How to prune apricot trees of different ages? When will you trim it?

​ apricot is a common kind of fruit tree in China, which has high economic value, so it is planted in many areas, but in order to achieve high yield, it is necessary to master certain planting skills and prune it regularly. How to prune apricot trees of different ages? How do you cut it?

1. Winter pruning of young trees and first fruit trees

Young apricot trees and apricot trees that have just entered the fruiting stage are generally very vigorous, with rapid growth of trunk and crown, long extension, large growth of new shoots, and often produce many irregular secondary branches. Especially in the corner, and on the straight and extended branches, there are more erect strong branches, if not dealt with in time, it is easy to disturb the tree shape and affect the growth and development of backbone branches. During this period, pruning apricot trees should take into account both the overall shape and fruit. The extended branches of the main branches and lateral branches should be cut and put lightly, and the length of the whole branch should be cut short. Remove dense squeezed branches, multi-branched branches, overlapping branches and disordered tree-shaped strong branches, and control the growth of competitive branches and erect branches. The developing branches with relatively open angles should be released slowly to promote the germination of medium and short branches and increase the number of fruiting branches; after flowering or fruiting, they should be retracted and cultured into fruiting branches in time. The branches with large angle of medium and short branches and easy flowering should be retained as far as possible, which is beneficial and fruiting. The young trees with slow growth and insufficient vitality should be truncated properly, the branches that are too dense and thin should be thinned, and the strong branches should be retained as far as possible to promote the development of sturdy medium and short fruit branches. Culture result branch group. The overgrown branches that germinate inside the crown, grow exuberantly and are planted in a suitable position can be picked out and used slowly in time. When pruning all levels of main and lateral branches, choose to leave full buds to continue to extend outward and expand the crown.

Winter pruning of apricot trees in full fruiting period

After 3-5 years of shaping and pruning of young apricot trees, the whole tree structure is basically formed, the crown is also beginning to take shape, and the proportion of all kinds of branch combinations is basically complete. With the yield rising year by year, it indicates that the fruit trees have entered the full fruit period. In the early stage of the full fruit period, with the gradual increase of the number of fruit, the branch growth of apricot trees weakened obviously, and the growth of trees gradually relaxed. at this stage, the reproductive growth of trees was greater than the vegetative growth of trees, and the amount of pruning was also reduced. The short cut should not be overweight when pruning, otherwise it will stimulate the sprouting and vigorous branches near the cut, inhibit the germination of the lower buds, and even cause the basal branchlets to die prematurely. Pruning of elongated and developmental branches. It can be flexibly mastered according to the principle of less cutting of strong branches and more cutting of weak branches. After the vegetative branches and extended branches are properly cut off, the top can produce robust new shoots and the lower part can produce fruit branches. If the short cut is too light, although more fruit branches can be formed, the new shoots at the top will grow weakly, which can easily make the vegetative growth and reproductive growth lose balance, weaken the tree growth and shorten the full fruit life. In the middle and later stages of the full fruit stage, the fruit position began to move out, the basal branches began to be bare, the fruit yield decreased gradually, and the fruit was easy to bear in large and small years. At this time, we should strengthen the comprehensive management of fertilizer and water through reasonable pruning, adjust and maintain the healthy growth of the tree, balance the relationship between growth and fruit, prolong the full fruit life, and improve the economic benefit. Although the medium and short fruit branches and bouquet-like fruit branches on the main and lateral branches bear fruit earlier, they only rely on the apical leaf buds and extend slowly year by year, so the life span of this kind of fruit branch is shorter, the longest is no more than 5-6 years. This kind of fruit branch plays an important role in the early high yield, but after entering the full fruit stage, it is more likely to die and cause baldness. Therefore, starting from the shaping of young trees, the vegetative branches with strong growth should be used in a planned way to cultivate larger fruiting branches to prevent the inner chamber from being bald. The fruiting branch on the back of the main branch or side branch has a long effective fruiting life, but if it is allowed to grow naturally, it is easy to form a tree on the tree, disturb the tree shape, and compete with the backbone branch, such as pruning and changing its extension direction, that is, from upright to oblique, it can slow down the growth, do not compete with the backbone branch, and can be used for fruit for a long time.

With the increase of the age of apricot trees, the fruit yield increased gradually and stabilized, the growth momentum of the trunk gradually weakened, and the tree potential gradually relaxed. The main purpose of pruning at this time is to maintain the tree potential and prolong the fruiting years of the trees in the full fruiting period. When pruning, according to the growth of the technical strip and the space of each part of the crown, we can properly cut the dense branches and the weak branches in order to maintain the stable fruiting position and growth potential. For all levels of elongated branches, moderate truncation is generally carried out (cutting off the current year's branches 1 / 3 / 3 / 2 / 3) to produce robust new shoots. The weakening trunk branch, side branch, perennial auxiliary branch, fruiting branch group and drooping branch were retracted and renewed or raised in the part of the strong branch to restore the growth state. For the lower part of the crown and inner bore branches, attention should be paid to pruning, renewal and rejuvenation, so as to continuously produce new robust fruiting branches. The over-dense branches and strong branches in the upper and outer parts of the crown were retracted or thinned to improve the inner chamber light. Apricot branch formation ability is weak, for each part of the fruiting branch group, long fruit branch and moderately growing branches, as long as it is not too dense, generally do not remove, can cut short a small number of long branches, so that the middle and lower parts of the medium and short branches bear fruit alternately.

Winter pruning of Apricot trees in Aging period

During the aging period, the growth of the extended branches of apricot trees became weaker, the new shoots grew less and shorter, the backbone branches began to droop, and the inside of the crown began to be bald. As a result, the yield of apricot decreased sharply on the surface of the crown. The main task of pruning at this stage is to renew the backbone branches, enhance the growth situation of the tree, and prolong the fruit life and life of apricot trees. To make good use of the middle and lower part of the strong growth of the upper back branch to change the head. Or retract in the more erect branches to promote the germination of hidden buds. For the overgrown branches with proper position, pruning was used to cultivate them into backbone branches and fruiting branches. For the groups of fruiting branches and fruiting branches, the principle of "removing the weak and staying strong" was adopted, and the strong branches and buds were selected for renewal and pruning. For trees that have been extremely weak and difficult to renew, field management such as fertilization and watering can be strengthened. If the growth part of the old apricot tree is renewed and the crown is removed, a large number of new branches and buds can sprout in the same year. By wiping buds in summer, coring and pruning in winter, they can blossom and bear fruit in the second year, restore a certain yield, and even increase the yield.

IV. Problems that should be paid attention to in the process of pruning apricot trees

Pruning apricot trees should be carried out scientifically, otherwise it will affect the growth of trees and the quality of fruits.

① pruning the elongated branches of all levels of the backbone, the amount of pruning should be controlled at 1 / 2 / 1 / 3 of the branch length.

The thin and short fruit branches in the middle and lower part of the crown should be removed or retracted in time by ②, and the strong branches left should be cut short properly.

③ should remove the cross branches, overlapping branches and over-dense branches in the middle and upper part of the crown in time so as to maintain a good ventilation and light transmission condition inside the crown.

④ can retract properly for the fruiting branches that bear fruit year after year and grow weaker, promote the growth of basal branches, and form new fruiting branches.

In the later stage of full fruit, due to the heavy load (fruit) all the year round, the angle of the main branch is easy to open too large, and the main branch is easy to sprout and grow on the back of the main branch. if it can be used, it should pick the heart when the branch reaches 40~50cm, promote the branch, and culture it into the fruiting branch group; for the hanging branches around the crown, they can retract to the upward branch in time to raise the branch angle.