Spring pear pruning technology

Pear (Pýrus) is one of the most popular fruit plants in our country from the Rosaceae family. It is quite difficult for beginner gardeners to make spring pruning of a pear, but following the basic rules of this event can significantly speed up the process and ultimately get the most productive and easy-to-care plant.

Types of pruning pears

Tree pruning is one of the most important measures that can increase crop yields and increase the fruiting period, as well as contribute to the return of growth. Pear pruning is carried out from the first years of the fruit tree. You must be able to distinguish between types of trimming, as well as know the technology and the timing of each of them:

• the formation allows you to get the correct, highly productive and easy-to-care crown;
• sanitary pruning is carried out before the onset of the growing season and consists in the removal of all dried or diseased branches;
• supporting pruning is one of the main works carried out from the first decade of March to mid-April, which allows you to cut parts of the largest branches and prevents overloading the crop with fruits.

It should be remembered that the whole pruning tool should be clean and sharpened, and the event itself is carried out in accordance with the scheme established by the technology for growing fruit crops. Almost any pruning is recommended in the spring, since the procedure carried out in the autumn period can reduce the winter hardiness of the pear.

Two-year-old pear pruning schemes

Pruning a young pear should be carried out directly from the year of planting. The spring formation of the crown is required before the sap flow begins or before the leaves bloom on the plant. Technological features of the procedure are as follows:

• annual seedlings should be cut at a height of 50-60 cm from the ground level, which will help stimulate the formation of crown branches from the lower buds;
• when spring planting on a permanent place of a two-year-old pear, the central shoot needs to be shortened by a quarter of the length, and the competitor branches should be cut under the ring;
• crown formation involves a base of three to four shoots extending from the stem at an angle of about 45 degrees;
• all skeletal branches must be shortened by about a quarter, keeping the same length;
• any shoots on which the ovaries form are required to be bent down or directed horizontally.

No further crown shaping activities should be undertaken until the next spring.

How to prune a pear

Three-year-old pear pruning schemes

As the fruit tree grows, the growth rate of shoots noticeably slows, but also on three-year-old wood, it is also necessary to carry out competent measures to form a well-lit and productive crown:

• after the formation of 6-8 lateral branches, it is necessary to select three or four most developed branches and cut them all at about the same level, removing completely unnecessary shoots;
• the conductor should be cut about 20-25 cm above the formed tier;
• with the formation of tops, provoking thickening of the crown, they should be transferred to semi-skeletal or fouling branches, and too powerful to remove completely;
• a decrease in annual growth allows over time to minimize the process of shortening branches.

Any pruning must necessarily end with the processing of sections of the cuts with garden varieties with the addition of copper sulphate or with the special Rannet tool.

Adult tree pruning schemes

The formation of the crown of a fruit tree takes about five years, and by this age gardeners are able to obtain a plant ready for entry into the productive period, subject to pruning technology. but annually it is required to conduct an audit of plantings of garden plantings for damage by diseases or pests, and also carry out sanitary pruning, which involves the removal of all diseased or damaged branches. If necessary, it is possible to lower the height of the fruit tree by transferring the central conductor to a sloping two-year or three-year-old branch.

It is important to remember that an adult pear tree tolerates pruning quite easily if the air temperature is not lower than 8 ° C. Otherwise, there is a chance of freezing of wood.

It should be noted that in the summer, the pear needs to be cut only if there is a strong thickening of the crown, which can interfere with the ripening of the fruit. But the work of tweezing, or pinching, shoots growing in the apical part is carried out on adult plants in the very first summer month.

Anti-aging pruning

A special pruning method is used if necessary to rejuvenate fruit stands. Such an event is very relevant for trees older than 15 years. To effectively restore the fruit-forming ability of an old pear, it is recommended to adhere to the following pruning technology:

• it is best to perform anti-aging pruning in several stages, observing the time interval between the events in a couple of years;
• at the first stage, shoots located at an acute angle to the stem should be removed;
• you should also remove all shoots located in a parallel direction to the trunk of the fruit tree;
• when pruning branches, you can not leave hemp or carry out a strong deepening of the slice, since in this case the healing process is greatly delayed;
• competent pruning is carried out by the method on the ring, which contributes to the fastest healing of slices;
• when the thickness of the branches is more than 3 cm, it is first necessary to make cuts from below and from above, which will not allow severe damage to the plant;
• all places of cuts must be processed without fail with the help of a garden var.

It is important to note, that annual growths in pear trees, unlike apple trees, are not recommended to be subjected to very strong pruning. Shortening by a quarter of the original length is considered optimal. After the main anti-aging pruning, the crown is thinned out and shoots are removed that are directed deep into the crown or cross each other.

Fruit tree care after pruning

Proper care of pear plantations in the spring begins with procedures aimed at forming a crown. A pruned fruit tree needs the following care measures:

• it is necessary to carry out preventive spraying of the crown before swelling of the buds, as well as before and after flowering, which improves the immunity of the plant and allows you to effectively destroy pathogenic microflora and wintering plant parasites;
• to prevent damage to the bark of pear trees by sunburn, it is imperative to whitewash the trunk and forks of skeletal branches;
• after pruning, the plant needs moisture, so you should pay close attention to irrigation measures, especially if the spring is too dry and hot;
• to nourish a pear tree, it is required to fertilize with complex fertilizers with a full composition.

How to grow a pear in the middle lane

Further care for fruit trees is standard and includes regular watering, top dressing, as well as maintaining cleanliness in near-stem circles.