Pruning Methods for Apple Trees with Unbalanced Growth
Apple trees are very common in China, and there are many varieties of apples, with different planting areas across the country. Many fruit growers find when planting apples that improper management, the natural environment and other factors can lead to unbalanced growth in apple trees. At this point, we need to adjust the growth of the apple trees through pruning to ensure balanced growth. So if an apple tree's growth is unbalanced, how should it be pruned? Let's take a look below!
1. Strong outside, weak inside
When the outer branches of an apple tree grow strongly, the branches grow excessively vigorously and the angle of the extending branches is small, this seriously affects the light penetration and air circulation of the inner canopy branches. This leads to poor light penetration and air circulation in the inner canopy branches, which grow thin and weak and may even die in severe cases. For fruit trees that are strong outside and weak inside, the first step is to adjust the growth angle of the main and lateral branches. Increase the number of branches on the main and lateral branches, then prune away the overly dense and overly long branches around the canopy as well as the perennial excessively vigorous shoots. Improve the light penetration and air circulation inside the apple tree canopy, promote branch growth, increase nutrient accumulation and strengthen the tree's vigor. Ringing can be used to promote flowering and prevent excessive vigor, and winter heading back can also be used to develop fruiting branch groups.
2. Strong top, weak bottom
When apple trees retain vigorous branches year after year and vigorous buds are headed back, branch growth becomes stronger and the growth rate becomes too fast, causing apple trees that are 3 years old or younger to show a strong top and weak bottom. If the first tier is headed back and thinned improperly, the number of branches and leaves on the apple tree will drop sharply, the growth rate will decline noticeably, and canopy expansion will also be hindered. When this strong top and weak bottom pattern is found, promptly thin out the excessively vigorous shoots in the middle and upper part of the trunk, then retain moderate branches. Slowly lay the other branches flat and thin out the undesirable shoots on the upper side of the scaffold branches. Head back the surplus branches to increase branch weight and enhance branch vigor.
3. Strong bottom, weak top
Opposite to trees that are strong at the top, if weak branches and weak buds are retained year after year, the upper branches grow weakly while the lower branches grow strongly, which will certainly lead to a strong bottom and weak top. If the three main branches at the base grow strongly and grow together, this can easily cause a choking effect in the apple tree. At this point we need to suppress the growth of the lower branches; weak branches should be selected for the lower part, and excessively vigorous branches should be thinned out. Then increase the growth angle of the scaffold branches and use ring barking to promote flowering. Avoid overly vigorous growth of the lower branches and increase the fruiting rate of the first tier of main branches. Also be sure to prune away the overly long and overly dense branches in the upper tiers, head them back, and increase the amount of branches and leaves.
4. Weak basal main branches
For some fruit trees that are weak overall, select weaker branches and head them back. Also head back the extending main and lateral branches, and prune away a small number of upright, dense and other excessively vigorous branches on the upper side of the tree. Retain the remaining branches and try not to leave flower buds, so as to promote vegetative growth of the apple tree. For some overly vigorous fruit trees, the opposite applies: thin out more branches, mainly competing branches and overly dense vigorous branches, and retain most of the flower buds. Score the branches to increase the number of flowers and fruits and use the fruit to control the tree's vigor.
The above is a brief introduction to how to prune apple trees with unbalanced growth. In fact, unbalanced growth in apple trees is mainly caused by inadequate pruning work. Therefore, when planting, we must do the pruning work in advance to avoid some unbalanced growth and increase labor costs. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only. Thank you for reading and your support.