Sharp County record., 1917-11-30
PRUNE ORCHARDS
At RIGHT Time
There Is No Orchard Operation Inat
Seems To Be So Generally
Understood.
By J. S. Knox, Horticultural, Exten'
sion Division, University OF Arkan'

Bv J. S. Knox, Hortlculturlst' HA'en
sion Division, University OF ArKan'
sas.
There is no other orchard operation
that seems to be so generally mlsuh'
derstood as that Of pruning. 1t Is
nuite common even at the present
time to 20 into the orchards and hnd
trees that have been pruned for years
with nothing more than a pole az
and it is almost invariably the case
that wherever the work is done in this
way the trees are in bad condition.
There was a time years ago wneh
the use of the axe was permissible,
because there was nothing better on
the market, but today when imple-
ments made especially for pruning
work can be had at a small cost there
is no reason why we should half do
the pruning work. A complete
set of pruning implements, con-
sisting of swivel blade pruning saw
a pair OF looping shears and p II
of hand shears can be purchased for
about $500, and these are all that the
small orchardist needs TO do real
first-class pruning work.
Before beginning the pruning, one
should first familiarize himself with
the fruiting habits Of his trees. Ap-
pies and pears, for instance, are borne
on lateral buds of the past seasons
growth. The removal Of all OF the
short spurs or branches from the CEN
ter Of tree may make Il look better,
but when it comes to the production
+ of fruit It will all be near the ends
Of the branches; consequently, the
! tree is less able to support the weight
! 1t should be remembered that the
nearer the main body of the tree the
fruit spur grows, the less the strain
from the weight Of the fruit will be
ON the tree. With peaches, since the
fruit is grown on wood Of the past
seasons growth, It stands to reason
that a poor growth means poor crop
of fruit. It Is a we'll known fact that
pruning Is one of the best methods OF
stimulating growth in trees, and,
generally speaking, trees making a
good vigorous growth are not so cas-
fly killed by insect or disease as are
those making slower growth.
There are several good reasons for
pruning, some of which are as fol
lows:
u) II corrects undesirable grow
ing habits Of trees. For instance
some fruits, such as pears, have ten
dency to grow straight upward witt
all of the branches In mass. This
habit can be partly prevented at least
by cutting to outside buds.
(f) It makes the tree more nearl!
balanced. II one side Of the tree be
comes heavier than the other we car
correct this by cutting back the heav!
growing side to correspond with thu
lighter.
(S) II allsws the fruit to grow larg
Or and color better. Every fruit bu(
that II left on q tree that Is above
what Is really necessary is a disad
vantage to that tree, and the remain
ing ones are better Off without II
When trees are kept pruned they arr
naturally Of less dense growth, ant
this allows the sunshine to ente,
among the branches and color tn,
fruit.
(4) II facilitates the spraying ant
harvesting Of the fruit, Trees KEEP
pruned do not grow 80 tall as thos'
not prunod, and II by pruning we cal
keep the trees headed low enough 81
that we can both spray and gathe
the fruit from the ground, then w
hAye done away with a great deal o
unnecessary expense In tho spraying
and harvesting Of the crop,
(b) II lessons the chances OF dis
ease getting into the trees Almos
every year some OF the branches dl,
or a oanker gets started on some par
OF tho tree, II the dead branches ar,
kept pruned out and the cankeret
limbs removed in time IL may say,
the life Of the tree,
(0 n lessens the damage done b!
winds or by heavy loads OF fruit, be
cause tree, pre- ted regularly are Of |
stronger doe fer growth than ar,
those mo- 30 juned.
mo Il tho Right Time.
II NJ ne Ilways DO borne In mint
that Z At three or four years IL
tho Q q tree 10 the time to d,
the vigorous pruning At thll
ssl' NO 10 II Ia possible for us I,
sh tbl treo almost Os wo like, bu
n wait until tho tree Ia old II Il
ais ~ impossible TO make Il conform
70 Sor wishes, If you are interested
IN work ot this kind and want aseIsl