Summer pruning is performed during the active growth phase of fruit trees, which is also referred to as growth stage pruning. Since this type of pruning involves cutting off leaves, it can significantly affect tree growth and should be done carefully to avoid excessive vegetative growth. Summer pruning serves as a complement to winter pruning, helping to manage new shoots by retaining the most vigorous ones and removing weaker ones. This helps regulate their development, correct their orientation, and ensure that future winter pruning is more efficient and less damaging to the tree.
1. **Bud Girdling**: Also known as eye injury, bud girdling involves making a crescent-shaped cut with a knife or shears just above or below a bud or shoot, reaching the xylem 0.2 to 0.3 cm deep. The purpose is to restrict nutrient and water flow through the wound, encouraging stronger growth in the desired direction. When applied above a bud, it promotes growth; when applied below, it weakens it. This technique is especially effective for young trees. Important considerations include: only cutting the first four buds on main branches, injuring buds 10-15 cm apart on side branches, avoiding back buds, and not injuring branches that are too thin or thick.
2. **Removing Suckers**: From spring to early summer, unnecessary or harmful branches are removed, known as de-suckering. This helps prevent overcrowding and ensures better growth. It’s important to remove sprouts that appear after heavy pruning, eliminate those blocking the main branches, and reduce excessive lateral shoots. For fruit trees with short fruiting branches, removing weak buds allows stronger ones to develop into productive branches. Wiping off excess buds every 20–30 cm helps maintain balance and optimize light and air penetration.
3. **Multiple Ring Cuts**: To prevent bare spots, branches with strong growth are treated before budding. This involves making ring cuts at intervals of 15–20 cm, which encourages the growth of medium and long branches while preventing weak, unproductive shoots.
4. **Ring Barking**: Also called ring peeling, this involves removing a strip of bark from the base of a branch (3–5 cm wide). While it can limit nutrient flow to the roots and weaken the tree, modern techniques like applying Kao Hua Wang No. 2 have reduced damage while still promoting nutrient accumulation. Careful attention must still be given to fertilization and irrigation.
5. **Topping**: This involves cutting the tip of a young shoot during the growing season. Topping helps control growth, encourages nutrient accumulation, and promotes flower bud formation. It also stimulates the growth of lateral branches, improving the overall structure of the tree.
6. **Twisting Shoots**: Between late May and mid-June, upright or crowded shoots are twisted at the base, 5–6 cm from the tip. This bends the shoot downward, reducing its vigor and promoting shorter, more compact growth. It also helps in the formation of flower buds and improves fruit quality.
7. **Branch Pulling**: This technique is used to adjust the angle and direction of large branches. In spring, it helps open up the canopy, promote bud development, and prevent baldness. By midsummer, it helps improve air circulation and light exposure, enhancing fruit quality and color.
8. **Lifting Branches**: Also known as branch bending, this involves gently bending branches to encourage horizontal growth. It helps control excessive vertical growth and promotes the formation of fruiting wood.
9. **Shaping Pruning**: In mid to late August, excessive secondary branches are removed to improve light penetration and enhance flower bud quality. Young shoots can be shortened using a "cap shear" to stimulate the growth of secondary branches and encourage flowering.
While summer pruning plays a vital role in maintaining consistent fruit production and yield stability, it should always be combined with winter pruning and proper orchard management, including soil and water care. Only through an integrated approach can the full potential of fruit trees be realized.
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