In the autumn the lateral has now become a three-year-old, so it is now time to prune it very drastically. It is cut back to the point from where it grew out from the main stem originally, leaving a short snag of about inch. This 3rd-year lateral is always cut back hard whether it has carried any fruit or no.
The trees are easily getatable, troubles can be detected immediately and quite a small area of land produces an astonishing yield.Dessert varieties of apples grafted or budded on to the KIX stock are planted out in rows 6 feet apart, allowing 4 feet apart in the rows.
Once they have reached their predetermined height they never alter in shape or size throughout the whole life of the orchard. The exact height and width of the tree is known before the orchard is planted and so it is possible to plan in advance how to make full use of the available machinery to carry out the routine work.
Any secondary growths that develop on these laterals are pruned back to within an inch of their point of origin in October. When the trees are 7 feet high, the main leader growing upwards should be cut back by half in May and from then onwards all growths developing at the top of the tree should be pruned back to within inch of their base each mid-May.
The pruning of the young 'Pillar' tree is also very simple: 1st Winter. The pruning is done immediately after the tree is planted. The maiden (one-year-old) tree is pruned back to about 30 inches from ground level and any 'feathers' or side growths that may be present are cut back to within inch of the main stem.
The leading shoot is pruned to build up the central stem and the lateral growths are pruned to carry the fruit. There should be a strong leading shoot at the top of the young tree and a varying number of laterals which have developed below this leader. The leading shoot is cut in half to just above a bud. The first lateral below the leading shoot is cut back to within 2 inch of the main stem. Only one of the remaining laterals is left unpruned. This should be of moderate length. The remainder are all cut back to within inch of the main stem. - 15266
The trees are easily getatable, troubles can be detected immediately and quite a small area of land produces an astonishing yield.Dessert varieties of apples grafted or budded on to the KIX stock are planted out in rows 6 feet apart, allowing 4 feet apart in the rows.
Once they have reached their predetermined height they never alter in shape or size throughout the whole life of the orchard. The exact height and width of the tree is known before the orchard is planted and so it is possible to plan in advance how to make full use of the available machinery to carry out the routine work.
Any secondary growths that develop on these laterals are pruned back to within an inch of their point of origin in October. When the trees are 7 feet high, the main leader growing upwards should be cut back by half in May and from then onwards all growths developing at the top of the tree should be pruned back to within inch of their base each mid-May.
The pruning of the young 'Pillar' tree is also very simple: 1st Winter. The pruning is done immediately after the tree is planted. The maiden (one-year-old) tree is pruned back to about 30 inches from ground level and any 'feathers' or side growths that may be present are cut back to within inch of the main stem.
The leading shoot is pruned to build up the central stem and the lateral growths are pruned to carry the fruit. There should be a strong leading shoot at the top of the young tree and a varying number of laterals which have developed below this leader. The leading shoot is cut in half to just above a bud. The first lateral below the leading shoot is cut back to within 2 inch of the main stem. Only one of the remaining laterals is left unpruned. This should be of moderate length. The remainder are all cut back to within inch of the main stem. - 15266
