Growers Learn New Pruning Methods At Franklin County Field Day
DAVE LEFEVER
Lancaster Farming Staff
WAYNESBORO (Frank
lin Co.) For tree fruit
growers, pruning can be as
much of an art as a science.
While accepting some gen-
Penn State plant pathologist Jim Travis points out
canker on a peach tree. Pruning helps to prevent this
fungal disese by increasing sunlight and air exposure
to the branches. The Kauffman peach trees have few
problems with canker.
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eral pruning guidelines, sea
soned experts usually
combine them with their own
unique approach to the job.
“If you put 50 horticultur
alists together (for a pruning
demonstration), the trees
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would not look the same,”
said Rob Crassweller of Penn
State’s horticulture depart
ment.
Crassweller joined local
fruit growers for a March
hands-on pruning field day at
the Paul Hess farm north of
Waynesboro. About 20
people participated in the
workshop, featuring Gala
apple and Baby Gold peach
trees.
Crassweller demonstrated
an apple tree pruning tech
nique relatively new to the
region. Called the “vertical
axe” or “French axe,” the
goal is to simplify and reduce
the amount of labor involved
in pruning.
One of the principles of
this method is to avoid cut
ting off the top of the tree
the central leader in favor
of letting it “go its natural
way,” Crassweller said. Tra
ditionally, apple growers
have topped the central
leader to limit its growth and
invigorate lateral growth. But
that makes for more pruning
work in subsequent years to
thin out new shoots that grow
as a result of the cut.
“Once you make that cut,
you always have to fight (the
increased number of
shoots),” Crassweller said. A
top cut might result in three
new shoots the following year
and increase to six or seven
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 18,2002, Grower and Marketer-
Rob Crassweller of the Penn State Horticulture De
partment demonstrates pruning on a Baby Gold
peach tree. Paul Hess of Paul’s Country’s Market is in
the background.
shoots the year after, he upward growth and encour
noted- age lateral branching.
In the French axe method, Another characteristic of
the weight and numbers of the French axe method is that
fruit growing on the central i arge r branches are pruned
leader serve to limit its (Turn to Page 14)
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