Branched (B) and unbranched (UB) one-year-old `Bradford'/`OHFx97' trees were examined at intervals between preparation for bare root harvest and long term storage to determine the extent of mechanical bud damage caused by the various handling steps. After hand stripping of leaves, digging, transportation to the storage facility, and grading, and tying of bundles, there was a marked difference in the percentage of damaged buds between branched (26%) and unbranched (53%) trees. The B/UB live bud ratio before and after harvest was 1:0.45 and 1:0.26, respectively. This difference may have been due to a various morphological growth pattern which both types of trees had produced.