Articles
“MINIMAL PRUNING” IN FREE SPINDLE BUSH PEACH TREES TO AVOID AN UNPRODUCTIVE PERIOD
Article number
1084_67
Pages
485 – 494
Language
English
Abstract
In Italy the minimal pruning system (a definition derived from the grapevine pruning technique) is generally utilized in peach orchards.
One of its main rules is to initially obtain a free spindle bush shape, avoiding cutting back the scion at planting time but using lateral shoots to form future fruiting branches.
This experiment involved a comparison of three high density peach plots of 0.5 ha each (with 1,500, 1,100 and 1,100 trees/ha), two varieties (Big Top and Magique) budded on GF677, that were trained until the 4th year, according to three minimal pruning techniques applied for the free bush system.
The trees were converted to a proper spindlebush trees between the 3rd and 4th year and resulted in: 1) equilibrated minimal pruning, practiced during Winter and Summer; 2) reduced pruning time, through reducing the number of pruning cuts, utilizing several temporary fruiting branches (4-6/tree) and pruning only in Winter; 3) further reduction of the number of cuts (time) and then equilibrating the load of fruit with thinning and pruning, leaving more fruiting branches (up to 6-10/tree) in Summer.
The free spindle bush at a density of 1,500 trees/ha performed very well when an equilibrated method of pruning was applied (yield of 18-20 kg/tree/yr with Big Top and 55-64 kg/tree/yr from the 2nd to the 4th year with Magique, corresponding to a cumulative yield of 192 t/ha up to the 4th year.
A further reduction of the pruning time was achieved in plots 2 and 3. By utilizing the production of older wood (branches of 2-3 years) the Big Top trees achieved a higher yield (from 32 to 46 kg/tree/yr), but Magique yields stayed the same.
The most significant result of the highest equilibrated HDP system (1,500 tree/ha) was the size of the Big Top fruit: 57% of the fruits were classified as size A and AA, versus 17-21% in the other two systems.
With Magique 40% of fruits were sizes A-AA almost comparable with the other two systems.
Between the two systems which used old bearing wood, the performance was highest and better (for size) on the second plot (1,100 trees/ha) where the Winter pruned old branches were generally no more than 4-6/tree and therefore most of the best fruiting shoots were maintained on the trees.
One of its main rules is to initially obtain a free spindle bush shape, avoiding cutting back the scion at planting time but using lateral shoots to form future fruiting branches.
This experiment involved a comparison of three high density peach plots of 0.5 ha each (with 1,500, 1,100 and 1,100 trees/ha), two varieties (Big Top and Magique) budded on GF677, that were trained until the 4th year, according to three minimal pruning techniques applied for the free bush system.
The trees were converted to a proper spindlebush trees between the 3rd and 4th year and resulted in: 1) equilibrated minimal pruning, practiced during Winter and Summer; 2) reduced pruning time, through reducing the number of pruning cuts, utilizing several temporary fruiting branches (4-6/tree) and pruning only in Winter; 3) further reduction of the number of cuts (time) and then equilibrating the load of fruit with thinning and pruning, leaving more fruiting branches (up to 6-10/tree) in Summer.
The free spindle bush at a density of 1,500 trees/ha performed very well when an equilibrated method of pruning was applied (yield of 18-20 kg/tree/yr with Big Top and 55-64 kg/tree/yr from the 2nd to the 4th year with Magique, corresponding to a cumulative yield of 192 t/ha up to the 4th year.
A further reduction of the pruning time was achieved in plots 2 and 3. By utilizing the production of older wood (branches of 2-3 years) the Big Top trees achieved a higher yield (from 32 to 46 kg/tree/yr), but Magique yields stayed the same.
The most significant result of the highest equilibrated HDP system (1,500 tree/ha) was the size of the Big Top fruit: 57% of the fruits were classified as size A and AA, versus 17-21% in the other two systems.
With Magique 40% of fruits were sizes A-AA almost comparable with the other two systems.
Between the two systems which used old bearing wood, the performance was highest and better (for size) on the second plot (1,100 trees/ha) where the Winter pruned old branches were generally no more than 4-6/tree and therefore most of the best fruiting shoots were maintained on the trees.
Publication
Authors
S. Sansavini , G. Sorrenti, G.L. Del Vecchio
Keywords
early bearing, feathered unpruned planted trees, summer pruning
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