The key points of pruning are as follows:

1. Pinching long shoots

Young trees tend to produce long shoots. After the shoots of each season emerge, except for retaining 8 to 10 leaves and pinching the long shoots, all the rest should be pinched as tender shoots. Retaining a length of 20 to 25 cm is suitable, to make the crown full and robust, branch early and branch abundantly, thereby expanding the crown as quickly as possible.

2. Branch bending and nurse branch cultivation

For upright shoots with vigorous growth, the methods of bending and propping should be used. Bend down the stronger branches, and prop the large branches open to a crotch angle of 40° to 50°. Using bending and propping measures on young trees can make young trees bear fruit 1 to 2 years earlier.

Usually, small branches produced within the crown should generally be retained as long as they are not water sprouts or overly dense branches. These small branches are often good fruiting mother branches for young trees.

3. Bud removal and shoot release, and timely removal of water sprouts

For young trees, bud removal and shoot release can be carried out in summer, that is, releasing one autumn shoot, to help expand the crown as quickly as possible. Water sprouts disrupt the tree shape and waste nutrients, so they should be removed in time.

4. Controlling summer shoots

Vigorous young trees produce more strong vigorous shoots. Because vigorous summer shoots do not readily produce autumn shoots and are also unfavorable for flower bud differentiation, from May to June, use “Chuhuawang No. 2” to control the emergence of summer shoots, concentrate nutrient supply, strengthen fruit and promote flowering.

5. Thinning flowers and flower buds

For buds and fruit that appear on weak young trees before fruit production is planned, they should be thinned in time to promote the tree's nutrient production and to form a fruiting crown and go into production as quickly as possible.

6. Seal pruning wounds in time

Wounds caused during pruning are often entry points for pests and diseases, so they should be sealed in time with “wound healing and anti-corrosion film” to prevent drying and cracking, pest and disease damage, and rain contamination.

Lemon pruning is a technique of treating the tree's branches and shoots; through pruning, the relationship between tree growth and fruiting is artificially regulated, the tree's fruiting potential is fully brought into play, and the goals of high and stable yield and high quality are achieved.