Shaping and pruning techniques of Apple trees

Apple trees are deciduous trees of the genus Rosaceae, usually up to 15 meters high, but cultivated trees are only about 3 to 5 meters high. they are native to central and southeastern Europe, Central Asia and China. In 2013, the world's apple output was 80.82 million tons. There is no doubt that it is the king of temperate fruits. Let's take a look at apple tree shaping and pruning techniques.

Principles of apple tree shaping and pruning

Apple tree shaping and pruning should be based on different orchard site conditions, varieties, rootstocks, density and tree age, choose reasonable tree shape according to land, orchard and tree age, and adopt corresponding pruning techniques to adjust the relationship between growth and fruit. to achieve the goal of strong and balanced tree potential, prematurity, high yield, high quality and high efficiency.

Apple tree shaping and pruning index

1. Tree height: the height of the dwarfing trunk is 0.8 to 1.0 meters, the tree height is 3.0 to 3.5 meters, the tree trunk is 1.0 to 1.5 meters high, and the tree height is 2.5 to 3.0 meters. There is no handover between plants, and the operation channel of 1 to 1.5 meters between rows is retained, and the crown coverage rate is 75%.

2. The number of branches: the number of branches retained per mu of apple trees after cutting is about 80,000, of which the proportion of medium and short branches accounts for 70%, and the percentage of top flower branches accounts for about 30%.

3. Branch group: at the initial stage of happy shape, small and medium-sized branches were mainly cultivated, with emphasis on all kinds of oblique or inferior branches on the main branch, and then cultivated into a drooping large three-dimensional fruiting branch group year by year. The spindle-shaped branchlets are born in the state of the branch group and open at an angle.

Spindle pruning of apple trees

1. Apple tree structure: the tree height is 3.0 to 3.5 meters, the stem height is 0.7 to 0.8 meters, the central trunk is equipped with 20-25 main branches, the spacing is 10-15 cm, the angle of the main branches is 90-100 °, the upper and lower branches are shorter, the middle is slightly longer, and the crossing rate between plants is not more than 10%. Mainly used in dwarfing, short-branch varieties and Arbor temporary trees.

2. Pruning of young trees: the main points of pruning of young trees (1-5 years old) are to straighten the tree shape, promote the tree potential, and lay the foundation for early fruit and high yield. Strong seedlings are indefinitely dry, while weak seedlings (less than 1 m) are fixed at full buds. Remove the strong branches on the central trunk and strengthen the advantage of the central trunk. According to the requirements of the tree shape, starting from more than 70 cm from the ground, the small main branches are selected according to the distance of 10 cm to 15 cm. According to the principle of spiral arrangement, they are selected and retained year by year to meet the requirements of the spindle tree. Remove upper dorsal branches, overdense branches and overlapping branches.

3. Pruning of mature trees: the main points of pruning adult trees (≥ 6 years) are to improve the tree structure and cultivate fruiting branches. The central stem extends vertically, the small main branch extends uniaxially, and the branch-stem ratio is suitable at 1:3. The small main branches carry out dynamic management, according to the method of getting rid of the big and the small, the old and the new, there is a plan to focus on thinning the oversized main branches that exceed the main trunk 1 and 3, cultivate the small main branches, and the small main branches are arranged in a spiral. To cultivate the fruiting branches, one is to select the mediocre branches which are lateral and drooping as the fruiting branches, and the other is to remove the strong and prosperous branches on the back of the small main branches.

4. Pruning during the growing period: before and after sprouting, eye injuries were carried out on the missing parts of the central trunk and main branches above the buds to promote the formation of new branches. According to the requirements of the target tree shape, 1-year-old and 2-year-old branches should be pulled from mid-August to mid-September, and more than 3-year-old branches should be pulled from spring flowering to mid-May (before bagging). Take the step of "one push, two kneads, three presses and four positions". Make it pull to the required angle, and straight not "bow". The main branches which are not easy to form flowers are circumscribed from late May to early June to remove useless branches such as sprouting tillers, overgrown branches and over-dense branches. when the central trunk and main branches of young trees are extended to 40 cm, they are coring to promote branches.

Happy pruning of apple trees

The main results are as follows: 1. Apple tree structure: the tree is 2.5 °3.0 m in height, 1.0 m in height and 1.5 m in stem height, retaining 6 large permanent main branches with an angle of 75 °, 85 °and 80 °, with an empty arrangement and infinite extension of the main branch. large, medium and small fruiting branch groups are evenly distributed on the main branch, and the branch group is drooping, which is mainly used in Arbor and semi-dwarf fruit trees.

2. Pruning of young trees: the main points of pruning of young trees (1-7 years old) are to straighten the tree shape, promote the tree potential, expand the crown, and lay the foundation for early fruit and high yield.

After ① planting, the stem was fixed at the full bud, and the central leading stem and the main branch were truncated at the full bud to promote the growth of the branch. The rest of the branches are slowly released without pruning, and the branches below 1.0 meters above the trunk are thinned.

According to the requirements of the tree shape, ② starts from more than 1.0m above the ground and according to the principle of spiral arrangement, selects the branches with large base angle and strong growth as permanent main branches according to the distance of about 40cm, and supports to promote the momentum, accelerate the growth and meet the requirements of happy skeleton.

③ removed competitive branches, dorsal superior branches, overdense branches, overlapping branches, disease and insect branches, and cultivated the lateral and drooping branches of the main branches into drooping branches to promote early fruiting.

On the premise that ④ does not affect the growth of backbone branches, temporary branches that are not selected as main branches should be retained as far as possible to promote branch transformation as soon as possible, form flower buds and bear fruit as soon as possible.

3. Pruning of adult trees: the main points of pruning of adult trees (≥ 8 years) are to cultivate fruiting branches, expand the crown, complete shaping and achieve three-dimensional results.