Orchard Management


Proper pruning now leads to top production levels, quality and colour.


f you haven’t already started, this is prep time for the 2011 crop. You actually start your thinning program now. In addition, this is your first whack at fruit quality and size, and tree enhancement for the 2012 crop and beyond.


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I am talking about pruning, both on the large scale and the small detail scale. The leaf is where it all starts—light falling on it sets in motion a series of chemical events in the leaf structure that provides the building blocks for more leaves, shoot growth, fruit bud growth and fruit growth. A leaf that grows in good light conditions is thicker than its shaded neighbours. It has more “factories” devoted to production of carbohydrates and enzymes, which, combined with the full range of nutrients, are the building blocks for all the tissues mentioned previously.


As my horticultural friend Mike Sanders said over and over again throughout his career, “Think light.” Many of you will remember his “LIGHT” posters at field days and grower meetings. Light is critical to top production levels, quality and colour.


Whatever the system, leaves, fruit and developing leaf and fruit buds must be located and exposed to take advantage of light. The modified central leader, Dutch spindle, and super spindle are all designed for good light interception. Don Heincke’s work at the Summerland research station in the 1960s essentially said a cone-shaped tree with longer branches being no longer that about one metre gave the best light interception throughout the tree to the main-stem. To achieve this, branches on modified central leader trees and wider spaced spindle trees had slightly steeper basal-angled branches than those further up the tree. This was to maintain vigour in the lower reaches as well as to allow for good light penetration. As you move up the tree, the angle of the branches get flatter and flatter and shorter. Flatter branches have less vigour, which makes


more fruit.


It is important to remember that getting vigour or stronger growth is easier in the tops of trees , which can quickly overgrow the lower areas, so stronger cutting in the lower tree areas is important to maintain vigour and therefore production in the bottom of the tree. I have always stressed a “softer” looking top to keep all areas of the tree from top areas to basal areas more productive.


Regardless whether the system is old- style open centre, at about 108 to 200 trees to the acre, or modified central leader right up to super spindle at two or three thousand trees per acre, the intention is always the same. The strong branches, the uprights, must be removed in favour of the flatter, more controlled and hence more productive branches. In spindle and super spindle, branches that are 30 to 50 percent or more of the


By Peter Waterman Winter’s work:Time to think ‘light’


them very productive. They will develop more fruit buds and not tend to throw strong terminal growth.


Each system change (as we moved from open-centre to super spindle) has resulted in a better fruit-to-wood ratio —less wood and


thickness of where the branch arises from the main stem must be removed or you lose control of the tree and reduce leaf, bud and fruit quality. This loss of control can happen the next year or more gradually so production moves to the top area of the tree, with impacts on size, quality and colour over time. It is important to remove these rogue branches as soon as you notice them.


Systematic large branch removal needs to be coupled with detailed spur pruning, which encourages large spur leaves and strong fruit buds that result in larger fruit. Essentially spur pruning is fruit thinning at the earliest possible time in the fruiting cycle. You get rid of fruit competition and more of the tree’s reserves in carbohydrates and nutrients goes to the remaining fruit bud and leaves early in the fruiting cycle. The flowers on these fruit buds are also more likely to set fruit and not drop. This combined with good chemical thinning will result in bigger stronger fruit stronger fruit buds for next year and more consistent annual cropping.


Although I am directing my comments more to apples, light penetration is the factor for fruit quality for all tree fruits. — Peter Waterman is a retired Summerland grower and horticulturist. Reach him at peter@omedia.ca


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British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Winter 2010-11 17


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