Show improper pruning cuts fruit yield better to leave tree alone than to follow program of butchery sir ny ai R a 8 its rah list 00 liege of university of service in spite of 0 the fact that pruning has been practiced for or more than 2500 years there are still many misconceptions of this horticultural operation affecting the fruit income on farms in the 10 years of 1923 1023 1932 inclusive the state of illinois 1111 apple and peach crops alone averaged avei aged ai annually pruning should aid the tree in its natural habit of growth and in its battle against the enemies of disease insects and adverse weather conditions however no wever it Is better to allow the tree to go than to practice some of the popular methods ot of butchery the principal accomplishment in pruning Is the modification of the tree form and size although the practice will affect the color stze size and quality of the fruit the form of the tree should not be changed radically and its size must not cot be reduced too much it if maximum yields are to be obtained on the younger apple pear and cherry trees the more wood that Is removed by pruning the smaller the crop produced and the longer it takes the nonbearing trees to come into production on older trees the removal of non vigorous rigorous wood thins out the branches so that resulting fruit Is of improved color and size this thinning does not reduce the yield on some varieties it if done carefully and does permit a more thorough job of spraying for the control of insects and diseases when fruit trees are first planted important training can be accomplished by pruning and dis budding during the first two seasons of growth proper training will produce strong trees that will live a long time such trees will require less pruning later on |