What is the importance of pruning in avocado trees? As BIFID, in this article, we talked to you about the importance of pruning in avocado trees.
Although commercial cultivation of tropical fruits such as avocados has accelerated in our country in recent years, the maintenance and pruning of these trees is not known much. The information we can read and research available over the Internet remains at the level of theory. This information is not always information to be generalized according to each condition.
In addition, we can only reach academically widely studied knowledge of these tropical trees, which have become widespread in our country, only from foreign sources. This means issues that have been studied in different climatic characteristics and soil structures of different countries. Nevertheless, general information can be reached from the beautiful works and resources of our research institutes and conscious producers.
Avocado trees show an uneven branching structure. In cases where pruning is not done on time or at all, the trees form a large and large crown.
As a result of this; branch breaks occur due to both wind and fruit load. It also creates a lot of tight branching in the tree, causing light and air ingress to the crown area. Usually, a systematic pruning method is not followed for avocados. In order to ensure a balanced crown development in the first few years, this trend should be broken by breaking or cutting the exile ends, especially in varieties that develop steep. Young trees have little desire to prune, except for cutting the hill. Pruning in trees that are given; to make cultural transactions easier and with little cost, to clean dry and gluttonous branches, to reduce severe periodicality, to facilitate harvesting, applied to prevent branch breaks and to keep tree height under constant control. All limbs growing from the bottom and rootstocks of the tree should be pruned.
When should avocado trees be pruned?
Any intervention should only be applied when the tree is asleep and before flowering buds begin to develop. Too late pruning ( may cause nutrient loss and sensitive new vegetation exposure to the sun in late spring. On the other hand, very early pruning ( end of summer ) can cause frost damage in newly developing branches in winter. Dead and sick limbs must be pruned to prevent/ reduce the spread of infection to healthy plant parts and healthy plants the following season.