How to prune a one-year-old tree?

Young fruit trees grow too fast and are prone to excessive growth and legginess, so good pruning and management are necessary. So how do you prune one-year-old trees? Let’s learn more about it below.

How to prune a one-year-old tree?

1. Open the main branch

By opening the main branches at an angle, you can expand the crown, speed up the shaping of the tree, moderate the growth of the branches, and improve the light inside the crown. The size of the opening angle is determined by the spacing between rows and plants and the shape of the tree. The three main branches at the base are close to a semicircular tree shape, with the main branches opening at an angle of 60-70 degrees and the side branches at 70-80 degrees. The angle of branches close to the ground should be smaller to avoid dragging on the ground.

2. More slow release and less

It means more relaxation, less shortening, and lighter pruning. The intensity and amount of pruning should be appropriate. "Light pruning" of the main branches should not weaken their strength, and "heavy pruning" of the main branches should not be so heavy as to cause the branches to grow too long. When pruning branches, light pruning should be done to avoid causing premature aging of the branches, bare branches, and flowering without fruiting.

3. The amount of pruning should be light

Before a large number of fruits are produced, try not to thin out the branches or do as little thinning as possible, especially when there are few branches under the cut, less than 3-4 branches. Basically, no thinning is done before fruiting. Both competing upright and strong branches need to be “pulled, twisted, and pinched” to control growth and transform results.

4. Topping

Various summer pruning measures can be taken in a timely manner and moderate summer pruning can be carried out. The pruning should not be too light, but not too heavy either. For example, multiple pinching can promote flower bud differentiation and encourage axillary flower buds to bear fruit. Pinching is more effective in overcoming excessive growth in varieties that are prone to excessive growth.

What other management needs should be paid attention to for young trees?

1. Fixed stem

After the saplings are planted, they need to be fixed to the trunk. When fixing the trunk, they must be fixed about 0.5cm above the full buds, because the branches that emerge from the branches will be the main branches to be cultivated in the future. After it is dry, apply healing agent or paint on it to prevent moisture loss.

2. Pull branches

The time for pulling branches is around mid-to-late July. If you pull branches too early, the branches will easily curl up. The angle of pulling branches is about 110 to 120 degrees, and the base angle should be as 90 degrees as possible. When the second tooth is about 40 cm long, if the base is twisted and drooped, the main head competition will not occur. If you don't open the angles or pull the branches after the trunk is fixed, the branch-to-trunk ratio will be unbalanced. There are multiple main heads without any order of importance and the situation is chaotic.

That’s it