Tree Pruning

Fruit growers are constantly manipulating tree canopies to maximize fruit production. This is done in two ways: by pruning to remove limbs or shoots or by bending limbs or shoots in specific orientations. Pruning and training are therefore horticultural manipulations done to modify naturally occurring growth patterns within plants. The primary processes being modified are apical dominance (see below) and the natural flowering and/or fruiting characteristics of the trees.

The first point to remember is that pruning is a dwarfing process. A pruned tree will always be smaller than a same-aged tree that was not pruned. For pruning to be effective, however, it must be practiced with an understanding of how trees respond to branch or shoot removal and of how those removals affect future tree growth.

For more information, please see this Penn State Tree Fruit Producton Guide Web page.

Penn State Horticulture Department

For more information on this subject, Please visit the College of Agricultural Sciences Publications Web site.

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