Summer pruning is one of the most important tasks for the garden, as it can have a key impact on the production potential of a new season. It is during this post-harvest period that we can help the plants to “harvest” light, which must enter the plant canopy so that its physiological processes, mainly flower differentiation, function correctly.
Floral induction is considered to begin approximately 70 days after full bloom, while floral differentiation occurs around 110 – 140 DDPF, coinciding with the months of December, January and part of February. For this reason, it is key that the plant acquires light, as it is the most important factor in both processes mentioned above.
Thus, light capture and recovery is essential for nutrition, in terms of bud formation and mineral nutrition.
Carlos Tapia, Founder and Technical Director of Avium, explains that “summer pruning provides more light to the plant canopy and controls vigour. It is essential to establish this pruning as a general management in orchards in production, in which once the fruit has been harvested, a significant pruning procedure must be carried out, especially in those orchards with greater vigour.”
Be careful with the right moment
Although the specialist explains that it is important to start as soon as possible, once the harvest has been carried out, several considerations must be taken into account in order to obtain the appropriate results. Summer pruning carried out well in advance between the end of December and the first days of January, for example, can generate a reaction on the vegetation, since a lot of thick material can sprout again during the season, which is undesirable, since these do not manage to lignify before winter.
“The safest period for removing material is from the second half of January to the end of the second half of February at the latest. This will allow the plants to take advantage of the light to correctly carry out the processes specific to the time of the season,” says Carlos Tapia.
Define pruning according to your objectives
If the goal is to control the vigor of the plants, summer pruning can also be a task that helps us. If you want to reduce the height or remove material, it is important to carry out summer pruning, since the power reaction in vegetative terms is much lower than if it is carried out in winter.
“If we talk about dates, summer pruning should begin from December 20-25, considering that it can sprout again, and it should end, for a powerful effect on vigor control, before March 15. This should be a practice year after year, especially in orchards with excess vigor or in those that need to reduce height,” concluded the specialist.
Producers are in time to begin summer pruning, which, in addition to promoting light absorption and vigor control, like all agronomic management of our cherry trees, can change the course of our production.
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