The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1915-02-26
Aiding Old Prune Trees to Bear

BY G. I. LEWIS
Chief Division Of Horticulture oregon
Agricultural College.
Especially
~ N increasing number of Oregon
IA prune growers find that as
- their trees age the fruits fails
to grow so large as when the trees
were younger and more vigorous,
and are inquiring how the old trees,
20 years old or more, can be i'm
proved. 1t is only by the best
Of care that the old trees can be
kept vigorous enough to maintain
fruit as large as that of the young
trees. Good pruning and the best
cultural methods with soil fertility
maintained are necessary in special
| degree after the trees enter upon the
later stages of their life. The size
of the prunes depends upon several
factors, but the leading factors are
good tillage, plenty of plant food,
and annual pruning.
| You have already noticed, prob
ably, that the large fruit is borne on
the vigorous young wood, and it is
only by having large amount of
young, vigorous wood coming on each
year that you can hope to maintain
the vigor of your trees and at the
same time produce large crops of
good-sized fruit. l would encourage
you especially in the annual pruning.
If these trees have been abandoned
| in their pruning, or you have neg
| lected it to certain extent, there are
one of two things you could do. One
thing would be to cut them back
heavily and force out practically a
new top. | know one orchard in the
Willamette Valley that is Is years OF
age, that was cut back heavily, new
tops have been built on the trees,
and the trees after two or three
years are now bearing heavy crops
of extra large prunes.
Pruning.
| If the trees, however, are in fair
shape, wouldn't advise such severe
cutting, but would suggest that you
thin out some of the spurs. The
chances are that you have great
many weak spurs. You can take lit
tie hand shears and reduce the num-
ber of these spurs on your trees, and
get splendid results. The tendency
for the older trees is to bear too
many specimens and of course this
reduces the size. This same principle
pertains to apples, pears and other
fruits. Often by reducing the num-
ber of fruits to the tree, you increase
the average size. With the apples,
1t is generally matter of thinning
out some of the branches. With old
pears we find that thinning out some
of the spurs often gives splendid re-
suits.
4 The first suggestion l would make
with regard to fertilizers would be
along the line Of cover crops and
shade crops. For Western Oregon
recommend cover crops, sown in late
August or early September For your
section, If you have irrigation water
you can practice growing shade crops
This is, grow clover or alfalfa among
your trees and irrigate both the trees
and the shade crop. This will cause
your trees to pick up IL you are care
full in your irrigation and use suf-
ficient amounts Of water. II you
don't have sufficient amounts Of
, water, I wouldn't advise the use oi
clover and alfalfa among the trees
Fertilizing.
If you can get good, abundant
supply of barnyard manure there
would be nothing better,to increase
the vitality of your trees. Your wood
ashes, especially hardwood ashes, Il
very valuable, and should be saved
as should also hen manure, which IL
splendid for building up the soil In
our prune orchards.
We are conducting a number Of ex
periments in this state in prune or
chards, to determine the value o.
commercial fertilizers for such fruit
and until We have had chance tt
carry this work season or two far
ther along, | would urge the prun,