- Conclusions of the videoconference: “The importance of pruning and its influence on productivity” organized by EDYPRO.
- The talk was attended by experienced technicians in the field.
- Pruning purposes, typologies, structure and main guides; “False beliefs” are some of the issues that have been addressed.
Pruning is responsible for almost 50% of the crop success. This is the main conclusion reached by the technicians who have participated in the videoconference “The importance of pruning and its influence on productivity” organized by EDYPRO. That is why it is necessary to carry out this work correctly with the appropriate technique, knowing the configuration of the tree and correcting it depending on its stage of development.
The talk was led by Vicente Puchol, Technical Director and manager of EDYPRO, and he was accompanied by Javier Ribelles, manager and technician of Fruteq, and Paco Martín, manager and technician of Pavisa Alginet. Both technicians have extensive experience in pruning and manage almost 400 hectares of crops.
The first part of the videoconference has been dedicated to analyzing the purposes of pruning: to achieve a balance in the tree between the vegetative and the productive part, which is maintained throughout its life with optimal behavior, to reduce the overrun and energy wasting to improve the quality of the fruit.
In this sense, Vicente Puchol has pointed out that before starting the pruning it is necessary to understand the formation of the tree, “there is a false belief that all trees have to be configured by removing the skirts, limiting the height and emptying their interior, but it is not like that. Each tree has its height and if it is not respected, it becomes dwarfed, its productivity potential is subtracted and its life is shortened,” he pointed out. This is the first aspect on which the experts have denied one of the most repeated hoaxes. “No, not all trees are pruned the same since each variety and each pattern has concrete and specific behaviors.”
The three experts have commented on the importance of distributing the structure of the tree, leaving “fair, well-defined and respected guides.” “Trees with dichotomies (2 guides) work much better than with 3 or 4 guides and this is essential for evergreen fruit trees” they have pointed out.
As Vicente Puchol has explained, there is a tendency to remove the skirts and lower the height of the trees “this has no physiological or scientific basis”. “Trees that are hillside shrubs need good skirts, which are the most productive part“.
Another widely held belief is that citrus fruits do not need to be pruned every year and that this is how you save. As Javier Ribelles has pointed out “it does not mean any savings because the pruning wastes will be duplicate, but also risk of imbalances is increased, and the tree does not ventilate or receive enough light”.
In the tree formation stage, the three technicians have agreed that pruning is a vital process for any fruit tree. As Javier Ribelles has explained, “in the formation pruning the shape of the tree is determined when it is adult”. In this phase, the height of the withers is determined and the vigor and location of the shoots are observed. “With pruning, it is necessary to ensure that these are evenly distributed throughout the circumference that makes up the crown,” he commented.
Vicente Puchol has added that in vigorous trees it is advisable to do two pruning in the same year when they are in the formation stage. “The logistics cost is lower and the vegetative development can be brought forward one year, which means a gain in time.”
On this subject, Paco Martín has commented on the “urban legend” that exists about green pruning in persimmons. “Before it was not done like that and production start was delayed up to 5 years. With green pruning you get fruit in the third spring,” he pointed out.
In the maintenance pruning of adult trees, the three have emphasized the need9 to know the physiology of the tree, although the branches ventilation and the crown allowing the passage of light are essential factors in common to any variety.
Vicente Puchol has outlined the steps before starting the pruning: analyze the tree, define and plan the main guidelines, observe the tree from the outside before starting the pruning operation, determine which branches are left over and, above all, begin pruning from the outside to the inside, eliminating in the secondary branches the developments with a vertical tendency that take an inappropriate role and place; and finally, start cutting by practicing clean cuts without leaving stumps or bumps (short branches with very little vegetation).
Javier Ribelles has recommended that it is better to proceed with pruning when the tree has a good circulation of sap to make it easier for it to regain the balance it had before being pruned. Moreover, the tool must be disinfected, the cuts must be clean, without tears and with an orientation that prevents the water from stagnating. It is also advisable to paint the cuts with healing.
Regarding this aspect, Paco Martín has also advised to analyze each branch before cutting it, to know by the appearance of the same and the color of the skin which are productive and interesting to respect and which are very vegetative and should be left just in case it is a main guide and does the effect of sap strip. For Martín, precision in pruning is as important as the pruning itself. “Pruning is not cutting branches randomly; it is about knowing how to prune by eliminating branches that are no longer productive and those that are not going to provide us with quality fruit”.