Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1915-03-09
WHAT PRUNING DOES
SOME INTERESTING INFORMA
TION FOR FRUIT GROWERS.
Pruning Requires Time in Proportion
to Disturbance to Regain
Balance.


balance of top and root system. The
root system gathers the food mater
ials from the soil and supplies the
top, and the top elaborates this ma.
terial and supplies the roots, says O.
M. Morris, horticulturist of the state
experiment station at Pullman in
Popular Bulletin No. 70. The support
of each part depends in large meas
ure on the other, and if either is re-
duced by pruning the other part of
the plant is influenced thereby. The
balance is disturbed and the tree re-
quires time in proportion to the dis
turDance for regaining its balance,
and its growth is not normal until the
balance is regained. The balance may
be disturbed by changing the avail
able supply of plant food materials in
the soil or by removing the foliage as
definitely as by pruning away a part
of the top or root system.
There can be no iron-clad rules laid
down relative to the pruning of a
tree. No two trees are exactly alike
and each one must be treated individ-
ually. When a limb must be cut off,
look for little ring or enlargement
at the base of each branch. The prun-
ing expert declares that the saw cut
should be made midway and down.
ward through this enlargement.
Heavy pruning of the top throws
the tree out of balance by reducing
the celebrating capacity of the plant
and leaves, the roots gathering more
food than the remaining top can as
simulate. The top responds by de-
veloping new shoots of new growth
in proportion to the sap supply. A
large increase in soil moisture and
soil fertility often produces the same
effect in the tree top as heavy prun-
ing, and heavy pruning Of the top,
followed by sudden and prolonged
drouth, will fail to cause the trees
to produce new wood. Light prun-
ing disturbs the balance between foot
and top but little can be used to mod
ify the form of the tree without
changing its condition or rate Of
growth.
Heavy pruning of old or weak and
declining plants that are not too weak
to put out new growth results in
stimulating them into renewed vigor.
The new shoots and water sprouts
formed seem to have greater vitality
and greater food celebrating capaci-
ty than the normal summers growth
of twigs. Young, vigorous growing
trees are not so affected to the same
extent. In some cases there is evil
dence to indicate that such trees heav-
lily pruned do not make as much
growth in a period of five or six years
as trees pruned but little, or not at
all. They develop a lot of rapidly
growing shoots and these often grow
extremely long and give the tree the
appearance of making an enormous ,
growth, but at the age of or 8 years /;
these trees are not uniformly larger
han those receiving little or no prun- 7
ng. +
Heavy pruning of the roots reduces
he power of the plant to gather food !
materials from the soil and acts the ;,
Iame as drouth in checking the
,rowth of the tree. The roots of \
rees are frequently pruned by the !,
,lowshare in plowing. If moderately
Ieep plowing is practiced from the r.
ime the orchard is started the an ;,
ual root pruning will not check the u
rowth as the improved soil condition
viii offset the root injury. Young -
rees have greater power to recover "
rom root injury than old trees. Old
oots with thick bark seldom have -,
over to start new fibrOus or feeding .,
oots when cut back and should be
isturbed no more than necessary n
pokane Review. L
rATp Cncprua Ducrrrn