Harvesting time was a time I looked forward to. The fruit was always large, juicy, and sweet. But that didn't happen by accident. Dad spent many hours in early spring pruning those trees to get the biggest and best quality fruit. The time to prune your fruit and shade trees is late winter and early spring before they break dormancy.
Clean cuts prevent damage and disease.
First, find and prune off all the dead branches. Second, prune off all branches that cross each other in the center of the tree. This allows more light and air circulation into the heart of the tree. Lastly, trim the branches back to your desired height. This allows the tree to develop a great shape and keeps new branches from growing back into the center of the tree.