The Holistic Orchard: Tree Fruits and Berries the Biological Way by Michael Phillips

Author:Michael Phillips [Phillips, Michael]
Language: deu
Format: epub
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
Published: 2012-01-10T05:00:00+00:00

Pruning tips for Asian pears

Here’s a twist. Asian pears are generally grown as central leader trees in most areas of the world. Yet in California things always seem to be done a bit differently. An open vase hybrid style is preferred instead in order to renew young wood growth for better production. This recommendation is worth considering given the growth habit of the Asian pear.

Nursery trees are headed about 26–32 inches high at the time of planting. Select three or four main limbs from the growth response that have relatively sharp crotch angles to keep. Head these new limbs about halfway once buds have awakened the following spring, leaving 12–24 inches of growth depending on the length of the growth that occurred. This results in six to ten fairly low secondary limbs that are headed to 30–36 inches long the next spring. Pruning Asian pears after growth has commenced encourages lateral shoots to develop with a wider angle to the branch. After fruit production starts in the third season, these secondary limbs are allowed to elongate about 18 inches per year and then headed back partway every season thereafter. Some limb spreading to further open tree centers will be desirable with certain varieties. Flexing shoot growth in the direction you want to spread it (whenever you happen to walk by) will instill “limb recall" in otherwise brittle wood so that you can subsequently tie it into position a year later.

The best Asian pears are borne on spurs on two- or three-year-old wood. Older spurs give smaller fruit than those on younger wood. All pruning cuts should be smooth so no stubs are left to rub and damage large-diameter fruit. Down the road, aggressive spur thinning may be just as important as hand-thinning the actual fruit.

This more or less modified leader tree should help keep fire blight at bay by promoting tree calmness. Managing the cycle of upright growth with a grow-fruit-remove rotation of the outer laterals every three years or so will direct actual fruiting to stay within reach of the ground. One nice technique for training replacement limbs is to tuck new wood (a shoot farther back) within the branch slated to be removed to gain the desired fruiting angle. Peering ahead into future seasons like this makes simultaneous goals achievable.

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