How to prune tops on apple and pear trees
The purpose of forming the crown of a tree is to give the plant consumer properties - decorativeness or increase in yield. Pruning tops on apple and pear trees frees the tree from branches that do not work for the harvest, but take food and thicken the crown. An overgrown tree does not let light through to the fruit branches, diseases develop on it. A spinning top is a branch that grows vertically on a trunk or on a skeletal branch.
Feature of tops
The ring is an influx at the point where the branch leaves the base of the sole feeding it. It is in this place that the wounds inflicted on the tree heal faster. When pruning tops on apple and pear trees, there is a danger that instead of one, cut into the ring of the trunk, several will appear. Apple trees are less prone to resuming shoots, and pears cannot be cut into a ring in spring:
- Notching tops does not solve the problem. Several and more powerful bachelor shoots will appear from each nest by the fall.
- It is necessary to tame the top, to make it work for the harvest. Do not cut shoots from the trunk or branches of the first order into the ring, work on their inclusion in the fruiting tiers.
- Keep a close eye on fresh shoots in the summer, removing the tops that have emerged by pinching. In the future, the branch that needs to be deleted will not develop.
When pruning tops on apple and pear trees, the gardener uses various techniques, since these trees are formed based on biological characteristics.
The difference in pruning apple and pear
It is known that the shoot-forming ability of pears is much higher than that of apple trees. This means that, cut according to all the rules, with a sharp tool, the top on the apple tree will quickly grow overgrown, since the cells in the influx are able to divide and tighten the cut. If the operation goes higher or lower, the open cut can take on the infection. Pruning can be done so that the branch grows in a different direction. Such a cut is called "on the external, or on the internal kidney." This method is used for pruning apple and pear trees.
In the crown, one shoot always dominates, it is called the central one. It should not be allowed to be overtaken or weakened by tops. Shoot growth needs to be regulated by cutting off into several buds and directing the newly formed branch to the formation of the fruit crown. In this case, the pruning of tops on the pear is carried out on the side shoot.
If a pear is cut into a ring, by autumn there will already be several such shoots from one nest. If the apple tree is not cut into a ring, the cut will dry out and rot will appear. Therefore, the requirements for the removal of fattening branches on these trees are opposite. This is the difference between pruning tops on apple and pear trees.
The tops on the pear are cut in such a way as to obtain a branch that can be bent and included in the first or second tier for several years. After the onset of fruiting, the pear grows less, all the more, it is necessary to prevent the formation of tops or turn them on with the help of competent pruning and pulling into one of the fruit tiers. How to properly prune a pear, watch the video:
The more often unnecessary twigs are pinched on the pear in summer, the fewer tops will have to be removed in autumn and spring.
Pear pruning technology
All work related to pruning fruit trees and bushes is carried out sharply sharpened and adjusted instrument... The knife should be razor sharp. Any tool should leave a smooth cut without jamming the bark and cambium. All wounds should be closed with garden varnish.
The purpose of pear pruning is to prevent thickening, increase yields, and crown formation. Distinguish:
- spring formation;
- pruning tops during flowering;
- autumn processing of a pear tree.
In the spring, as soon as the ambient temperature becomes +50, it's time to start pruning the pear. How young seedlings are formed can be seen in the diagram. But in the future, as the tree matures, annual pruning of branches is necessary, since fruit buds are laid on growth. Early pruning contributes to high pear yields. As a result of pruning a pear in spring, according to the scheme, the tree directs nutrition to flowering and pouring fruits:
- All fattening branches are removed. Each branch in the tier receives maximum heating and lighting.
- The limitation of upward growth is achieved by shortening the trunk by a quarter of last year's growth.
- Do not leave open sections, use a garden pitch.
- Branches that grow in the wrong direction are removed, that is, not horizontally with respect to the ground.
In the spring, a rejuvenating pruning of a neglected tree is carried out, but only partially. It can be carried out at zero temperature. It is impossible to remove all the thickets at the same time, the tree will die. The process should be extended over 3-4 years.
After foliage appears and before harvesting, tree care is considered summer. In the summer, caring for the crown consists in plucking out the young tops of the branches that are not yet lignified. They are easy to remove without damaging the pear. The wound heals instantly. It is pinching or pinching that is considered pruning a pear in summer. During sokogon, it is possible to inflict wounds on a tree with a pruner or a knife in extreme cases.
After harvesting, the tree must be prepared for winter. Experts believe that for early and middle varieties in the fall, only sanitary pruning... For late pears, you can sparingly prune the tops in autumn in October. Later, the tree can be weakened and receive frost breaks.
The pear will tend to close the resulting wounds when pruning, while expending the reserves of vitality needed in winter. In autumn, if the branch is removed, then in the ring, no stump is left.
Regular pruning of pears, removal of tops, shortening of the central shoot is a necessary agricultural technique aimed at increasing yields and preventing diseases.