Articles
MECHANIZED PRUNNING IN APRICOT PLANTINGS
Large apricot massives were created in some regions of this country, which require large number of workers for the timely and qualitative pruning of trees and harvesting of fruits.
Because of this, industrial cultivation of this fruit species in this country is impossible without mechanization of these two most labour consuming processes.
For an effective utilization of Balkan-3 fruit-harvesting combine in apricot growing, apricot trees need to be specially prepared during the winter prunning.
For this reason, constructor’s and agricultural research institutes are carrying out complex studies aimed at solving most effectively the two problems of apricot prunning and harvesting.
Mechanized contour prunning of apricot trees is fully possible and does not have any negative effect on the vitality of trees and on the yield and quality of fruits obtained.
It is well known, that not all forms of crown are equally suitable for contour prunning.
It is generally accepted, that the flat and semi-flat, in vertical plane, crowns are most suitable for this purpose.
It should be mentioned in this connection, that, in recent years, the need of distinguishing prunning is most suitable to the biologic requirements of plants and prunning, that is necessary because of economic considerations, with a view of obtaining better economic results, is getting ever more apparent.
Experiments with mechanized contour prunning of apricot trees we carried out at the Apricot Experiment Station in Silistra, making use of the RAC-6 trimming apparatus constructed in this country.
These experiments, though not fully completed, provide a basis for some conclusions of great importance for the practice.
These experiments we carried out with apricot trees, variety Hungarian Apricot, planted in 1968, having semi-flat, cup-shaped and improved storey crowns and also with great many other trees of different age, cultivated at the same station or in apricot plantings of agricultural-industrial complexes.
The contour prunning, in comparison to the traditional hand prunning, which aimed mainly at thinning of crowns and insignificant curtailing of separate long and old branches, in the year of its application (1975) brought about a lowering, to some extent, of the yield obtained