The Influence of Summer Pruning and Fruit Cropping on the Carbohydrate, Nitrogen, and Nutrient Composition of Apple Trees

Abstract

Abstract Traditionally, the size control achieved in summer-pruned apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) trees has been attributed to the removal of shoot leaf area before it could replace the storage carbohydrate depleted during its initial growth. Therefore, tissues of young Top Red ‘Delicious’/M 9 trees grown in pots, and mature, field-grown ‘Jonathan’/M 26 trees were summer-pruned and subsequently analyzed for carbohydrate and nutrient element content. Increasing the severity of summer pruning (the length of shoot removed) did not affect the concentration of water-soluble reducing sugars (SRS) or insoluble hydrolyzable carbohydrates (IHC) in the basal shoot section of the Top Red ‘Delicious’/M 9 trees 11 weeks after pruning. Summer pruning 1) increased leaf SRS, N, K, B and stem IHC and 2) decreased leaf Ca and Mg in shoot regrowth. Levels of Fe, Ca, Zn, Al, and Na in the leaves of regrowth were not affected by summer pruning. There was no significant effect of pruning on SRS or IHC levels in the roots. A separation of the carbohydrates by gas chromatography revealed increasing glucose and fructose concentrations in the roots as pruning severity increased, but sorbitol, sucrose, and phloridzin concentrations in roots were not significantly affected. Neither previous season’s summer pruning nor fruit cropping of ‘Jonathan’/M 26 trees affected SRS or IHC of spur shoots in March or June, except that presence of fruit reduced IHC of spur leaves in June. SRS levels in roots in June were reduced by the previous year’s cropping, but not influenced by summer pruning. Root IHC was not influenced by either pruning or cropping treatments. Spur leaf N, Ca, Mg, Mn, and Al were reduced on defruited trees, with K, Ca, Mn, and Al generally being increased by summer pruning. Pruning and cropping treatments generally did not affect levels of P, Fe, B, Cu, Zn, or Na in spur leaves in June; but summer pruning increased K concentration in harvested fruit.