The onset of fruiting will reduce the amount of pruning necessary. Periodically, limbs get old and production decreases. If a limb starts declining, prune it out by cutting it back to a stub close to the main trunk, and train a new one to take its place. Girdling can result where the limbs and trunk are tied to the wires. Periodically check these ties to make sure that they are still loose and not binding.
Many people move to new homes where the previous owners had planted fruit trees.
If the owner did not properly care for the trees, the results are large ungainly giants that are completely out of control and are an unsightly mess. In other instances, people move into old farmhouses where trees were planted thirty or forty years ago. These too, if they have been neglected, are large and difficult to maintain. In many cases, these old trees can be brought back to a more manageable state. The primary means of renovating older trees is through judicious and properly selected pruning cuts.