Show UH OHE E PROPER PRUNING OF THE APPLE TREE prof lioa leon D batchelor Batch eloi agriculture ar college in the deseret Iain rainier ier the proper pruning of the apple orchard Is one of the most important points in the successful raising of 1 this fruit the usefulness of the orchard very bargl depends on oil the wisdom of the nian mun who prunes it not only this but the actual life of the newly set tree is 13 d dt pendent dependent upon its being properly pruned pruning the young tree when set in the removal of the tree froni from the nursery the roots have been more or less broken or bruised and in fact the largest per cent of the root system may have actually been left in the nursery row all th torn and bauls ed roots should be removed leaving a clean cut which will heal more readi ly than a ragged onu one all the long straggling roots should be shortened back to about six or eight inches f from rom the trunk of the small tree pruning the top with the root so severely seye rely cut back the equilibrium or the balance of the tree laween the top and the roots hass been very much upset if tile he trees were jio plated plaited d in this shape without pruning the top many of them would perish in our dry arid climate due to the fact that the very much abbreviated root system would be to support the top wherefore llie the top of the tree must be pruned laened back to enable it to withstand the shock of transplanting not only this factor but we desire to begin the shaping of the orchard tree at earl date the actual heading in can be done after the tree i 1 plaited ted the head should be started low loa for several reasons first to prevent sun scald many orchard trees aiu annually dying because the trunk is exposed to the dring afternoon sun in our arid ell cli mate this may affect the trunk directly or by reflection from the hot dry soil or from the arow the in the summer pi is very much more prevalent on the low headed tre than on the high one not only this the low headed tree is much more con leniently and cheaply handled as regards pruning thinning picking and spraying the fruit again there is less likelihood of damage to the fruit on the treo tree from the windstorms wind storms if the head is started close to the ground it is possible however to start the head 00 oo nai the surface of the ground for easy cultivation and again we should have i trunk ot of dent clent length to allow the use of burlap bands for the control of the codling moth A trunk albit 20 to 24 in ches long that is the distance from the ground to the filst limb seems to be a happy therefore ir ii planting one year i I 1 I 1 v whips hips head them in about 30 ln lies from the ground which will ill cllon the distri aution of the scaffold limbs through out a space ten to twelve inches from the point where the lowest limb starts to the upper linb in head ing back the one year tree make a slanting cut just aloie a sound bud which develop b this pruning into a lateral branca the form 0 o v the tree will depend somewhat on the I 1 leals heals of the grow er there are to types seen in the fruit sections of the count ry the open head or shaped haried tree and the pyramidal tre are tr e or the one which Is pruned a leader the former tape or the open leaded tree beems to be gaining gai popularity con scantly and Is by fa the commonest form found in he planted sec eions in pruning foi mis type the endeavor deaNor en should be to ir have from f rom three to five scaffold limb fairly evenly distributed r round the tree which from a sped top with an open center the who ajor lt at Q leave leao tho the ahr chewing ing cf t tho young tree anit and the selection of ohp th sharrol limbs to the first audr 0 pruning thau that la Is tices cices set out in juno receive their first real pruning as ad oi 01 chard tre trens the next march tho the simple heading back been done at the time of planting it Is quite ilki ilk I that more of this shaping of the oung boung orchard tree will be done in the summer time in the years to conic No however wever at the present time it is impossible to give definite advice na As regards the summer piu nj it will be better to stick to the old ideas until we are suro sure of a better method at the timo of this march brunin there will be from the five to ten lateral brane branches hes having 1 flom the main trunk or the whip which was planted the previous scar car As noted above select ahree to five of these for the scaffold limbs removing the others as close to the young trunk as the cut can be made head back the scaffold limbs nhien a arc to form forin the frame work of the tree about halt half of their growth this lias has it 11 tendency to caliper them up making a stronger framework and also induces the later al buds to grow maldag makla g them branch producing a young tree if these scaffold limbs wu we have left are allowed to remain ul im pruned kaey become long and willowy and aio easily ea broken with the first heavy crop of fruit the starting of the young tree at time will largely do away with the majority of the props in the fatute orchards in heading back these orchards cut back to the buds which h point in the general you h the branch to take if pruning an all upright growing tree which you asire to have take a more spreading habit than it naturally would dimic pi line to the out side buds the com t arse would be true it if you wish to correct the sprawl ing spreading habit of certain varieties causing them to grow more upright this seasons piu alag cT again done in mareb march is very s si il to the firt years select about two of the strong est laterals literals late rals which L ivi iv started from the scaffold lembs and remove the other side branches iu ill making this selection keep in mild not only the selection of the strongest vi vigorous orous lateral growths but I 1 mcp E cp theare the tree e well shaped and balanced up if possible have these laterals literals late rals distributed along scaffold scat fold limbs lath er than coming out ii IP a crotea which is more liable to bie tk ik dow under heavy stress than bi somewhat separated on oil the staf scaffold fold limbs avoid having these bi anches cross each other cut out till all that glow towards the condei of the tree and cut out the parallel ones which would be liable to whip toji thel these selected laterals literals late rals should mow ow be headed back about one third to one halt half their growth the frame wark of the young oung tree should now be well formed and re dulies less attention aiom now on the trees should hoi lioi hoider oer exer be annual ly and moderately pi ired rather than neglected tor for one on e or two tr years and then severely pruned some make litake this mistake of neglecting ta alu pruning for oi 01 twee tinee keais and then trying to correct it in a single year this upsets tai tu equilibrium of the atiee and will thione it out of bear ing to the excessive production of wood growth therefore in all of tho the pruning operations on oil giving the orchard its annual raool moderate erate prun arun ing there will bo be lesi les i heading bad bac necessary every year cut out all suckers from alie inside IP side of the tree as it is 18 de to keep an open centered atee as th is nee essary for the development of the fruit buds and the well coloring of the fruit therefore all these sucker growths in the centea of the tree should be removed tor the welfare of the iema remaining InIng branches not only this but their growth ro r o situated as it the more 01 0 ass shady sec gee eions of the tree will develop fruit spurs to any extent trim out all branches that lub tog tO oither ther or biow crosswise remove one of the branch es which may be girving gic ving parallel to each other with the toti tendency dency ta whip nhip tc together gether and injuring and their fruit which are ar c so crowded that the develop mei t of the one good branch is mo me 0 desirable than to attempt to grow tuu tu within that space it if the tree is gt owing glowing too tall and upright ahr excessive growth may be headed into lateral branches causing the tree to tsume a more spreading form in the operations is noted above practically the only tools necessary will bo be a good pair of h hand and clippers and possibly a pair ot oc long handled ju iu the bearing trees tt it may he be necessary to occasionally use a saw here and there there are several epes of pruning saws sains found on the nii ilet which have their advocates th saw with a curved blade which cuts when oil pull it toNN towards ards you instead inroad of when pushing it as an all ordinary oid inary carpenter saw is ono one of the lin handiest adie st and most widely used saws at the pe resent time pruning of the mature tree should be elone done as the other operations noted above ii 11 match maich as at this almb the aill heal much quicker and the tre is less liable to suffer from the out of these wounds and winter ingui than when pruned eailler in the ald season the pruning of the bearing apple tree will be a very simple undertaking it if the cices tices have behn started and properly pio plo perly pruned up to this age if it is necessary to cut 1 b ick any of the large limbs with NN ith this tha new er w care should be used to cut i back close to the main trunk and riold leaving any stub if the wound L is larger than two to two and a half haf inches in diameter it is aan advisable isable to use some soine pi pio oi teethe means to pru bruant ant decay from becoming established chich will even dually spread to the trunk of the tree I 1 hollowing it out and greatly weaken 1 ins ing it making it moie susceptible to splicing split ing by the winds wind bifid rid the support of heavy fruit chop this treatment I 1 can call be most easily easil v nd iid perhaps most I 1 cheaply applied by ti r application of some cheap fallt acil it mixed rather thickly this should bo be put on any time within a few ali daivd i after the wound is made A wound smallen than two to two to and a 1 aall alf inches will 1111 generally heal over oi er vry ry quickly and before any akcay cai caa rt in As noted before concerning the pruning of the three ird four year oc trees the same arlu principles aples are follow ed out in the pruning ag of the bearing atiee keep the tree in shape accord ing to the idea whid cu have tare ed cut out one of any cross bi branches anches bian chea which i rub together 0 which A hill glow too close together for their proper dev elopement elop ment cut out alia cl limbs which whip to toge gethel and crowd A avol tot bad crotches and thin out the top of the tree to let tho the sunlight in constantly hf keep ep li in milind the poi tion of the fruit buds on oil the trea occur mainly on a tho the two year old wood if it Is no sary to head the tree back to it becoming too far from tho the ground make all these cuts to lateral other wise there w will ill bean be an ive growth of suckers in the 01 ta of the tree it Is impossible to lay floann any definite set of rules for pruning mature tree trec as each tree is 13 an 1111 11 vidual case trees of the same variety will nary ary somewhat and the different varieties will preci arc aci i entirely dif faient problems in p u ling der deir in ill igind mind the correction of spreading of upright growing sorta ns as noted above by b cutting to inside 01 0 branch e cs s the effects of a I 1 li ailing wind may sometimes be cobie collected acted by this same method agali ag aai I 1 wish to re peat the import anco or of this annual pruning rather than the neglect which some richards followed ly by a 1 severe pruning in t UK 1 attempt to cor ieca lect tho negligence |