Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 170, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 July 1911 — Pruning Mature Apple Trees Best Apple Crop in Years. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Pruning Mature Apple Trees

Best Apple Crop in Years.

By C. G. WOODBURY,

Horticultural Department

(ZnrwrriXy Agricultural ExUnntn

(Purdue Experiment Station.) The old question still crons up once in awhile as to whether it pays to prune. There ought not to be any such question. It does pay to prune; if trees could talk they would say that it made them feel better to be properly pruned. Their owners can

Fig. 1. This wound was properly made and is starting to heal nicely. A good coat of paint should protect the wood until covered with the callous.

talk if the trees can’t and ninety-five successful apple growers out of a hundred will say that, though they don’t know whether or not pruning makes the trees feel better, it certainly makes them bear better. They will say emphatically that it pays to prune. The other five per cent may be making a sort of success in spite of their neglect of this important phase of good orchard management, certainly not because of their neglect of it. There are a large number of reasons why pruning is necessary but the one practical reason that most people care to know, is that by thorough, common sense pruning the apple orchard Will live longer, be healthier and bear better fruit than it will if it is not so pruned. Pruning may be a means to a number of distinct ends. It may be to

Fig. 2. An example of thoroughly bad pruning. The cut was not started on the underside, hence the limb splintered badly. The stub was left too long, and could never heal.

check growth or to induce growth. It may be to make the trees head higher or lower. It may be done in late winter for one purpose and in sumpier for another purpose. I’m afraid I can’t cover the subject this time, but to begin with, let’s see bow to make the cuts.. The pictures tell the story better than I can. Fig 1 shows ,a wound properly made. It is clean, smooth and close. The cut is parallel to. the main limb. It is starting to heal nicely. The wood is beginning to

check and crack, showing that a coat of thick white lead paint should be put on at once to precent rotting be-fore-the healing callous can cover the wound. Fig. 2 shows a thoroughly bad job. Thousands of apple trees in Indiana have their lives shortened one-half by this kind of abuse. The stub was left too long. It can’t heal over by any possibility. It will eventually rot and make a’knot hole and the decay will get into the heart of the tree. To add to the difficulty, the limb was sawed oft from the upper side and when nearly cut through, of course it split. If the saw cut is started on the under side, the splitting can be avoided. Sometimes it is a good plan to cut the limb off within a foot out from the tree and then finish the job by making a clean, close cut with the saw.

Fig. 3 shows some "humps.” The cuts were not in the right direction, the stubs were too long on one side

Fig. 3. One of the results of bad prun Ing. The stubs were left too long and were not protected with paint. As a result, fire-blight has started at the wounds and nearly killed the tree.

and the wounds gave entrance to fire blight which killed the tree. The principal moral is to cut dose and paint wounds. More about this later.

The horticultural department reports the best apple crop in years at the Purdue orchard. The trees have been sprayed four times with commercial lime sulphur and arsenate of lead. -Other orchards over the state that have received similar treatment do not look as promising because they have not had the continued care that the Purdue orchard has had during their entire lives. Old trees tn the demonstration orchards that carried good prospects during, the early summer are now losing their fruit, they do not seem to have the vitality possessed by trees of the same age that "have been cared for from year to vear