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Pruning Fruit Trees
Created by the Grand Junction District
For more information contact us
at 970-248-7325
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• The following pruning information and instructions are designed for small to medium sized pruning jobs
• If the work is off the ground, if a chainsaw is needed, or for tree removal: the work should be done by a ISA Certified Arborist with insurance
– International Society of Arboriculture, www.isa-arbor.com
Caution
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Pruning Fruit Trees
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Success is dependent upon cumulative effects of:
• Cultivar and rootstock
• Water and Soil management
• Pest management
• Pruning and training
• Site characteristics – soil pH level
• Weather
Fruit Production
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Growing Fruit not Leaves • Structure objective
• Young Trees – develop tree form to support maximum crop load
• Older Trees – maintain structure and provide good light harvest for fruit production
• Pruning should be done as close to bud break as possible – Reduces winter injury
– Cuts close more quickly, less chance of disease
– Reduces likelihood of the buds below the pruning point drying out during the winter
• Is an annual process
Fruit Tree Pruning Objectives
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Fruit Tree Pruning Objectives
• Remove all diseased, dead, or damaged branches = 3Ds
• Remove crossing braches, suckers, and watersprouts
• Prune to outside buds and branches
• Maximize sunlight to branches
• Thin the current fruit crop when appropriate (timing)
• No fruit should touch
• Establish harvest height
• Maximize fruit production area
• Create future branching
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• Type of fruit tree determines pruning objectives and management
• Drupe aka Stone fruit
– Almonds and Peaches grow on 1 year old wood
– Apricots and Cherries grow on long-lived fruit spurs
– Plums grow on both 1 yr old wood and fruit spurs
• Pome
– Apples and Pears mostly grow on long-lived fruit spurs
– Some apples and pears grow on the tips of branches
– Need to know your varieties characteristics
Tree Structure
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Principles and Considerations
• Light + Water = Fruit
– Pruning and Training
• Harvest light for flower bud initiation and fruit color development
• Overall tree structure must be developed to hold the crop load desired
• Unpruned trees tend to produce weak, short growth and small fruit
• Pruning height – keep the tree within reach for easier management (pruning, spraying, picking)
Tree Structure
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Heading back is the removal of the terminal portion of a shoot or branch, usually it is one year wood.
Results in dense, clustered growth at the cut end.
Image source: Virginia Cooperative Extension
Thinning out removes shoots or branches at their base. In general, this is the
preferred method of pruning. Creates stronger branch attachments.
Types of Fruit Tree Pruning
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Apricot
Fruit blossoms fill the tree so prune heavily to thin fruit
Fruit spur
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Apricot
Open center
Wait until last frost of season to prune – End of March
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Apricot
Apricot pruned poorly with lots of stubs
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Sweet Cherry
Open Center
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Sweet Cherry
Cherries produced on spurs from at least 2 year old wood
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Sweet Cherry
Old spurs are less vigorous - prune to encourage younger ones
Old spur
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Peach
Open center peach tree annually pruned to create 1 year old wood. Typically remove 70% of the branches followed by thinning of 90% of the young fruit with 6-8 in. spacing
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Peach
Decadent backyard peach with very little 1 year wood. Over pruned to encourage new shoots and accommodate the ladder.
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Peach
Cytospora fungus canker on peach. Prune in January or February to reduce the risk of infection. Cytospora will eventually kill the entire tree.
Image source: Norm Wingard
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Apple
• Open center Gala apple
• Goal is to maximize sunlight to all parts of the tree
• Tree is annually pruned to maintain paths for sunlight to the fruit
• Fruit spacing: 6–8 inches apart
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Apple
Typically remove 70 to 75 percent of the branches every year
Fruit spur
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Apple
Central leader apple open to accommodate sunlight
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Favorite Websites
Special Thanks to Vince Urbina for his pictures and information.
• Dr. Ed Gillman – http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/
• OSU Landscape Plants – http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/
• Tree Browser from Utah State University – Extension Forestry – http://treebrowser.org
• Colorado State Extention – www.ext.colostate.edu/
• Colorado Tree Coalition – www.coloradotrees.org