I' I ', \~ Minnesota Extension Service University of Minnesota. AG-Ml-0556 Revised Leonard B. Hertz. (After) (Before) I,, l.

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1 n1 / ej l CJ /J r<: 11 S,, J} 11 v, j / Minnesoa Exension Service Universiy of Minnesoa AG-Ml-0556 Revised Leonard B. Herz Exension Horlculurls (Before) (Afer), \~,, l \ \ l l,

3 8 (LEADER) 3- /LEADER Correc Pruning A B C ~ ~ J + Pruned a Planing A B c ~ { J + A Year Laer i + + Six o Eigh Years Laer Maure Tree Nursery Grown Tree ncorrec Pruning

Hins on Pruning Pruning Tools There are many kinds of pruning ools available. Hand ools provide good, economical pruning equipmen for he orchardis and he home frui grower.

4 Hins on Pruning Pruning Tools There are many kinds of pruning ools available. Hand ools provide good, economical pruning equipmen for he orchardis and he home frui grower. Each ool will perform well if i is properly used and he cuing edges are kep sharp. ~... _.... ~-;::: -~~ J~/: Figure 1. Hand shear (A), pruning saw (B), and lopping shear (C) For young rees a hand shear (A) is very good. n selecing a shear, a well made 8- or 9-inch shear of good qualiy seel makes snug cus for ligh pruning. For larger cus a hand pruning saw is bes. One of he bes is he curved saw (B), which cus on a draw or pull sroke and works fas on large limbs. The lopping shear (C), wih 2-foo handles will cu branches up o 1112 inches in diameer. The pole pruner and he pole saw will make cus high above he ground, bu hese are no always clean cus. They do save climbing and can be useful if handled properly. When o Prune Sar raining he young ree as soon as i is planed. A his ime he roo sysem has been reduced from being dug in he nursery. A careful pruning no only helps compensae for loss of roos bu also begins o shape he ree properly. Prune in he dorman season when he leaves are off. Lae winer or very early springbefore growh sars-is bes for rapid healing of pruning wounds. Making he Cus n cuing off a branch or shoo, make all cus close o he member from which he par is cu. Never leave subs. This is even more imporan wih large branches. An imporan precauion in removing large branches (Figure 2) is firs o undercu he branch a foo or wo from he runk (a). Then cu from above a a poin an inch or wo ou from he undercu (b). Afer he branch is off, cu off he sub (c). Figure 2. wrong righ Some raining can be done by posiioning he cu. Upward-growing shoos or branches can be parly direced ouward by cuing jus above an ouside bud or branch. A downwardpoining branch can be direced upwa_rd. by cuing back o an inside- or upward-poining bud. (figure 3) Figure 3. The arrows indicae he direcion of growh when cus are made as suggesed Paining he Wounds Pruning scars less han 1V2 inches in diameer need no dressing. Larger wounds ake longer o heal and may benefi from a dressing. Many subsances can be used bu he dressings wih an asphal base, ofen called "pruning pain," are preferred. Waer base pains are also saisfacory. Pruning Young Apple Trees Pruning young rees ends o dwarf or reard growh. Neverheless, his is an imporan pracice for he young ree o ge he righ sar. To prune properly, a definie objecive is necessary. Trees may be rained in many differen forms. The popular form of he apple ree oday is he cenral leader ype. s chief characerisic is he cenral runk wih scaffold branches growing from i. One of he bes examples of he leader ype is he pine ree. The runk should be definiely larger han he branches, and he branches should be well separaed up he runk. The lowes branch should be 2 o 3 fee from he ground, bu his is a maer of personal choice. A variey wih wide-spreading branches should have he firs branch saring higher han one wih uprigh branches. f non-branched rees are planed, cu hem 36 inches above he ground a planing ime. Two year-old rees received from he nursery will have several branches, each no more han abou 3 inches apar. They will also have one, wo, or more leaders, he upward op shoos of he ree. Cu off all bu one of hese leaders. f here are wo or hree leaders, hey form narrow v croches where hey join. Such croches are weak and end o break in a sorm or under a heavy crop of frui. Afer choosing one leader, selec he firs or lowes branch for your ree. is imporan ha all hese scaffold branches have wide angles where hey join he runk. (See illusraions a far lef). The 1s year of raining usually produces a ree wih one branch-occasionally wo-and

a leader. Cu back very long leaders o abou 20 inches. New laeral branches will grow from he leader nex year. From hese you can choose anoher scaffold branch or wo.

5 a leader. Cu back very long leaders o abou 20 inches. New laeral branches will grow from he leader nex year. From hese you can choose anoher scaffold branch or wo. As he ree grows older and higher, cu he op off a abou 10 fee. Make such a cu a he juncion of a laeral branch. This form is hen known as he modified leader. Five o eigh scaffold branches are enough for a ree. The space beween branches should be 8 o 18 inches, and he branches should be evenly disribued around he cenral runk. f cerain branches are longer han he ohers, prune hem back severely. When he permanen scaffold branches are seleced, i is permissible o le oher branches grow. Remove hese branches in a year or wo before hey inerfere wih proper developmen of he permanen branches. Avoid branches wih narrow croch angles, if possible. Cu old wood ou when i begins o weaken insead of leing i coninue producing smaller and more poorly colored frui. The srong new growh remaining will produce frui similar o ha of young rees. n oher words, he objec is o have young wood on he old ree. may be necessary o cu ou whole branches if hey are oo crowded, because i is imporan o le in ligh o he lower par of he ree. Old negleced rees may require more han 1 year for such a renovaion. f a whole branch is cu ou, i is called hinning. f i is cu back a par of is lengh, i is called heading back. Boh operaions are necessary in reaing old rees. Bearing shoos ofen have oo many old spurs. f such wood is "headed back" a half or even hree-quarers, he number of fruiing spurs is lessened bu he qualiy of frui is improved. The newly planed rees should be pruned in he spring jus before growh begins. f unbranched rees are planed, cu off he shoo abou 3 fee above he ground. f branched rees are planed, one or wo branches wih he lowes abou 2 fee from he ground are seleced, as he beginning of he main scaffold limbs. branches should be done a a side branch or shoo. Sour Cherries The modified leader ype is bes. Because sour cherries require lile pruning, prune hem as lile as possible o avoid rearding producion once he desired branches are seleced. n handling sour cherries i is imporan o noe ha he buds are large and prominen. Careless handling could rub off or damage many buds. Cherry-Plums These sand cherry hybrids-sapa is an excellen example-bear when 2 years old and produce wonderfully for heir firs 3 or 4 years wih lile or no pruning. Pruning Maure AppleTrees Young wood grows rapidly (as much as 40 inches) and old wood grows slowly (as lile as 2 inches) during he year. The caliper of young wood is hick and old wood is hin. Young wood poins upward, bu old wood droops. Young wood is sraigh and unbranched, while old wood is crooked and branchy. Young wood bears large frui of good color; old wood bears small, poorly colored frui. When rees become old, hey are generally less producive. They migh produce good frui if nirogen ferilizer is applied and if hey are pruned properly. f such rees are very all, i will pay o cu back he ops o 12 o 14 fee in heigh. (Up o 4 o 5 fee of growh can be removed in 1 year.) The older ree ha combines old, weak wood wih some good growh will benefi by judicial pruning. Cu ou he weak, hin wood. Cu ou any shoo growh ha is pulled down by former frui crops or is shaded ou by sronger shoos. The lack of sunligh will weaken or kill a ree branch jus as he fores will shade ou and kill grass. Like-wise, remove waer sprous each year as hey are non-producive. Many old rees bear only in alernae years. is bes o prune heavily jus before he heavybearing year. f frui buds can be recognized, much hinning of he crop can be done in he pruning operaion. Pruning Oher Fruis Pears Train he young pear ree a planing o he same paern as recommended for apples. Once he young pear ree is esablished, prune only lighly. The branches of mos pear varieies and some apple varieies end o grow uprigh, so hey need o be spread. Cuing back o ouward buds or shoos is no a good way o do his, because sof new growh is subjec o fire bligh. To spread he ree pu wooden "spreaders" in or near he croches or ie he branches down or ouward. (Figure 4). Pear rees are very slow o begin bearing. As rees reach 5 o 6 years of age, such ying down or bending of he uprigh branches ends o sar frui buds. Plums Young plum rees may be rained in much he same way as young apple rees; using he modified leader mehod. Figure 4. Before and afer he use of spreaders and ie-downs, which are used on boh apple and pear rees. The ideal European-ype plum ree such as Moun Royal has a cenral leader (main runk) and 6 o 8 well spaced (5 o 10 inches) scaffold or side branches. Remove all narrow croches and dead and diseased branches, and hin excessive growh. The hybrid plums such as Superior are usually a lile more vigorous. They grow in a somewha spreading fashion and will need some heading back as well as hinning of excessive growh. Avoid heavy pruning of plums. Very old plum rees are difficul o renovae. Old apple rees, if cu back severely, will readily produce new shoos, bu his is no rue wih old plum rees. Any heading back of large Afer ha, producion and size of frui are grealy reduced. They are shor-lived plans a bes. A 15-year-old ree is pas is prime and perhaps no longer producive. Cherry plums are small rees. When young, pruning should be aimed a cuing back shoos o reduce he crop, avoid breakage, and encourage new growh. Laer eliminae old wood and encourage he producion of new bearing shoos. f his program of renewal is sared early, i can be done wih small cus. f delayed, i will be necessary o make large cus which may sar ros in he wood. Apricos Apricos are usually pruned o he cenralleader sysem suggesed for plums. Apricos are borne on shor spurs ha are producive up o 3 years. Considerable hinning-ou pruning should be done o induce annual producion of new fruiing spurs. Oher Sone Fruis The Nanking cherry should no be rained as a ree. is a bush and should be headed very low. The pruning should be aimed o produce vigorous shoos of new wood. This is bes done by severely hinning ou old wood as soon as

6 signs of age or slow growh appear. Wih his frui i is bes o hin ou whole shoos raher han head back shoos... Y ~1~11m1i1!ii1~1111i11i1i1i1~1~1~~1~~ For Proper Pruning Use only sharp ools. Prune when he ree is firs planed. Prune in lae winer or very early spring before growh sars. Never leave subs when you prune. Undercu all big branches before pruning. Be sure ha he runk is larger han he branches. Make sure he branches are well separaed up he runk. Prune so ha he lowes branch is 2 or 3 fee from he ground. Always choose branches wih wide croches. ssued in furherance of cooperaive exension work in agriculure and home economics, acs of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperaion wih he U.S. Deparmen of Agriculure. Parick J. Borich, Dean and Direcor of Minnesoa Exension Service, Universiy of Minnesoa, S. Paul, Minnesoa The Universiy of Minnesoa, including he Minnesoa Exension Service, is commied o he policy ha all persons shall have equal access o is programs, faciliies, and employmen wihou regard o race, religion, color, sex, naional origin, handicap, age, veeran saus, or sexual orienaion.

Why Mendel Succeeded. Why Mendel Succeeded. Mendel chose his subject carefully. Mendel chose his subject carefully. Mendel chose his subject carefully

Why Mendel Succeeded. Why Mendel Succeeded. Mendel chose his subject carefully. Mendel chose his subject carefully. Mendel chose his subject carefully Why Mendel Succeeded I was no unil he mid-nineeenh cenury ha Gregor Mendel, an Ausrian monk, carried ou imporan sudies of herediy he passing on of characerisics from parens o offspring. Characerisics ha