Severe Pruning Research Articles

Effect of chemical thinning, gibberellic acid and pruning on growth and production of nectarine (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch var. nucipersica) cv. May fire

The present investigation was carried out on 12-year old trees of nectarine (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch var. nucipersica) cultivar May Fire raised on wild peach seedling rootstocks, Farmer’s orchard at Kotla- Barog in District Sirmour during the years 2014 and 2015. In this experiment, experimental trees were subjected to seventeen different treatments;T1: Pruning to retain 60 fruiting shoots tree-1 (control), T2: Pruning to retain 50 fruiting shoots tree-1, T3: Pruning to retain 40 fruiting shoots tree-1 ,T4: NAA 40 ppm, 2 WAPF (week after petal fall) ,T5: Ethrel 300 ppm, 2 WAPF, T6: GA3 100 ppm, 4 WAPF, T7: GA3 200 ppm, 4WAPF, T8: GA3 100 ppm, 6 WAPF T9: GA3 200 ppm, 6 WAPF, T10: Pruning to retain 50 fruiting shoots tree-1 + NAA 40 ppm (T4), T11: Pruning to retain 50 fruiting shoots tree-1 + Ethrel 300ppm (T5), T12: Pruning to retain 50 fruiting shoots tree-1 + GA3100 ppm (T6), T13: Pruning to retain 50 fruiting shoots tree-1 + GA3 100 ppm (T8),T14: Pruning to retain 40 fruiting shoots tree-1 + NAA 40 ppm (T4), T15: Pruning to retain 40 fruiting shoots tree -1 +Ethrel 300 ppm (T5),T16: Pruning to retain 40 fruiting shoots tree -1 + GA3 100 ppm (T6), T17: Pruning to retain 40 fruiting shoots tree -1 + GA3 100 ppm (T8), pertaining to alternative approach to chemical thinning, chemical thinner were more effective in improving the production of superior grade fruits than reducing the crop load directly by pruning or indirectly by GA 3 (Gibberellic Acid) treatments. Treatments with NAA (naphthalene acetic acid) at 40 ppm when applied two weeks after petal fall reduced the crop load to the greatest extent and improve the yield of superior grade fruits and increase the leaf to fruit ratio and decrease the fruit drop. Pruning to retain 40 fruiting shoots tree-1 + NAA 40 ppm, 2WAPF increased the shoot growth (160.80, 170.20cm), tree height (3.70,4.50 cm), tree spread (2.84,3.60), leaf area (42.71, 40.63 cm) during both the year. However, effect of chemical were less pronounced on trees subjected to severe pruning.

Effects of root pruning on the physicochemical properties and microbial activities of poplar rhizosphere soil.

This study aimed to determine the effects of root pruning on the physicochemical characteristics and microbial activities of poplar rhizosphere soil. The root systems of 5-year-old poplar (Populus×euramericana cv. ‘Neva’) trees were manually pruned at 6, 8, or 10 times diameter at breast height (DBH) from the trunk (severe, moderate, and light, respectively) along both inter-row sides. Moderate root pruning significantly increased the concentrations of amino acids, organic acids, and total sugars in the root exudates and decreased the pH of rhizosphere soil. This treatment also increased the contents of available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and total organic carbon as well as high-, medium-, and low-activity organic carbon in rhizosphere soil. Moreover, moderate pruning increased the contents of microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, and enhanced basal respiration, in addition to decreasing the metabolic quotients in rhizosphere soil by 8.9%, 5.0%, and 11.4% compared with control, light, and severe root pruning treatments, respectively. Moderate pruning increased the growth rates of DBH, tree height, and volume to the highest levels. Furthermore, these indices were not significantly different between the light root pruning and control groups, but varied significantly between severe and moderate root-pruning treatments. Thus, root pruning, depending on the distance from the trunk, significantly influences the physicochemical properties and microbial activities in poplar rhizosphere soil.

A Method for Quantifying Whole-tree Pruning Severity in Mature Tall Spindle Apple Plantings

Pruning is the cutting away of vegetation from plants for horticultural purposes. Pruning is known to reduce apple tree size, increase fruit size and quality, and decrease yield. Methods for studying the effects of varying degrees of severity of pruning on a whole-tree basis have used qualitative descriptions of treatments rather than repeatable whole-tree quantitative metrics. In this study, we introduce a pruning severity index calculated from the sum of the cross-sectional area of all branches on a tree at 2.5 cm from their union to the central leader divided by the cross-sectional area of its central leader at 30 cm from the graft union. This limb to trunk ratio (LTR) was then modified by successively removing the largest branches of ‘Buckeye Gala’ to achieve six severity levels ranging from LTR 0.5 to LTR 1.75, with lower values representing more extreme pruning with less whole-tree limb area relative to trunk area. Pruning treatments were applied for three consecutive years and tree growth and cropping responses were observed for the first 2 years. With increasing pruning severity the following characteristics increased after seasonal growth: number of renewal limbs, number of shoots, shoot length, number of shoot leaves, shoot leaf area, final fruit set, fruit size, yield of large fruit, crop value from large fruit, soluble solids, and titratable acidity. The following characteristics decreased: limb age, number of secondary limbs, number of spurs, number of spur leaves, spur leaf area, the ratio of spur leaf area to shoot leaf area, fruit count per tree, yield, yield efficiency, crop value from small fruit, overall crop value, and sugar:acid ratio. The LTR provides a measurable way to define and create different levels of pruning severity and achieve consistent outcomes. This allows a greater degree of accuracy and precision to dormant pruning of tall spindle apple trees. The use of the LTR to establish the level of pruning severity allows the orchard manager to set crop load potential through regulation of the canopy bearing surface. This metric is also a necessary step in the development of autonomous pruning systems.

Quantifying pruning impacts on olive tree architecture and annual canopy growth by using UAV-based 3D modelling

BackgroundTree pruning is a costly practice with important implications for crop harvest and nutrition, pest and disease control, soil protection and irrigation strategies. Investigations on tree pruning usually involve tedious on-ground measurements of the primary tree crown dimensions, which also might generate inconsistent results due to the irregular geometry of the trees. As an alternative to intensive field-work, this study shows a innovative procedure based on combining unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology and advanced object-based image analysis (OBIA) methodology for multi-temporal three-dimensional (3D) monitoring of hundreds of olive trees that were pruned with three different strategies (traditional, adapted and mechanical pruning). The UAV images were collected before pruning, after pruning and a year after pruning, and the impacts of each pruning treatment on the projected canopy area, tree height and crown volume of every tree were quantified and analyzed over time.ResultsThe full procedure described here automatically identified every olive tree on the orchard and computed their primary 3D dimensions on the three study dates with high accuracy in the most cases. Adapted pruning was generally the most aggressive treatment in terms of the area and volume (the trees decreased by 38.95 and 42.05% on average, respectively), followed by trees under traditional pruning (33.02 and 35.72% on average, respectively). Regarding the tree heights, mechanical pruning produced a greater decrease (12.15%), and these values were minimal for the other two treatments. The tree growth over one year was affected by the pruning severity and by the type of pruning treatment, i.e., the adapted-pruning trees experienced higher growth than the trees from the other two treatments when pruning intensity was low (<10%), similar to the traditionally pruned trees at moderate intensity (10–30%), and lower than the other trees when the pruning intensity was higher than 30% of the crown volume.ConclusionsCombining UAV-based images and an OBIA procedure allowed measuring tree dimensions and quantifying the impacts of three different pruning treatments on hundreds of trees with minimal field work. Tree foliage losses and annual canopy growth showed different trends as affected by the type and severity of the pruning treatments. Additionally, this technology offers valuable geo-spatial information for designing site-specific crop management strategies in the context of precision agriculture, with the consequent economic and environmental benefits.Graphical

Rehabilitation of Huanglongbing-affected Citrus Trees Using Severe Pruning and Enhanced Foliar Nutritional Treatments

Citrus trees affected by huanglongbing (HLB) become diminished, weak, and develop dieback resulting in reduced production. Decline in fruit yield ultimately prevents economically acceptable commercial citrus production. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of severe pruning in combination with an enhanced foliar nutritional treatment on growth, yield, and juice quality of HLB-affected orange trees. The bacterial titer within the trees was monitored before and after treatments, and a cost–benefit analysis provided an economic evaluation of the treatments. Fifteen-year-old ‘Valencia’ orange (Citrus sinensis Macf.) trees on Swingle citrumelo rootstocks [C. paradisi × Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf.] with 100% incidence of HLB, confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), were severely pruned back to the main scaffold branches. Between 2010 and 2015, foliar nutrients were sprayed on both pruned and nonpruned trees to target new flush growth. Three enhanced nutritional foliar treatments were evaluated and compared with a control foliar nutritional treatment that was considered to be a standard practice before endemic HLB. The enhanced nutritional treatments included a mixture of micro- and macronutrients commonly known as the “Boyd cocktail,” a micronutrient package labeled Fortress © (Florida Phosphorus LLC, Key Largo, FL) sprayed with potassium nitrate (KNO3), and the Fortress © micronutrient package sprayed with urea. The experiment was a split-plot with seven replications, with pruning as the main plots, and a foliar nutritional treatment as subplots. Tree pruning was performed in Feb. 2010 before the spring flush. Pruned trees grew longer shoots than the controls the year after pruning. Canopy volume and leaf area were greater with nonpruned trees, but the chlorophyll content per cm2 leaf area was higher in the pruned trees compared with nonpruned trees in 3 years of the 5-year experiment. Pruned and nonpruned trees bloomed and set fruit the first year of the experiment in the spring of 2010–11. The fruit crop for the 2010–11 and 2014–15 seasons, and the overall total fruit crop for the 2010–15 season on pruned trees were significantly lower than those on nonpruned trees. However, no significant yield differences were found between pruned and nonpruned trees in the 2011–12, 2012–13, and 2013–14 growing seasons. Fruit yields from pruned trees never surpassed the yields from nonpruned trees, and this was possibly due to the severe-pruning treatment. Thus, severe pruning, as used in this trial, was not cost effective through the first 5 years after pruning. The rapid regrowth response of the pruned trees, however, may indicate that a reduced pruning approach could be effective at rejuvenating the HLB-affected trees, and an alternative to tree removal and replanting. Enhanced foliar nutrition treatments provided some yield benefits, especially in the early years of the trial. However, the enhanced foliar nutrition treatments did not prove to be cost effective.

Severe trimming and enhanced competition of laterals as a tool to delay ripening in Tempranillo vineyards under semiarid conditions

Aim: An advance in grapevine phenological stages (including ripening) is occurring worldwide due to global warming and, in the hottest seasons, already results in a lack of synchrony between sugar and phenolic ripeness, leading to unbalanced wines. In order to cope with this fact, a general effort is being made by researchers and growers aiming at delaying ripening through cultural practices, particularly under warm growing conditions, where these effects are more deleterious. The aim of this work is to evaluate to which extent severe trimming and enhanced competition of laterals can delay ripening in Tempranillo vineyards under semiarid conditions.Methods and results: The experiment took place during two consecutive seasons in Traibuenas (Navarra, Spain) in a cv. ‘Tempranillo’ vineyard trained to a vertical shoot positioned (VSP) spur-pruned bilateral cordon. Severe mechanical pruning was performed ca. 3 weeks after fruit-set in order to reduce leaf-to-fruit ratio, and in the trimmed plants, three irrigation doses were applied until harvest aiming at enhancing lateral growth, hypothesized to compete with ripening. All measurements were performed in six 10-vine replicates per treatment. Trimming significantly reduced leaf area and yield, resulting in higher water availability in trimmed plants. The whole ripening process was delayed by trimming: mid-veraison was delayed by about 5 days, and the delay in sugar accumulation and acid degradation was longer, differences being more marked in malic than in tartaric acid concentration. The use of increased irrigation levels compensated the losses in yield caused by trimming, enhanced laterals’ growth and implied an additional delay in ripening.Conclusion: trimming and increased irrigation had an additive effect in terms of delaying ripening, and they can be used jointly when that delay is needed.Significance and impact of the study: this study proves the potentiality of the joint use of trimming and increased irrigation to delay ripening, although it is necessary to analyze the implications the obtained delay has on other quality aspects. The lower anthocyanin and phenolic values observed in trimmed vines were not solely due to delayed ripening, as lower values were observed even when data were compared for a given total soluble solid content.

Severe trimming and enhanced competition of laterals as a tool to delay ripening in Tempranillo vineyards under semiarid conditions

&lt;p style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Aim:&lt;/strong&gt; An advance in grapevine phenological stages (including ripening) is occurring worldwide due to global warming and, in the hottest seasons, already results in a lack of synchrony between sugar and phenolic ripeness, leading to unbalanced wines. In order to cope with this fact, a general effort is being made by researchers and growers aiming at delaying ripening through cultural practices, particularly under warm growing conditions, where these effects are more deleterious. The aim of this work is to evaluate to which extent severe trimming and enhanced competition of laterals can delay ripening in Tempranillo vineyards under semiarid conditions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods and results:&lt;/strong&gt; The experiment took place during two consecutive seasons in Traibuenas (Navarra, Spain) in a cv. ‘Tempranillo’ vineyard trained to a vertical shoot positioned (VSP) spur-pruned bilateral cordon. Severe mechanical pruning was performed ca. 3 weeks after fruit-set in order to reduce leaf-to-fruit ratio, and in the trimmed plants, three irrigation doses were applied until harvest aiming at enhancing lateral growth, hypothesized to compete with ripening. All measurements were performed in six 10-vine replicates per treatment. Trimming significantly reduced leaf area and yield, resulting in higher water availability in trimmed plants. The whole ripening process was delayed by trimming: mid-veraison was delayed by about 5 days, and the delay in sugar accumulation and acid degradation was longer, differences being more marked in malic than in tartaric acid concentration. The use of increased irrigation levels compensated the losses in yield caused by trimming, enhanced laterals’ growth and implied an additional delay in ripening.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusion: &lt;/strong&gt;trimming and increased irrigation had an additive effect in terms of delaying ripening, and they can be used jointly when that delay is needed.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Significance and impact of the study:&lt;/strong&gt; this study proves the potentiality of the joint use of trimming and increased irrigation to delay ripening, although it is necessary to analyze the implications the obtained delay has on other quality aspects. The lower anthocyanin and phenolic values observed in trimmed vines were not solely due to delayed ripening, as lower values were observed even when data were compared for a given total soluble solid content.&lt;/p&gt;

Preliminary Studies on the Effect of a Permanent Cover Crop and Root Pruning on an Irrigated Colombar Vineyard

An experiment was conducted in the Olifantsrivier irrigation area to assess the effect of different cultivation treatments, such as clean cultivation, a permanent cover crop and of root pruning by means of deep ripping, on the growth and yield of a flood irrigated, ungrafted Colombar vineyard. The best vine performance was obtained with clean cultivation. Although a cover crop plus deep cultivation improved water infiltration, competition of the permanent cover crop seriously suppressed vine growth and yield, and also caused a notable decrease in the nitrogen status of the vines. There were indications that severe root pruning by means of deep ripping increased the negative effect of the permanent cover crop on vine performance. Clean cultivation remains an effective way of weed control provided there is no soil compaction hazard and it is economically feasible.

Pruning and productivity of old unproductive ber cultivars in lower Shiwaliks of Punjab

A study was conducted to rejuvenate old orchard of ber under rainfed conditions. Though the trees started fruiting in the same year after rejuvenation but the yield was negligible, although it increased remarkably during third year. The vegetative growth traits i.e. plant height, spread and canopy volume was significantly affected by severity of pruning. Plant height after three years of pruning was recorded maximum in Sanaur-2 than ZG 2 and Umran. Tree spread and canopy development of rejuvenated trees in terms of tree volume showed increase over the year of rejuvenation as age of tree increased irrespective of cultivar. The variety Sanaur-2 recorded 3.50 times higher yield compared to yield level just before the process of rejuvenation. The morphological attributes of fruits obtained from rejuvenated trees were significantly higher than non-rejuvenated trees of each cultivar. The chemical attributes, i.e. TSS and total sugars were found slightly higher in fruits from non-rejuvenated trees. Hence, rejuvenation technology helped in restoring the productivity of old, unproductive orchard in shortest possible time in lower Shiwaliks of Punjab.

Vegetative and productive aspects of ‘Briteblue’ blueberries in different forms of propagation and pruning intensities

The demand for blueberries has increased mainly due to the added value and the possibility of industrialization. Despite the great importance, studies are needed that focus on higher quality of seedlings and fruits, as well as appropriate plant management techniques. We studied propagation forms (micropropagation and cuttings) and pruning intensities (control, light and drastically) of blueberries 'Briteblue'. We concluded that micropropagated plants have an increased vegetative growth, as well as severe pruning provides the development of vegetative branches of greater length. Higher levels of anthocyanins were found in fruits propagated by cuttings and plants without pruning or light pruning had higher antioxidant activity.

Cover crops and pruning in Bobal and Tempranillo vineyards have little influence on grapevine nutrition

Cover crops may improve vineyard soil properties, grapevine nutrient status and berry composition, however, factors such as cover crop type, annual rainfall, climate and irrigation may change their effects on vineyards. From 2008 to 2011, the effects of a non-permanent cover crop and two pruning techniques on soil as well as vine nutrients and grapevine performance of two vineyards (cv. Tempranillo and cv. Bobal) were evaluated. For that purpose, two legumes were sown in inter-rows of hand-pruned vines in February and were tilled at flowering. Soil tillage, or cover cropping, was combined with either light pruning or severe pruning to study foliar nutrient variations. Soil N, P, K and total organic carbon (TOC) were determined in samples taken from the Ap1 horizon in January prior to vine pruning. Foliar N, P, K contents were measured in leaves sampled upon grape veraison. The differences between vineyards with cover cropping and bare soils suggest that legumes positively affected soil N (1.55 vs. 1.68 g kg−1 and 1.49 vs. 1.76 g kg−1 in Bobal and Tempranillo vineyards, respectively) and soil organic matter (SOM) (12.5 vs. 15.5 g kg−1 and 12.9 vs. 17.2 g kg−1 in Bobal and Tempranillo vineyards, respectively). The use of cover crops did not affect grapevine yields nor quality of Bobal and Tempranillo berry . Cover crops, or light pruning, did not alter the foliar N, P, K contents of both cultivars since their concentrations were similar to those found in the leaves from vineyards with soil tillage or severe pruning.

Growth, biomass allocation and photosynthetic responses are related to intensity of root severance and soil moisture conditions in the plantation tree Cunninghamia lanceolata.

We employed the warm temperate conifer Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook. as a model of plantation forest species to investigate ecophysiological responses to root treatments (control (0%), and ∼25, 50 or 75% of the initial root mass) under well-watered and water-limited conditions. Our results indicated that total root dry mass accumulation was negatively associated with the severity of root pruning, but there was evidence of multiple compensatory responses. The plants exhibited higher instantaneous and long-term (assessed by carbon isotope composition, δ(13)C) water-use efficiency in pruning treatments, especially under low water availability. Root pruning also increased the fine root/total root mass ratio, specific root length and fine root vitality in both water availability treatments. As a result of the compensatory responses, under well-watered conditions, height, stem dry mass accumulation, leaf/fine root biomass ratio (L/FR), transpiration rate, photosynthetic capacity and photosynthetic nitrogen-use efficiency (EN) were the highest under 25% pruning. Yet, all these traits except L/FR and foliage nitrogen content were severely reduced under 75% pruning. Drought negatively affected growth and leaf gas exchange rates, and there was a greater negative effect on growth, water potential, gas exchange and EN when >25% of total root biomass was removed. The stem/aboveground mass ratio was the highest under 25% pruning in both watering conditions. These results indicate that the responses to root severance are related to the excision intensity and soil moisture content. A moderate root pruning proved to be an effective means to improve stem dry mass accumulation.

Crop regulation in guava-A review

The basic principle of crop regulation is to manipulates the natural flowering and fruiting of guava plant in desired season of the year that contribute to increased fruit yield, quality, profitability and sustainability of the environment by reducing the use of the frequency of the pesticides. This concept is based on the fact that guava flowers are borne only on new, succulent, vigorously emerging vegetative growths. These new growth flushes can be either new emergences of lateral bud on older stems or extensions of already established terminals of various size and vigor. The crop regulation can be achieved by the adoption of the various practices like withholding irrigation after harvesting during the months of April-May in Northern Indian plains. This results in the shedding of flowers and the tree goes to rest. The basin of the tree is dug up, manured and irrigated in June. After about 30-35 days the tree put forth profuse flowering and fruit mature in winter. Terminal portion of the shoots up to 20 or 30 cm length should be pruned between 20&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; to 30&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; April. Always avoid severe pruning in guava. Apply the recommended dose of fertilizers during the month of June to encourage vegetative growth in July-August for getting maximum flowering during August-September for winter season crop. To regulate the guava crop, it is essential to reduce the fruit set during the rainy season and subsequently increase the fruit set during winter season by the use of different chemicals like NAA ethereal and urea etc.

Effect of pruning intensity on growth, yield and fruit quality characteristics of ber (Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk.) cv. Gola

The present investigation entitled “Effect of pruning intensity on growth, yield and fruit quality characteristics of ber (Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk.) cv. Gola” was carried out at the Main Experiment Station, Department of Horticulture, Narendra Deva University of Agriculture & Technology, Narendra Nagar (Kumarganj), Faizabad (U.P.) during the year 2009–2010. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with four treatments and replicated in four times. The maximum plant height and plant spread was measured with 50% pruning intensity, but differences were found non-significant, while number of sprouted shoots per branch and shoot length varied significantly due to various pruning intensities. The various maximum yield attributing characters were obtained with 50% pruning intensity. The maximum (109.21 kg per plant) fruit yield has been achieved by employing 50% severity of pruning. The highest (75%) severity of pruning has been adjudged as supra-optimal level of pruning severity (negative effect) in increasing fruit yield. Significantly higher total soluble solids (T.S.S.) and vitamin-c has been analyzed in fruits with 50% severity of pruning followed by 25% pruning intensity and lowest noted in control, while acidity of fruits varied non-significantly. The highest reducing and non-reducing sugars, and total sugar of fruits have been analyzed by 50% pruning intensity and lowest one in control but variations were found non-significant in above all biochemical parameters. The maximum plant growth achieved through devised more open tree canopy mechanism which paved the way for significant enhancement of yield attributing characters (fruit set and fruit retention with bold-fruit size and weight) and ultimately better yield having improved quality of fruits have been achieved by employing moderate severity of pruning (50%) under optimum pruning time condition (3rd week of May).

Impact of Different Pruning Severity and Nutrient Management on Growth and Yield of Lemon cv. Assam Lemon (Citrus limonBurm.)

Impact of Different Pruning Severity and Nutrient Management on Growth and Yield of Lemon cv. Assam Lemon (Citrus limon Burm.) Like many other citrus species, the lemon (Citrus limon Burm.) presents a number of diverse forms slightly varying from each other. Pruning is one of the important approaches for the canopy management of citrus. The result of pruning on growth parameters have been reported by various workers. It is also a highly nutrient responsive perennial fruit crop and requires adequate nutrition for proper growth and yield of the plants. A field experiment was laid out in two factorial Randomized Block Design with four levels of pruning, seven levels of nutrient, consisting .recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) and different combinations of organic manure (Vermicompost), inorganic fertilizer, bio-fertilizer (Azotobacter),mycorrhiza (VAM) and their interaction during 2013 to 2015.The investigation revealed that all the vegetative parameters viz. trunk girth (32.74cm, 33.26cm and 33.13cm) and its percentage increase (1.25%, 2.88% and 4.56%), canopy volume (85.22 m3 , 100.03 m3 and 125.84 m3 ) and its percentage increase (31.66%, 56.21% and 114.24%), number of laterals per primary shoot (9.53, 11.87 and 10.80) and its percentage increase (31.65%, 63.64% and 98.25%) and leaf chlorophyll content (1.45%, 1.94% and 2.56%) and its percentage increase (48.61%, 98.41% and 172.80%) was recorded best in highest level of pruning with 75% RDF + Vermicompost + Azotobacter + Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhiza at 6th, 12th and 18th month after pruning. Among the three season of cropping Ambebahar recorded the best result in respect to yield (total number of fruits/plant) followed by Mrig and Hasthbahar. .

Response of mango malformation to stage and severity of pruning of shoot bearing malformed panicles

An experiment was formulated to examine the efficacy of different levels of pruning of shoot bearing malformed panicles on the floral malformation in ‘Dashehari ’mango at two distinct stages of panicle emergence. Pruning of newly emerged panicles has pronounced effect in reducing the incidence of malformation. Delay in pruning of fully emerged panicles gave less satisfactory results. Among shoot pruning treatments applied at different stages of panicle emergence, malformation was significantly most suppressed with 20 cm shoot pruning applied at early stage of newly emerged panicle followed by 25 cm shoot pruning and 15 cm shoot pruning. Light pruning treatments (5 cm) applied to trees at both the stages did not affect malformation significantly and were at par with unpruned trees.

Response of Riesling clones to mechanical hedging and minimal pruning of cordon trained vines (MPCT) implications for clonal selection

Three pruning treatments were superimposed on an established Riesling clonal selection trial situated in a hot irrigated Australian vineyard. Significant yield differences over 4 seasons between conventional spur pruning (mean 12.8 kg/vine) and the light pruning treatments, hedging and MPCT (means 14.2 and 13 .8 kg respectively), were found. Light pruning treatments produced smaller berries, but effects on soluble solids, pH and titratable acidity were small. Yield differences between the four clones, two Australian selections SA173 and SA140 and imported clones from Europe and California, were significant in the combined analyses of the three pruning treatments. SA173 (mean 14.7 kg/vine) h ad superior production while production by SA140 (12.7 kg) was inferior. The two imported clones gave similar yields. Clonal differences were not significant with spur pruning in any season but significant differences with the light pruning treatments were evident in 3 out of 4 seasons and over the 4 years. This-suggests that traditional severe pruning used in clonal selection trials may limit the production of improved clones.

Effects of summer pruning combined with winter pruning on bush growth, yields, and fruit quality of ‘Misty’ southern highbush blueberry for two years after planting

The effects of winter pruning severity and the date of summer pruning on growth, yields, and fruit quality of ‘Misty’ southern highbush blueberry were studied. The pruning treatments were as follows: 1) winter pruning severity [unpruned control, conventional pruning (30% removed), and severe pruning (50% removed)] and 2) winter pruning (conventional pruning) + summer pruning date (June 20, July 20, and August 20). The number of buds was highest (894.6) with conventional winter pruning (CWP) + summer pruning (SP) on July 20, followed by conventional pruning (CP) (784.4), then no pruning (NP) (712.2), severe winter pruning (SWP) (656), CWP + SP on June 20 (540), and finally CWP + SP on August 20 (333.4). In general, the improvement in light penetration to the canopy, shaping of bearing shoots, and strengthened cane were observed in the treatment of winter pruning combined with summer pruning on July 20. In the following year, total yields were highest with NP (1,648 g), followed by CWP + SP on July 20 (1,364 g), then CWP + SP on August 20 (962 g), CWP + SP on June 20 (859 g), SWP (844 g), and CWP (762 g). Fruit weight results were as follows: CWP + SP on June 20 (1.53 g) > SWP (1.50 g) > CWP + SP on August 20 (1.48 g) > CWP + SP on July 20 (1.44 g) > CWP (1.40 g) > NP (1.10 g), but there was no statistical difference between the fruit weight results except compared to no pruning treatment. Fruit (berries) were used to investigate SSC, TA, total sugar, firmness, total phenolic content, and anthocyanin content, and no significant differences were found among the treatments.

Effects of Root Pruning on Germinated Pecan Seedlings

Root systems of pecan trees are usually dominated by a single taproot with few lateral roots, which are commonly thought to inhibit successful transplanting. This study aimed to evaluate early growth and root/shoot development of pecan seedlings in response to taproot pruning. Taproots of ‘Shaoxing’ seedling pecan trees were mildly (1/3 of the total length of the radicle removed) and severely (2/3 of the total length of the radicle removed) pruned at different seedling development stages shortly after germination. At the end of the first growing season, top growth was measured and then trees were uprooted so that root system regrowth could be evaluated. The results showed that root pruning had no impact on increases in stem height or stem diameter. However, pruning the taproot could stimulate primary growth in taproot branches. Root weight and the number of taproot branches per tree increased with decreasing taproot length. This study indicated that severe root pruning when three to five leaves had emerged resulted in root systems with more taproot branches and the greatest root dry weight after one growth season, which may increase survival and reduce transplanting shock.

Effect of Pruning Intensities on the Performance of Fruit Plants under Mid-Hill Condition of Eastern Himalayas: Case Study on Guava

Current study was undertaken to highlight the effect of pruning on improving vigor of old orchards and increasing performance in terms of fruit yield and quality under water and nutrient stressed condition of mid hills of Eastern Himalaya. Guava was taken for the case study and all the physical and chemical properties of the fruits and other attributes of plant were evaluated using standard methods under three pruning intensities (light, moderate and severe) and no pruning. The emergence of bud was earliest in severe pruning, number of buds per shoot was highest with light pruning and cumulative lengths of new shoots were found to be highest in severe pruning. Fruit yield, size and weight were found to increase with pruning intensities and lowest in case of no pruning. Regarding chemical properties, total soluble solids and total sugar found to increase with enhanced pruning severity and least in case of no pruning. Acidity was found to be highest with no pruning and decrease with increase in pruning intensities. Overall pruning found to have rejuvenating impact on aged trees due to better light interception leading to better photosynthetic rate, better nutrient and water supply with reduced canopy and better quality yields.