How to write your own pruning rules

June 2012 | Prepared and presented by AgFirst | Future Orchards® Orchard Walk notes and slideshow

Clear pruning rules turn an orchard objective into instructions that a pruning crew can repeat tree after tree. This Future Orchards® resource shows growers how to move from broad goals such as vigour control, renewal and target bud numbers to a short set of practical actions for a specific block.

The process starts with understanding the block: variety, rootstock, age, vigour, canopy density, crop history and the marketable yield being targeted. From there, pruning rules can define which whole branches should be removed, where renewal cuts should be made and how much fruiting wood should remain.

Simple instructions are easier to supervise and more likely to be applied consistently. The resource reinforces the need to check the finished work against the target canopy and bud load rather than assuming the written rule has automatically delivered the desired result.

Pruning rules should also be reviewed after harvest using yield, packout, fruit size and fruit quality data. In this way pruning becomes part of a feedback loop: set the target, execute a repeatable rule, measure the outcome and refine the rule for the following season.