Paul's Peach Pruning Procedure
Introduction
One of the keys to good tree health and fruit production is pruning. The
spring is pruning time at Maple Lawn Farms, and Paul will outline tree-pruning
tips you can use on your own fruit trees at home.
When pruning peach trees, keep in mind that the general theory behind pruning
is to shape the tree and open the center of the tree to sunlight. The second
theory holds that too many branches will yield a large number of small,
poor-quality fruit. The tree needs to have it's branches thinned out, so the
remaining branches are evenly spaced. (We'll talk about thinning the actual
fruit on the branches later this year.)
Picture
1
Before you make the first cut, look at the tree closely to plan your attack.
Notice that the tree is thick with small branches and the main limbs are trying
to grow vertically. We want to make cuts that thin the tree and force the limbs
to grow horizontally and away from the center.
Picture
2
Paul is preparing to cut the branch circled in yellow. It is growing
vertically and will inhibit the growth of the branch indicated with the red
arrow. The red arrow branch is growing horizontally and will become a main limb.
Picture
3
Paul is cutting all the branches that are growing toward the ground. These
branches will place fruit near the ground and in more danger of fungus and other
diseases. Also they will inhibit mowing and orchard maintenance. Trim all these
type branches.
Picture
4
Half the tree is trimmed. The yellow circles indicate the major shaping
cuts. These cuts are used to select the main limbs. Notice also the thinning of
the smaller shoots. The shoots, or fruiting wood, left on the main limbs are
trimmed as well. The thin fruiting wood could not handle the weight of all the
fruit if they were not trimmed.
