Young Fruit Trees

[CM4Me]

Hi all,

In Feb 2009 we acquired 4 ¼ Rai, about 30 min NE of CNX Airport Plaza. Great views, but the soil was rather degraded. Spent some considerable time, effort, and money clearing, levelling/terracing and digging of a 2-3m deep dam (of about 1 Rai).

Also had a Macro (excavator) dig 100 plus holes of approx 1 cube metre. Later these were filled with a mixture of Din Dam (topsoil) with about 30% cow poo and 30% rice husks (which were turned/mixed weekly for about 4 weeks prior).

More recently we acquired a further 2 ¼ Rai adjacent, but this time all padi.

Our long-term aim is to be self sufficient with homegrown fruit, vegies, fish, chickens, etc, etc.

The types of fruit trees that we have planted are;

Guava

Avocado

Jackfruit

Rose Apple

Lemon

Pomello

Lime Kaffir

Lime

Yellow Plum

Lychee

Queensland Nut (Macadamia)

Longan (Lamyai)

Santol

Mango

Sweet Tamarind

Mangosteen

Rambutan

Chico

Plus

Banana

Papaya

Coconut

Dragon Fruit

At planting, all the trees were about 1m or less in size.

We regularly feed every tree with more Cow Poo, pelletised Chicken Manure and mulch well with Rice Straw.

Now (some 6 – 7 months later) some of the trees have tripled in height and or spread, and are all shapes. This bothers me somewhat (the height & shape, not the rate of growth).

My question is when should one start to prune / shape young fruit trees (particularly those listed above)????

I believe I am reasonably competent in being able to prune / shape fruit trees as I have performed this task on many an apple tree (when they were all dormant). I believe that most (if not all) of the above trees do not have a dormant period …. so when does one prune?????

Any advice will be much appreciated.

Kevin

[drtreelove]

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Frangipani-Tree-t323481.html

See above link to a recent thread on subject of pruning.

You may be over-fertilizing with high nitrogen materials. This can cause excessive vegetative growth and complications with pest control, flowering, fruiting, and structural integrity.

[drtreelove]

I have a little more time today to comment on the issue of timing of pruning.

Pruning during the dormant season for deciduous fruit trees is a very common practice; the primary reason, I believe, comes from commercial orchard management, where heavy crown reductions are done each year to stimulate maximum new growth and fruit production, and to keep the tree height contained for easier harvesting operations. Also the pruning is done for practical reasons to precede dormant oil and winter fungicide sprays. If you are a commercial grower then these factors may be worth consideration.

From my experience, I do not believe that dormant season or heavy pruning is so important for a home orchard. Usually, under good cultural conditions (soil fertility, adequate water, etc) most home orchards produce more fruit than the owners can consume and there is no commercial consideration of bumper crop expectations every year.

And as a lover of the natural form and beauty of trees, and as a climber, I would rather climb or use ladders or hook-basket poles for harvesting than to disfigure the trees by heavy heading. And heavy heading creates excessive growth that requires major annual maintenance.

I prune fruit trees the same way that I do ornamental or shade trees, training of young trees to correct structural defects early to promote strong structural framework, then light thinning and shaping as needed. So with this type of pruning, the season is less important. Light pruning (less than 20-25% of the foliage) can be done "when your saw is sharp", when you have time and when you notice the need to make corrections or to thin the canopy for air and light circulation.

I looked at your list of trees and you have a great collection. Most are evergreens that should not be pruned heavily like you've done with your apple orchards, just correct structure and thin lightly, and don't head back the central leaders, unless your heavy manure fertilization is producing rampant growth that needs light heading or weight reduction to reduce risk of breakage . When the trees mature and begin to decline in production, a 25% drop-crotch crown reduction will stimulate enough new growth. Don't ever stub them back to a hat rack like many people do.

Coconut trees of course don't need pruning except to harvest and maybe to remove dead fronds for appearance. Dragon fruit I've never grown but I believe they would only require structural corrections and mechanical support of fruit bearing lateral growth as needed. I don't know what Santol or Chico trees are, so thank you, now I have something to learn.

don

[CM4Me]

I have a little more time today to comment on the issue of timing of pruning.

Pruning during the dormant season for deciduous fruit trees is a very common practice; the primary reason, I believe, comes from commercial orchard management, where heavy crown reductions are done each year to stimulate maximum new growth and fruit production, and to keep the tree height contained for easier harvesting operations. Also the pruning is done for practical reasons to precede dormant oil and winter fungicide sprays. If you are a commercial grower then these factors may be worth consideration.

From my experience, I do not believe that dormant season or heavy pruning is so important for a home orchard. Usually, under good cultural conditions (soil fertility, adequate water, etc) most home orchards produce more fruit than the owners can consume and there is no commercial consideration of bumper crop expectations every year.

And as a lover of the natural form and beauty of trees, and as a climber, I would rather climb or use ladders or hook-basket poles for harvesting than to disfigure the trees by heavy heading. And heavy heading creates excessive growth that requires major annual maintenance.

I prune fruit trees the same way that I do ornamental or shade trees, training of young trees to correct structural defects early to promote strong structural framework, then light thinning and shaping as needed. So with this type of pruning, the season is less important. Light pruning (less than 20-25% of the foliage) can be done "when your saw is sharp", when you have time and when you notice the need to make corrections or to thin the canopy for air and light circulation.

I looked at your list of trees and you have a great collection. Most are evergreens that should not be pruned heavily like you've done with your apple orchards, just correct structure and thin lightly, and don't head back the central leaders, unless your heavy manure fertilization is producing rampant growth that needs light heading or weight reduction to reduce risk of breakage . When the trees mature and begin to decline in production, a 25% drop-crotch crown reduction will stimulate enough new growth. Don't ever stub them back to a hat rack like many people do.

Coconut trees of course don't need pruning except to harvest and maybe to remove dead fronds for appearance. Dragon fruit I've never grown but I believe they would only require structural corrections and mechanical support of fruit bearing lateral growth as needed. I don't know what Santol or Chico trees are, so thank you, now I have something to learn.

don

[CM4Me]

Don,

I was hoping for your advice, you haven't let me down:)

May I add that since joining TV I have come to respect your good advice (& some others) so often freely given. Keep up the good work.

Happy New Year

Kevin

[CM4Me]

Don,

After digesting your advice for the last 24 hrs or so has made me stop & analyse my own actions / plan.

Silly me, initially I put the husbandry of growing all types of fruit trees into one common basket, the one I know. That being from a temperate climate, with its 4 distinct seasons & growing patterns.

I spent a couple of days further up north for 'count-down', during which time I was able to observe, rather closely, several commercial mango orchards. It was obvious to me that these trees only received light shaping & / or light loping, similar to your advice I believe. As a result this will be my actions from now on. Tks again.

Some info for you (which I've cut & pasted from somewhere before):

Santol กระท้อน (also known as red sentol, sental, & yellow sentol) (Sandoricum koetjape, S. indicum and S. nervosum) is a tropical fruit grown in southeast Asia from sea level to about 3,000 feet above. It grows best in deep organic soil, and with equal distribution of rainfall throughout the year, although, it tolerates long periods of dry, and requires fertilization two times a year. Planting is 7 to 8m apart. Normally, seed trees produce fruit after 5 or 7 years. It is a very productive tree. A mature tree can produce between 18,000 and 24,000 fruits per year. It bears ribbed leaves and pink or yellow-green flowers about 1 cm long.

The ripe fruits are harvested by hand or via a long stick with a forked end.

The pulp is eaten raw or with spices. It is can also be cooked and made into candy or marmalade. Grated pulp can be cooked in coconut milk (and with the addition of bits of pork and chilies).

Chico ละมุด (also know as lamoot) (Manilkara achras) is a long-lived, evergreen tree, growing to 3-4 m tall. From germination, the Chico will usually take anywhere from 5-8 years to bear fruit. The Chicos yield fruit twice a year, though flowering may continue year round.

The ornamental leaves are medium green and glossy. They are alternate, elliptic to ovate, 7-15 cm long. The white flowers are inconspicuous and bell-like, with a six-lobed corolla.

The fruit is a large ellipsoid berry, 4-8 cm in diameter, very much resembling a smooth-skinned potato, and containing 2-5 seeds. Inside, its flesh ranges from a pale yellow to an earthy brown color with a grainy texture akin to that of a well-ripened pear. The seeds are black and resemble beans. The fruit has a high latex content and does not ripen until picked

The flavor is exceptionally sweet and very tasty, with what can be described as a malty flavor. Many believe the flavor bears a striking resemblance to caramel.