Severe Pruning Research Articles

Pruning and Chemical Manipulation Influence Leaf Physiological Parameters and Pod Yield Parameters of Perennial Moringa (Moringa oleifera Lam.) cv. Kappalpatti Local During Off-Season

Understanding and controlling the physiological processes that regulate flowering is crucial for producing crops in off-season. To explore this, an experiment was conducted involving various pruning intensities and chemical sprays to induce off-season flowering and fruiting in moringa trees. The experiment followed a Factorial Randomized Block Design, with Factor I representing pruning at four levels: P-1 (No pruning), P-2 (Pinching off the previous year's growth of fruiting branches), P-3 (Light pruning, removing 33% of previous year's growth), and P-4 (Severe pruning, removing 66% of previous year's growth). Factor II involved chemical sprays at seven levels: C-1 (Control - water spray), C-2 to C-7 (Different chemical treatments). A total of 28 treatment combinations were tested with two replications each. Pruning was performed in the second week of July, and chemicals were sprayed twice, with the first application 30 days after pruning and the second 15 days thereafter. Various physiological parameters such as nitrate reductase activity, total carbohydrate content, nitrogen content, carbohydrate: nitrogen ratio, soluble protein, IAA oxidase activity, and gibberellic acid content in leaves were measured using standard procedures. Pod yield-related characteristics such as number of panicles per tree, number of flowers per panicle, number of pods per panicle, and total pod yield per tree were also recorded. Statistical analysis was conducted following Panse and Sukhatme's procedures (1985), revealing significant effects on various physiological parameters by pruning, chemicals, or their combinations. These alterations in physiological parameters induced flowering during the off-season in perennial moringa cv. Kappalpatti local. Notably, the interaction between pinching and foliar application of nitrobenzene at 0.5% (P2 × C7) resulted in 61.15 panicles per tree, while severe pruning combined with foliar application of paclobutrazol at 50 ppm (P4 × C2) led to 125.45 flowers per panicle. Additionally, the interaction between light pruning and foliar application of paclobutrazol at 50 ppm (P3 × C2) showed significantly higher mean numbers of pods per panicle (2.95) and pod yield per tree (14.14 kg).

Effects of a severe recovery pruning in the productivity and fruit quality of two late orange cultivars

Effects of a severe recovery pruning in the productivity and fruit quality of two late orange cultivars

Agronomic response, transpiration and water productivity of four almond production systems under different irrigation regimes

In recent years, more intensive production systems have been developed, coinciding with a growing scarcity of water resources. This context underscores the imperative of prioritizing water productivity (WP) as a critical factor in choosing the optimal production system to minimize agricultural water use. This study aims to contribute by evaluating WP in almond orchards under four production systems: open vase with severe pruning (open vase), open vase with minimal pruning (open vase (MP)), central axis and hedgerow. Three irrigation treatments were applied over two consecutive growing seasons: fully irrigated, mild stress and severe stress. Crop transpiration was monitored over the two years using both sap flow sensors and the two-source energy balance (TSEB) model with remote sensing. The severe stress treatment exhibited a notable reduction in kernel yield and nut load of 31.6 % and 34.5 %, respectively, in the second year of water deficit. The hedgerow system tended to have similar kernel yield to the open vase (MP) and central axis systems, and higher compared to the open vase system. Additionally, both transpiration measurement methods revealed that hedgerow exhibited lower transpiration rates across all irrigation treatments. Therefore, the highest WP was observed in the hedgerow system throughout both studied years. Similar findings were derived from the analysis of long-term data. Our findings indicate that the hedgerow production system had the highest WP, averaging 0.43 kg m−3 historically, compared to 0.33 kg m−3 for the open vase, 0.34 kg m−3 for the open vase (MP), and 0.36 kg m−3 for the central axis systems.

Grapevine pruning strategy affects trunk disease symptoms, wood pathobiome and mycobiome

Vine training and pruning are cultural strategies that can be deployed to manage grapevine trunk diseases (GTDs). Forty-year-old commercial vineyards in the Cognac region, France, trained to either Guyot-Arcure (severe pruning) or Guyot-Poussard (minimal pruning), were studied to determine how the two systems affected trunk disease symptomatology. Effects of pruning practices on the pathobiome and mycobiome of asymptomatic grapevines were also assessed, using culture- and amplicon-based Illumina sequencing approaches. The hypothesis examined was that severe pruning of Guyot-Arcure increases trunk diseases incidence and severity, and causes higher pathogen load and microbial diversity, compared to Guyot-Poussard. Numbers of symptomatic and asymptomatic vines for the two training systems were recorded over 3 years, including numbers of vines with esca foliar symptoms, and partially unproductive and dead vines. Six asymptomatic vines from each pruning method were selected, and culturing and sequencing data were obtained from 27 samples per vine. Fungi in the Phaeomoniellaceae, Togniniaceae, and Botryosphaeriaceae were the most frequently identified. The data indicated that severe pruning increased risk of pathogen infections, with Phaeomoniella chlamydospora, Phaeoacremonium minimum and Diplodia sp. being the most commonly identified fungi. Greater numbers of dead or dying vines were recorded in the severely pruned vineyard, indicating that this strategy shortens vine longevity. Results also showed that severe pruning increased endophytic microbial diversity, and that the pruning methods influenced mycobiome community composition. This knowledge will improve recommendations to growers for practical and cost-effective ways to manage GTDs.

Flowering in Mogra (Jasminum sambac) var. local influenced by time and severity of pruning

Flowering in Mogra (Jasminum sambac) var. local influenced by time and severity of pruning

Canopy Manipulation for Production of Winter Guava (Psidium guajava L.) in the Eastern Himalayan Region of India

Elimination of rainy-season crops is pivotal to encourage winter crops in guava. In general, rainy-season guava fruits are of poor fruit quality, insipid in taste, have poor shelf life, and mostly affected by many insect pests. Pruning is also considered one of the most eco-friendly methods for crop regulation. To fully comprehend the impact of pruning time and severity on flowering, fruit quality, and crop production, a field experiment was carried out. Three alternative pruning times (mid-April, mid-May, and mid-June) at different pruning levels (low, moderate and heavy pruning) were employed in the experiment, which was designed as two-factor factorial RBD. For obtaining optimal fruiting, size of fruit and quality of fruit attributes, mid-May pruning has proven to be the best time for guava pruning. Whereas, concerning pruning severity, moderate pruning (pruning 1/2 of the current season’s shoot length) showed a good response to yield and fruit quality parameters. Therefore, the present study concluded that moderate pruning of guava trees during the month of mid-May proved to be the most effective for producing winter-season guava with good yield and superior quality.

Effect of severity of Pruning and integrated nutrient management on growth and yield custard apple

Effect of severity of Pruning and integrated nutrient management on growth and yield custard apple

Effect of different levels of pruning and nitrogen fertilizer on vegetative traits and chemical content of Rosmarinus officinalis L.

The experiment was performed in a greenhouse belonging to the Department of Horticulture and Landscaping gardening, College of Agriculture, Tikrit University for the period from November 2021 - May 2022. The experiment included two factors: the level of pruning (without pruning, moderate pruning, and severe pruning); the addition of nitrogen fertilizer at two levels (73.4 and 146.7 g N.L-1 in the form of urea (46% N) according to the randomized complete block design (RCBD), with three replicates and three plants for each experimental unit. The results showed that the treatment of severe pruning (H2) and moderate pruning (H1) were significantly superior in the trait of the branches number (26.65 and 24.61 plants.branches-1), respectively. The treatment without pruning (H0)) was significantly superior in the leaves content of chlorophyll of (0.36 mg.g-1). The nitrogen fertilization treatment of the first concentration (F1) had a significant effect on the trait of plant height, which amounted to 37.28 cm. As for the nitrogen fertilization treatment of the second concentration (F2), it was significantly superior in the percentage of nitrogen 1.31%, phosphorous 0.24%, and potassium 1.43%. As for the interaction, the treatment (S1H0) was significantly superior in the leaves content of chlorophyll, and the treatments (H0F1) and (H0F2) also gave a significant superiority in the leaves content of chlorophyll. The interference treatment (H2F2) also led to a significant superiority in the leaves content of phosphorous. As for potassium

The ecosystem disservices of trees on sidewalks: A study based on a municipality urban tree inventory in Central Italy

Urban green infrastructure, including street trees, plays a key role in providing ecosystem services to urban residents. However, to fully understand the effective role of trees in the urban context, it is also necessary to evaluate the disservices that they can produce in the development of their functions if not managed in an adequate and integrated way. This contribution aims to demonstrate an approach to assess three disservices (pavement damage, aesthetic damage, likelihood of tree failure) of street trees at the municipal level, starting from the existing municipal tree inventory. In this case study, from the street tree population, a sample of approximately 5% of the trees was drawn by stratified random sampling, where the strata were composed of groups of tree species. In particular, a sampling scheme is adapted in which the probability to select a tree in the sample is greater for bigger trees, under the assumption that the bigger the trees the greater are the disservices caused. In this way, a greater precision of the estimates of the considered disservices for the population of urban trees is expected. The results show a high variability of disservices provision among species groups. The results also confirmed a positive correlation between the considered disservices and tree diameter at breast height, while other tree attributes such as total height and crown diameter were found to be positively related only to pavement damages. Finally, severe pruning can lead to a high level of the aesthetic and functional disservices even for shorter and younger street trees.

Establishing tagasaste from seed in Waikato hill country

Tagasaste (tree lucerne) can be difficult to establish from seed due to its hard seed coat and high levels of seedling mortality. Three experiments were performed. Experiment 1: Effect of gibberellic acid, potassium nitrate, seed nicking + soaking in warm water (38oC for 24 hours), soaking seeds in boiling water and a coldwater control on germination. The highest germination percentage occurred from the warm and boiling water treatments. Experiment 2: Effect of slug bait, rhizobia and phosphorus fertiliser on establishment of tagasaste seed which had been hand sown into a herbicide-treated pasture. Of the 1600 hand-sown seeds, emergence was negligible, and no treatments varied significantly from the untreated control. Greater pasture suppression is required for successful establishment. Experiment 3: Examined removal of 20%, 40%, 60% or 80% of the height of a seedling on tagasaste branching. Branch number was similar for all treatments 83 days aftertrimming the main stem. Removing 20% or 40% of the seedling height produced three-fold greater edible dry matter than when 80% of the seedling height was removed (P<0.001). Although pruning treatments did not affect branch number, a less severe pruning regime resulted in the regrowth of the greatest amount of edible dry matter.

Forcing vine regrowth under different irrigation strategies: effect on polyphenolic composition and chromatic characteristics of cv. Tempranillo wines grown in a semiarid climate.

One of the effects of climate change in warm areas is the asynchrony between the dates of the technological and the phenolic maturity of grapes. This is important because the quality and color stability of red wines are directly related to the content and distribution of phenolic compounds. A novel alternative that has been proposed to delay grape ripening and make it coincide with a seasonal period more favorable for the formation of phenolic compounds is crop forcing. This consists of severe green pruning after flowering, when the buds of the following year have already differentiated. In this way, the buds formed during the same season are forced to sprout, initiating a new delayed cycle. The aim of the present work is to study the effect on the phenolic composition and color of wines elaborated from vines fully irrigated (C), grown using conventional non-forcing (NF) and forcing (F) techniques (C-NF and C-F), and wines from vines subjected to regulated irrigation (RI), grown using NF and F techniques (RI-NF and RI-F). The trial was carried out in an experimental vineyard of the Tempranillo variety located in a semi-arid area (Badajoz, Spain) in the 2017-2019 seasons. The wines (four by treatment) were elaborated and stabilized according to the classic methodologies for red wine. All wines had the same alcohol content, and malolactic fermentation was not carried out in any of them. Anthocyanin profiles were analyzed by HPLC, and total polyphenolic content, anthocyanin content, catechin content, the contribution to color due to co-pigmented anthocyanins, and various chromatic parameters were also determined. Although a significant effect of year was found for almost all the parameters analyzed, a general increasing trend in F wines was found for most of them. The anthocyanin profile of F wines was found to differ from that of C wines, especially in delphinidin, cyanidin, petunidin, and peonidin content. These results indicate that by using the forcing technique it was possible to increase the polyphenolic content by ensuring that the synthesis and accumulation of these substances occurred at more suitable temperatures.

Effect of Different Levels of Pruning and Nitrogen Fertilizer on the Quality and Quantity of the Volatile Oil of Rosmarinus officinalis L.

The experiment was performed in a greenhouse belonging to the Department of Horticulture and Landscaping gardening, College of Agriculture, Tikrit University from November 2021 - May 2022. The experiment included two factors: the level of pruning (without pruning, moderate pruning, and severe pruning); the addition of nitrogen fertilizer at two levels (73.4 and 146.7 g N.L-1 in the form of urea (46% N) according to the randomized complete block design (RCBD). The results showed that the nitrogen fertilization treatment (F2) significantly excelled in the quantity of oil (2.505 g. 50 g plant-1) and the specific weight of the oil (0.907 g.ml-1) and an increase in the active substances (Cinol, Limonene, and α-Pinene), which amounted to (32.701, 4.476, and 8.407 mg. g plant-1).

Growth Response of Trees with Different Growth Statuses to Pruning on a Pinus massoniana Lamb. Plantation

Pruning is an important technique in culturing good knot-free timber. However, to make more accurate pruning plans, it is necessary to consider the growing status of trees and set reasonable pruning intensities based on this. In a seven-year-old Pinus massoniana Lamb. plantation, we carried out pruning twice with a time interval of two years. The treatments included one unpruned treatment (CK) and five pruned treatments (from P1 to P5, representing the live branch height being kept at 68%, 55%, 60%, 55% and 45% of the tree height). CK, P1 and P2 were conducted in the first pruning in March 2019, and the remaining treatments were conducted in the second pruning in January 2021. The growth investigations were carried out in March 2019, December 2019, December 2020 and December 2021. Another investigation was carried out only for the measurement of live branch heights and crown widths in January 2021 just after the second pruning. The results showed that pruning resulted in a 15.08% to 60.62% increase in diameter growth and an 10.28% to 29.87% increase in volume growth. The stem form was also improved. Significant differences were recorded in live branch heights after green pruning but gradually recovered to the same level in two years by branch senescence. Pruning also resulted in a faster extension of the crown width with an enlarged growing space by the removal of green branches. We highlighted that trees with different growth statuses responded differently to pruning intensities: trees of weak growth statuses grew better under a light pruning intensity, while those with a strong growth status grew better under a severe pruning intensity. Overall, for the seven-year-old young mason pine plantation, keeping four rounds of branches in trees with diameters of less than 8 cm and keeping three rounds of branches in trees with diameters of more than 8 cm were appropriate measures.

Agro-Physiological Traits of Kaffir Lime in Response to Pruning and Nitrogen Fertilizer under Mild Shading.

Mild shading has been reported to increase leaf production in kaffir lime (Citrus hystrix) through the improvement of agro-physiological variables, such as growth, photosynthesis, and water-use efficiency; however, there is still a knowledge gap concerning its growth and yield after experiencing severe pruning in harvest season. Additionally, a specific nitrogen (N) recommendation for leaf-oriented kaffir lime is still unavailable due to its lesser popularity compared to fruit-oriented citrus. The present study determined the best pruning level and N dose based on agronomy and the physiology of kaffir lime under mild shading. Nine-month-old kaffir lime seedlings grafted to rangpur lime (C. limonia) were arranged in a split-plot design, i.e., N dose as a main plot and pruning as a subplot. Comparative analysis resulted in 20% higher growth and a 22% higher yield in the high-pruned plants by leaving 30 cm of main stem above the ground rather than short ones with a 10 cm main stem. Both correlation and regression analysis strongly highlighted the importance of N for leaf numbers. Plants treated with 0 and 10 g N plant-1 experienced severe leaf chlorosis due to N deficiency, while those treated with 20 and 40 g N plant-1 showed N sufficiency; thus, the efficient recommendation for kaffir lime leaf production is 20 g N plant-1.

Effect of Pruning on Morphological and Biochemical Characteristics of Grapes (Vitis vinifera L.)

The objectives of this study were to determine whether bud pruning severity impacts some pomological traits of white and red varieties of table grapes. Vine canes were pruned to 3 or 6 buds in 12-year-old vines in conventional systems. Results revealed that number of bunches, bunch weight, bunch width, number of shot berries, and berries per bunch was significantly (p<0.05) affected by the bud pruning, whereas bud pruning had no significant effect on bunch length. In general, moderate bud pruning can enhance the nutritional quality of table grapes.

Polycomb group genes are required for neuronal pruning in Drosophila

BackgroundPruning that selectively eliminates unnecessary or incorrect neurites is required for proper wiring of the mature nervous system. During Drosophila metamorphosis, dendritic arbourization sensory neurons (ddaCs) and mushroom body (MB) γ neurons can selectively prune their larval dendrites and/or axons in response to the steroid hormone ecdysone. An ecdysone-induced transcriptional cascade plays a key role in initiating neuronal pruning. However, how downstream components of ecdysone signalling are induced remains not entirely understood.ResultsHere, we identify that Scm, a component of Polycomb group (PcG) complexes, is required for dendrite pruning of ddaC neurons. We show that two PcG complexes, PRC1 and PRC2, are important for dendrite pruning. Interestingly, depletion of PRC1 strongly enhances ectopic expression of Abdominal B (Abd-B) and Sex combs reduced, whereas loss of PRC2 causes mild upregulation of Ultrabithorax and Abdominal A in ddaC neurons. Among these Hox genes, overexpression of Abd-B causes the most severe pruning defects, suggesting its dominant effect. Knockdown of the core PRC1 component Polyhomeotic (Ph) or Abd-B overexpression selectively downregulates Mical expression, thereby inhibiting ecdysone signalling. Finally, Ph is also required for axon pruning and Abd-B silencing in MB γ neurons, indicating a conserved function of PRC1 in two types of pruning.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates important roles of PcG and Hox genes in regulating ecdysone signalling and neuronal pruning in Drosophila. Moreover, our findings suggest a non-canonical and PRC2-independent role of PRC1 in Hox gene silencing during neuronal pruning.

Determining Optimal Levels of Pruning in Hylocereus undatus [(Haw.) Britton and Rose] in Trellis Systems

The main objective of this work was to determine the optimum level of pruning in pitaya. In addition, we want to establish the relationship between pruning levels and the intensity of flowering, and between flowering levels and heavy flower bud drop that affects this species. With these aims, two experiments were performed on Hylocereus undatus [(Haw.) Britton and Rose] cultivated in greenhouses and trained in a trellis system. Our results conclude that cane pruning leaving 15 cladodes per meter in a trellis system is the most productive, as it yielded more fruit of similar weight. Positive relationships between flowering and setting, regardless of pruning levels, justify less severe pruning. Fruit set and size did not depend on pruning levels, although we found a fruit weight reduction when a single cladode developed more than one fruit. Flower buds drop was proportionally higher in cladodes forming more flowers, suggesting that bud competition plays a role in their drop. However, flower bud thinning seems unnecessary, although if a flower is to be chosen, it is better to select those formed at the apex of the cladode since they produce larger fruits.

Mango anthracnose integrated management

Mango anthracnose in mango in the tropical and subtropical regions of Mexico is a disease that induces serious economic losses, caused by Colletotrichum gloesporioides. The objective of this research was to determine the efficiency of integrated management for anthracnose control and to identify the critical moment for disease management. The work was carried out on cv. 'Ataúlfo', in Guerrero, Mexico, in three production cycles. The identification of the pathogen was confirmed and during a period of 11 months the abundance of spores in the canopy of the trees was examined. Three treatments were evaluated: integrated management with severe pruning (MIM-Pruning), integrated management without severe pruning (MIM) and Control treatment. The climate was conducive to the development of the disease (>80% incidence). The greatest increase in spores, with 65.9 to 84.1 spores/week, was observed during summer vegetative growth, in the phase of flowering and fruit set on the rachis, with its subsequent decrease in fruit growth. The MIM-Pruning and MIM treatment showed consistent results of less area under the disease curve progress (AUDCP), in foliage and flowering, causing a greater definitive fruit set per inflorescence and marketable fruits per tree with respect to the Control (P ≤0.05). Field pathogen population management should begin with the spraying of fungicide products in the summer vegetative growth phase and before the full flowering stage. Pruning is a practice that should be included in anthracnose management.

Pruning and Water Saving Management Effects on Mango High-Density and Mature Orchards

Water is getting scarce and irrigation practices should become more efficient. Mango orchards require great quantities of water, and policies in developing countries are substituting surface gravity irrigation by pressurized systems. A commercial orchard having mature 25-year-old trees and a 10-year-old HD high-density section were irrigated with micro sprinklers using 100% ETc (crop evapotranspiration) and reduced deficit irrigation treatments of 75% and 50% ETc. Water soil measurements were made with EC-5 probes at 10 and 35 cm in depth to study the effect of the different irrigation treatments. After the 2020 harvest, mature trees were trimmed without achieving pruning severity greater than 1.3. Canopy volume, mango size, fruit yield and water-use efficiency WUE were analyzed during 2020 and 2021. Sporadic storms produced sprinkler watering problems as weeds proliferated within trees. A controller with a fuzzy algorithm optimized orchard management and saved water in trees without decreasing yield and fruit size. It was found that one year after mature trees were trimmed by taking away the larger internal branch, more light penetrated the canopy, increasing yield by 60%; pruning in HD trees presented a yield increase of 5.37%. WUE (water-use efficiency) also increased with pruning and its value increased to 87.6 when the fuzzy controller and the 50% DI treatments were used in mature trees. This value was 260% greater than the one obtained in pruned trees without the controller. HD trees presented a lower WUE and yield per hectare than mature trees.

Pruning intensity and severity affect flowering processes in the mango tree

Pruning is one of the most important management practices for the mango tree, and it is known to affect vegetative growth. Pruning may affect mango tree flowering as well, at least indirectly, as close relationships exist between vegetative growth and mango reproduction. The objective of this study was to quantify the effects of pruning on flowering. An experiment was conducted in 2016 in Reunion Island on adult mango trees, cv. Cogshall. Pruning was applied after harvest and characterized by pruning intensity (defined as the amount of fresh biomass removed per unit volume of canopy) and pruning severity (defined as the distance between the distal end of the branch and the pruning point). Vegetative growth was recorded on 30 pruned and 30 unpruned terminal growth units (GUs) per tree. After vegetative growth and the resting period, flowering was described, in terms of occurrence, intensity and dynamics, on five populations of terminal GUs characterized by their age and origin (initial pruned and unpruned GUs that did not growth after pruning, or daughter GUs stemmed from them after pruning). Flowering occurrence, intensity and dynamics were affected by the population of GUs and by pruning intensity and severity. For instance, flowering probability on daughter GUs produced on pruned GUs increased with pruning intensity and decreased with pruning severity. Moreover, some terminal GUs produced on pruned or unpruned GUs of pruned trees flowered late, leading to a second flowering event. Finally, the results showed that pruning affects mango tree flowering through the proportion and flowering ability of the different populations of GUs within the canopy generated by pruning. As a next step, vegetative and flowering responses to pruning at the GU scale may be integrated into a functional-structural mango tree model to further analyze their complex effects and interactions at the tree scale.