The rule of pruning, B.
Pruning high-density orchards, T. Robinson (Cornell University), Fruit Growers News, Technical Articles. Identification bush pruning services, Robins IA pruning branches in tall spindle apple trees for automated pruning, M. Karkee, et. al., Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, Sep 21, Nine varieties of apples are grown commercially in Washington; from the red delicious to the Fuji, all trees have similar growth habits and pruning needs.
Prune two-year-old trees in fall or winter. Leave only three to five scaffold branches. Leave healthy horizontal branches with an equal amount of space between them. Pruning Apple Trees 3 When to Prune If you have a small orchard, delay pruning until it’s nearly spring. Allow for rain and bad weather, but plan to be finished pruning by May 1 or in time to begin spraying.
In many larger orchards, the pruning begins soon after harvest and continues through to spring.
Old trees are pruned first and young trees are left until March and. Start training the first year by selecting a strong central branch as the main leader. Prune off any other branches that have an angle of less than about 65º to the central leader. This will likely result in removing most, if not all, of the extraneous branches. Don‘t worry, more branches will grow during the next warm season.
Summer Pruning. Sometimes light pruning is done in the summer to let light into the tree canopy, or to thin branches for training. Timing and amount of shoot removal is important since it can impact carbohydrate supply to developing fruit and also direct sun exposure of fruit that could lead to sunburn.