The Carlisle independent., 1918-06-27
DEFINITE PLAN FOR
 PRUNING IN SEASON
Work Must Necessarily Be Done
 in Systematic Manner.
Where Problem Involves Management of Extensive Commercial Pianta. tions Not Easy to Operate in
 Miscellaneous Way.

Prepared by the United States Depart
 ment of Agriculture)
 "Prune when your knife is sharp" used to be the advice of earlier horti- culturists. This is a comparatively safe method to follow with most plants, but where the problem in- wolves the management of extensive commercial plantations it is not so easy to prune in this miscellaneous fashion. The work must necessarily be done at some particular season and carried on in systematic manner after some definite plan. With most orchardists and gardeners pruning can best be done during the winter or early spring months, and where the object is the removal of small branches this season is undoubtedly quite as satisfactory as any other. In fact, pruning during late spring about the time or just previous to beginning of growth, Is particularly advantageous with the peach, because at that sea- son, as a rule, all injury to the annual growth from winter killing will be ap- parent and the pruner can take ad- vantage of this to remove all dead or injured branches and at the same time modify his plan so as to leave maxi mum quantity of wood in order to se- cure a profitable crop of fruit, which might not be possible were the usual practice of removing one-half the an- nual growth followed in such seasons. With the apple and pear. which suf- annual pruning can as we'll be done in February or March, in the North, as at any other season. With the grape, however, which is likely to produce a heavy flow of sap if the pruning is delayed until late in the season, it is undoubtedly best to do the pruning during the late fall and early winter months.
 There are several questions in con- nection with this operation which are not yet definitely settled for the diff ferent fruits. Some growers hold that late spring pruning tends to increase the fruit supply and that fall or early winter pruning increases the develop ment of wood, particularly with the grape. But, as there are no careful records upon this point. one must nec- essarily be guided largkly by convent ence or, as in the case of the peach, climatic conditions. As a rule, it is undoubtedly best to delay pruning as late as possible where there is danger of winter killing. In other cases. where this injury is not likely to oc- eur, it may be advantageous and equally satisfactory to prune in the late fall or early winter.
 Convenience and climatic conditions must be taken into consideration in determining the period of pruning. In the removal of large branches, how ever, the work should be1lone at sea- order that the healing process may be- gin at once and continue as long as possible during the season in which the cut is made. For this reason it is a common practice among orchardists to remove large branches of the apple and pear about the time they come into bloom, which is also about the period of the beginning of active growth.
 The same rule will hold with orna- mental deciduous trees. except that the period of blooming cannot be taken as the basis The gardener must observe the time when annual growth begins and regulate his prun- ing accordingly.