Pruning Fruit Trees

Professional Fruit Tree Pruning Services

In matured fruit trees it often becomes difficult to pick many of the fruit which are high in the upper canopy. As the lower canopy is normally heavily shaded the flowering and fruit set is normally poor

Your Branch Manager is available to provide the appropriate pruning that will promote your tree to produce more fruit on branches where the picking of fruits is more convenient.

Mango trees are a fine example of some of the pruning techniques that Your Branch Manager utilises to address a problem and the benefits that can be achieved.

Mango trees on the Gold Coat will grow to be of a moderate to large size, with a very dense canopy. If left unpruned the tree will grow to a considerable height, with most of the fruit too tall to be picked.

Unfortunately these tall ripening fruit will often attract fruit bats, which will in time decimate most of the fruit and will often leave their calling cards. Between the loss of fruit & the bat droppings, tall mango trees can be a problem.

These problems can be effectively addressed by suitable pruning. Your Branch Manager can selectively prune mango trees to reduce the canopy height, while improving the aeration and sunlight and fruit set to the lower canopy. The lower remaining branches will bear fruit that can be more easily picked and will be less prone to fruit bat damage . If the fruit bats continue to visit, mangos might need to be picked prior to becoming ripe or the tree can be covered with netting.

Refer To Tree Surgery for the control of Anthracnose and Bacterial Black Spot in Mangoes

Orchard Pruning

In most matured fruit tree orchards the cost of picking fruit from the taller branches of matured trees can become prohibitive, while the shading effect of the upper canopy reduces flowering & fruit set in the tree’s lower canopy.

Your Branch Manager is available to provide specialist orchard pruning. Selective, corrective pruning, a reduction of the upper canopy along with a canopy thinning will often reduce picking costs, improve fruit production & provide a financial benefit to the orchard.

Avocado Orchards

Most avocado orchards have been planted at inter row and inter tree spacing that has led to overcrowding and tall upper canopies. The overcrowding has led to shading between the trees at the expense of good flowering and fruit set and fruit on the upper tall canopy are prohibitive to pick.

Staghorning Avocados Trees

Many established orchards have found that the severe pruning technique of Staghorning has successfully established good cropping within a reasonable period of time.

Although I find it difficult to recommend the severe pruning technique of staghorning, for the management of avocado orchard it has proven to be successful.

When the trees are cut back to a main trunk stump with some short stubbed main leaders, the large off cuts are wood chipped, with the wood chips being spread back under the root zone of the trees. The composting wood chips will increase the populations of mycorrhizae and other beneficial microbesand will improve the soil/root environment.

If there is Phytophthora in the orchard, the wood chips will be composted for 4 - 6 months before being spread back around the trees.

The remaining stumps will need to be painted with a water based paint to avoid sunburn.

This pruning process can be efficiently provided by Your Branch Manager and with the bulk volume of wood chips and fruits that may be picked from the fallen tall branches, the cost of this pruning may be more affordable than you think.