Prune for quality

June 2018 | Steve Spark, AgFirst | Future Orchards® presentation and notes

Pruning is one of the major tools growers have to set crop potential, light distribution, labour efficiency and fruit quality before the growing season begins. Steve Spark’s Future Orchards® material frames pruning as a planned production operation rather than simply the removal of wood.

The aim is to build a calm, well-lit canopy with an appropriate number and distribution of fruiting sites. Removing shaded, overly vigorous or unproductive wood helps direct light into the canopy and improves the quality of buds, fruit colour and the consistency of fruiting wood.

The resource links pruning decisions with crop load, vigour and marketable yield. Simple, repeatable rules help crews apply the desired canopy structure consistently across a block and make supervision easier, particularly where labour efficiency is a major cost driver.

Growers are encouraged to use block performance data and clear quality targets when setting pruning rules. The best pruning plan is therefore specific to variety, rootstock, tree vigour, canopy architecture and the fruit size and quality required by the market.