Page 37 - Simply Veg 4 2022

Summer pruned
to use lead weights attached to clothes pegs which were attached to the laterals and branches, but these are out of fashion now that new fruit growing methods are being used commercially. Once tied down for a period of time the branches and laterals will set and whatever medium was used can be removed.
Most trees will not need this treatment as the majority of them will develop a good balance of horizontal laterals as well as upwardgrowingbranches.However,some varieties of fruit have a tendency to upright growth - and many pears do this - and so tying down is a very valuable tool.
Root Management and Pruning
On occasion a fruit tree will happily grow away without thinking of producing future generations and needs to be shocked into fruit production. There are two methods of doing this via the root system and I have used both very successfully and both of theseshouldbeundertakeninthedormant season of December to March. The first
of these is very applicable to younger fruit trees - say up to 10 years old and simply involves digging up the tree and replanting it in the same position. The tree becomes shocked and will start producing fruit buds the following autumn. For some reason this method is particularly effective on pears andstonefruits.
The second method - used for older trees - is to use root pruning. The effect is the same as for completely digging up a tree and replacing it. What needs to be done with this method is a small trench is dug around the tree to a diameter of around 900mm(3feet).Digcarefullysothatthe roots are not damaged and to achieve this
I prefer to dig by hand. Once the roots are exposed cut around half of the big thick roots and remove a small section. When
Branches tied down
this is done replace all removed soil.
In both methods apply a good handful of
blood, fish and bone and water for the first part of the new growing season.
Bark Ringing
This is a simple operation designed to check the growth of very vigorous fruit trees and bring them into bearing. The effect of bark-ringing is to check the downward flow of sap, thus conserving the concentratedfoodsuppliesinbranches and shoots. As a result, fruit buds are developed and strengthened, and unfruitful growth is checked. Bark-ringing can be used on well growing apple and pear trees quite safely but do not use this method on any stone fruit tree. In the case of stone fruits, root pruning in autumn is much to be preferred to bark-ringing as a means of encouraging fruiting. It is a very old method and has been practiced by gardeners for many years. In recent years it has been employedbycommercialfruitgrowers
and gardeners, particularly in Europe. The operation is carried out in the spring, usually in May when the sap must be running freely so that the bark lifts easily and cleanly without tearing.
Bark ringing can be an extremely helpful type of pruning, if done correctly and when utilized properly, this can limit the growth oftreesenoughtohelpfocustheenergyof the tree more on fruit production. However, if the procedure isn’t done correctly, then you can find yourself with a seriously damaged tree that could possibly die. Remember that this procedure should only be done around May, as this is when most treesbegintoexperiencetheirgrowth spurts, and it will be most effective then.
I personally advise that you only use this method as a last resort as I believe that my previous options will more than likely
suffice. But if you want to go ahead with this you may prefer to do it in stages to avoid damaging the tree too much. This means that it will end up taking several years to get a complete ring out of the tree. Each year, you will make a new cut, but offset at an angle. Eventually the bark ring will look like a spiral around the tree.
You have had my health warning but if you would like to consider this method here goes!
• Makingyourcuts.Useameasuring tape, and mark off a spot on the trunk of your tree about 600mm (two feet) above the ground. This is where the ring will start. Make two cuts, at an upward angle, that goes around half of the tree. The cuts should be between (6mm to 13mm (1/4 inch and 1/2 inch) apart from each other, and equal in length. Make two smaller cuts at each end of the half spiral to form one long rectangular spiral.
• Removingthebark.Takeaknifeand begin removing the bark from the tree. Be careful when you do this though, since you only want to remove the bark down to the cambium layer of the wood. The cambium layer is the green coloured layer that you usually find right underneath the bark. Remove all of the bark in the marked area.
• Coveringthewound.Onceyouhave removed all of the bark down to the cambium level, get some adhesive tape. This tape will be used to cover the wound you just made and help prevent the area from completely drying out. Think of it as a bandage.
• Repeattheprocess.Atthesametime the following year, repeat the process. This time though, continue on from the end of the last cut, still going on in a circling spiral upwards.
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